GIFT   OF 
MICHAEL  REESE. 


ENGLAND    AND    AMERICA 

I763     TO      I783 


ENGLAND    AND 
AMERICA 

1763      TO       I783',   .,   ;   yt 


THE  HISTORY  OF  A   REACTION 


BY 


MARY    A.    M.    MARKS 

AUTHOR  OF  "A  GREAT  TREASON"  "MASTERS  OF  THE  WORLD 
ETC.  ETC. 


' '  The  submission  of  a  free  people  to  the  executive  authority 
of  government  is  no  more  than  a  compliance  with  laws  which 
they  themselves  have  enacted." — Junius. 


VOL.    I 

1763     TO     1778) 


NEW    YORK 
D.   APPLETON   AND   COMPANY 

1907 


E20B 


BEESfi 


<Z  ' b'  * 


INTRODUCTION 


"  We  have  suffered  ourselves  to  be  deceived  by  names  and  sounds,  the  balance 
of  power,  the  liberty  of  Europe,  a  common  cause,  and  many  other  such  expres- 
sions, without  any  other  meaning  than  to  exhaust  our  wealth,  consume  the 
profits  of  our  trade,  and  load  our  posterity  with  intolerable  burdens.  None  but 
a  nation  that  had  lost  all  signs  of  virility  would  submit  to  be  so  treated." — 
Speech  of  Mr.  Pitt  against  the  Treaties  of  Russia  and  Hesse  Casse/,  Dec.  io, 
1755- 

It  is  always  interesting,  and  often  instructive,  to  look  back  and  see 
how  the  great  events  of  the  past  appeared  while  they  were  taking 
place,  and  to  compare  contemporary  views  with  the  final  verdict  of 
history.  One  of  the  greatest  uses  of  such  retrospects  is  to  promote 
a  calmer  and  more  tolerant  judgment  of  the  events  of  our  own 
time.  We  learn  that  it  is  possible  for  majorities  to  be  in  the  wrong, 
minorities  in  the  right.  And  the  character  and  political  action 
of  such  minorities,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  majorities 
treated  their  opposition,  will  be  a  pretty  sure  test  of  the  character 
and  moral  standard  of  the  nation  as  a  whole  at  that  particular  time. 

Nobody  now  looks  on  the  quarrel  with  our  North  American 
Colonies  as  anything  but  a  hideous  blunder.  Nobody  now  says 
that  the  Ministers  who  brought  it  about  deserved  well  of  their 
country.  Nobody  now  thinks  that  the  conscientious  but  narrow- 
minded  Sovereign,  whose  influence  destroyed  the  last  chances  of 
reconciliation,  showed  himself  thereby  to  be  an  enlightened  ruler. 
It  is  surely  worth  our  while  to  examine  how  the  quarrel  came  about, 
and  see  what  our  great-great-grandfathers  thought  and  said  of  it. 
Does  anything  in  the  story  seem  to  furnish  a  parallel,  or  a  contrast, 
for  the  times  in  which  we  live  ?     History,  they  say,  repeats  itself. 

The  Seven  Years'  War  doubled  our  National  Debt,  gave  us 
Canada  and  Bengal,  and  lost  us  America.  The  Hanoverian  Settle- 
ment, by  bringing  Hanover  into  union  with  Great  Britain,  involved 
us  in  the  whole  scheme  of  European  politics  and  European  wars. 
During  almost  the  whole  of  the  eighteenth  century,  as  the  keynote 


19515* 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

of  all  our  domestic  policy  was  the  keeping  out  of  the  Stuarts,  so  the 
keynote  of  all  our  foreign  policy  was  the  maintenance  of  that  safe 
equilibrium  which  was  called  the  "  balance  of  power."  It  was 
especially  the  ambition  of  Louis  xiv  which  inspired  Europe  with 
dread  of  any  one  Power  making  itself  supreme.  The  very  independ- 
ence of  the  other  States  seemed  to  be  threatened  by  such  a  pre- 
dominance ;  and  many  devastating  wars  were  undertaken  to  prevent 
it.  Marlborough's  victories  were  victories  over  the  attempts  of 
Louis  xiv  to  gain  this  predominance.  The  wars  were  terrible 
evils,  but  the  motives  were  not  petty.  In  a  very  true  sense  it  really 
was  to  the  interest  of  all  that  power  should  not  be  concentrated  in 
the  hands  of  one.  Upon  the  whole,  it  could  not  then  be  said  with 
truth  that  any  one  class  was  making  the  people  fight  its  battles. 
Even  dynastic  disputes  were  closely  bound  up  with  the  nation's  fate 
— for  if  their  native  sovereign  were  robbed  of  his  dominions  by  a 
foreign  Power,  the  people  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  foreign 
conquerors,  and  be  oppressed  by  strangers  whose  interests  would  be 
opposed  to  their  own.  Thus,  though  the  story  of  these  interminable 
wars  is  deplorable,  it  is  not  altogether  degrading — at  any  rate,  the 
issues  were  very  large,  and  leaders  of  men  knew  what  they  were 
fighting  for,  and  declared  it  openly.  They  did  not  profess  to  be 
fighting  for  one  thing  when  in  reality  they  were  fighting  for  another. 
The  fighting  was  often  a  mistake,  but  men  were  not  persuaded  to 
fight  for  a  certain  thing,  to  find  out,  too  late,  that  they  had  been 
tricked  into  fighting  for  the  precise  contrary. 

During  these  years  the  very  largeness  of  the  issue,  and  its  end- 
less complications,  lessen  the  interest  of  the  struggle  by  depriving  it 
of  any  fixed  central  figure.  Then,  too,  the  Combatants  are  always 
changing  sides.  The  moment  the  Sovereign  we  are  supporting — lest 
he  should  become  too  weak — seems  about  to  become  too  strong,  we 
throw  him  over  and  take  up  with  the  other  side.  Thus,  having 
fought  for  the  Empress  Maria  Theresa  all  through  the  War  of  the 
Austrian  Succession  (i 740-1 748),  in  the  Seven  Years'  War  (1756— 
1763)  we  were  fighting  for  her  enemy,  the  Great  Frederick,  because 
by  that  time  we  were  more  afraid  of  France  than  of  Prussia.  The 
war  with  our  American  Colonies  was  a  very  different  affair,  and 
much  more  interesting.  For  however  desirable  we  may  think  it 
to  maintain  a  sort  of  equality  between  the  several  Powers  of  a 
continent,  the  ins  and  outs  of  policy,  the  ups  and  downs  of  war,  in 
such  a  quarrel,  can  never  have  the  living,  personal  interest  of  a 
struggle  in  which  the  prize  is  not  security  against  a  distant  and 
/perhaps  hypothetical  danger,  but  actual,  immediate  independence 
v  and  unfettered  national  life. 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

It  has  been  computed  that  the  Seven  Years'  War  cost  a  million 
lives.  It  exhausted  all  the  Powers  concerned,  but  probably  England 
got  the  most  out  of  it.  She  certainly  suffered  least.  For  though 
she  contributed  her  quota  to  the  slain,  a  good  many  of  the 
troops  she  employed  were  either  Hanoverians  or  Hessians ;  and  her 
soil  was  not  invaded,  her  towns  were  not  sacked,  nor  her  villages 
burned.  The  roar  of  war  was  faintly  heard  across  the  sea,  and  the 
most  disagreeable  thing  England  had  to  do  was  to  pay  the  bill. 
But  she  strained  her  resources  to  pay  it  In  1756,  at  the  very 
beginning  of  the  war,  she  was  so  dangerously  drained  of  troops  that 
the  King  sent  for  10,000  Hanoverians  and  6400  Hessians,  to 
protect  this  country  in  the  absence  of  our  army.  There  was  a  fierce 
debate  over  this  bringing  in  of  "  foreign  mercenaries,"  and  Mr.  Pitt 
swore  he  would  resign  if  the  House  moved  a  Vote  of  Thanks  to 
the  King.  But  in  spite  of  Pitt's  invectives  the  vote  was  carried  by 
259  to  92.  The  Germans  came,  and  encamped  at  Maidstone  and 
Canterbury  —  the  Hessians,  being  refused  winter  quarters  by  the 
innkeepers,  were  obliged  to  build  huts,  and  sit  round  fires  in  the 
open  air. 

George  11,  stubborn,  rough  old  fellow  as  he  was,  quailed  before 
Pitt,  and  had  said  that  while  Pitt  was  thrust  upon  his  Councils  he 
did  not  feel  himself  a  King.  He  punished  him  for  his  speeches  on 
the  war  by  dismissing  him  from  the  lucrative  office  of  Paymaster  of 
the  Forces,  and  presently  gave  the  post  to  Henry  Fox,  Pitt's  great 
rival,  father  of  the  greater  rival  of  Pitt's  son. 

The  Seven  Years'  War  began.  By  the  end  of  1756  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle's  Government  had  become  impossible.  Newcastle,  the 
elder  brother  of  Henry  Pelham,  had  succeeded  him  as  Minister. 
The  Pelhamites  may  be  called  the  Moderate  Whigs;  but,  as  we 
shall  see,  parties  were  by  no  means  clearly  defined,  and  mostly  only 
deserved  to  be  called  factions.  The  Duke  of  Devonshire  was  the 
figurehead  of  the  new  Cabinet,  of  which  Pitt,  Secretary  of  State, 
was  the  heart  and  soul.  The  war  was  now  in  full  swing,  and  in 
February,  1757,  the  Hanoverians  were  re-embarked  in  a  hurry,  to  go 
and  protect  Hanover.  In  the  same  month  Admiral  Byng  was  shot 
to  "  encourage  the  others " ;  but  General  Mordaunt  did  not  take 
Rochelle  any  the  more  for  that,  though  he  had  the  good  luck  not 
to  be  shot.  In  April  the  King  once  more  got  rid  of  Mr.  Pitt,  but 
was  obliged  to  take  him  back  in  June,  after  the  country  had  been 
eleven  weeks  without  a  Government.1 

And  still  the  war  went  on.  The  fighting  spread  over  both 
hemispheres  and  three  continents.  In  Europe,  Frederick  the  Great 
1  These  eleven  weeks  were  called  "  the  Interministerium." 


x  INTRODUCTION 

won  Rosbach  and  Leuthen,  and  lost  Hochkirchen.  The  Duke  of 
Cumberland — "the  Butcher"  of  Culloden,  and  Pitt's  inveterate 
enemy — made  the  shameful  Capitulation  of  Klosterseven.  Minden 
was  fought,  and  Lord  George  Sackville  struck  off  the  Privy  Council 
for  disobeying  Prince  Ferdinand's  order  to  bring  up  the  cavalry. 
In  Asia,  Surajah  Dowla,  the  ally  of  the  French,  took  Calcutta,  and 
threw  the  English  garrison  into  the  Black  Hole ;  and  next  year 
Colonel  Clive  retook  the  city,  and  by  the  great  victory  of  Plassey 
won  Bengal  for  the  East  India  Company.  In  America,  pig-headed 
old  Braddock,  marching  against  Fort  du  Quesne J  (where  Pittsburg 
now  is),  fell  into  an  ambush  of  French  and  Indians.  Five  horses 
were  killed  under  Braddock  before  he  fell,  mortally  wounded,  and 
the  only  officer  who  escaped  unhurt  was  Colonel  Washington,  a 
young  gentleman  of  Virginia,  then  aged  only  twenty-three,  but  already 
known  as  a  good  officer.  He  saved  the  remnant  of  poor  Braddock's 
army,  and  prevented  the  dying  General  from  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  savages.  To  make  up  for  this  disaster  General  Wolfe  took 
Quebec,  and  won  himself  an  immortal  name.  And  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  25th  October,  1760,  old  George  11  was  suddenly  called 
away  from  his  battles  and  his  sieges,  and  his  squabbles  with 
Mr.  Pitt;  young  George  111  came  to  the  throne,  and  the  longest 
reign  but  one  in  English  History  began. 

1  Fort  da  Quesne  was  one  of  a  line  of  forts  erected   by  the   P'rench   from 
Canada  to  Florida. 


PRINCIPAL  EVENTS 


1746,  April  16.  Battle  of  Culloden. 

1754,  June  14.  Conference  of  Governor  Shirley  of  Massachusetts  with  the  Indians 

at  Albany. 

1755,  July      9.  Defeat  of  Braddock. 

1756,  May  17.  The  Seven  Years'  War  begins. 

1757,  June  28.  Pitt  Secretary  of  State,  with  real  power. 
1757,  July     3.  Battle  of  Plassey. 

1760,  Oct.  25.  Death  of  George  II.     Accession  of  George  III. 

1 76 1.  Agitation  in  America  about  Writs  of  Assistance. 

1763,  Feb.  10.  The  Seven  Years'  War  ends  by  the  Peace  of  Paris. 
,,     April  16.  George  Grenville  Minister. 

1764,  Jan.    19.  Wilkes  expelled  the  House  of  Commons. 
„     Feb.    14.  Great  Debate  on  General  Warrants. 

1765,  March  6.  Stamp  Act  passed. 

,,     July    12   The  Marquis  of  Rockingham  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury. 

1766,  Mar.  18.  Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 

„     July    30.  Fall  of  the  Rockingham  Ministry.     The  Patchwork  Cabinet. 

1 767,  Embarrassments  of  the  East  India  Company. 
„    June  15.  New  York  Suspension  Bill. 

1768,  March.     General  Election.     Enormous  Bribery  by  the  East  India  Company. 
,,  Wilkes  returned  for  Middlesex. 

l7^9>  Jan-    21.  Junius  writes  his  first  Letter. 
,,    June.        The  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  banished  to  Cambridge. 

1770,  Jan.    28.  Lord  North  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury. 
,,     March 5.  The  Boston  "Massacre." 

1 77 1.  The  Printers  before  the  House  of  Commons. 

1773,  April  27.  The  Tea-Bill  passed. 

,,      Dec.  16.  "The  Boston  Tea- Party." 

1774,  May   10!  Accession  of  Louis  xvi. 

,,     June     1.  The  Boston  Port  Bill  comes  into  force. 

,,     Sept.    5.  The  First  Continental  Congress  meets  at  Philadelphia. 

1775,  April  19.  The  Battles  of  Lexington  and  Concord. 
,,     May     5.  The  Second  Continental  Congress  meets. 


xii  PRINCIPAL  EVENTS 

1775,  June  12.  Washington  appointed  Generalissimo  of  the  Continental  Armies. 
,,     June  17.  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill. 

1776,  July     4.  Declaration  of  Independence. 
,,     Aug.  27.  Battle  of  Long  Island. 

,,     Dec.  26.  Surprise  of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton. 

1777,  Sept.  11.  Washington  defeated  at  the  Brandywine. 
,,        ,,     26.  Cornwallis  enters  Philadelphia. 

,,     Oct.    17.  Surrender  of  General  Burgoyne. 

1778,  Mar.  13.  France  acknowledges  the  United  States. 

,,  The  French  Treaty.     War  with  France.    Attempts  at  a  Coalition. 

,,  May  11.  Death  of  Chatham. 

,,  June  18.  Evacuation  of  Philadelphia. 

,,  ,,         Arrival  of  the  French  Fleet. 

,,  Dec.         Conquest  of  Georgia. 

1 779,  June  1 7.  The  Spanish  Rescript.     War  with  Spain.     Attempts  at  a  Coalition. 
,,  ,,      21.  The  Siege  of  Gibraltar  begins. 

,,     Aug.  14.  The  Combined  French  and  Spanish  Fleets  off  Plymouth. 

,,     Oct.  9.  Repulse  of  the  Assault  on  Savannah. 

,,        ,,  12.  Ireland  demands  Free  Trade  with  England. 

1780,  Feb.  8.  The  Associated  Counties.     The  Yorkshire  Petition.     The  Armed 

Neutrality. 
,,     April   6.  Dunning's  Resolution  on  the  Power  of  the  Crown. 
,,     May   12.  Surrender  of  Charlestown. 
,,    June 2-8.  The  Gordon  Riots.     Attempts  at  a  Coalition. 
,,     Aug.         Battle  of  Camden.     Reduction  of  the  Carolinas. 
,,     Sept.  12.  Mr.    Laurens,   with  the    draft  of  the  Dutch  Treaty,   captured 

at  sea. 
,,        ,,     23.  Major  Andre  captured  near  Tarrytown.     Flight  of  Arnold. 
,,     Oct.  Great  Hurricanes  in  the  West  Indies. 

,,        ,,       7.  Major  Ferguson  defeated  and  slain  at  King's  Mountain. 
,,     Dec.  20.  War  with  Holland. 

1 78 1,  Jan.     1.  Attempt  of  the  French  on  the  Island  of  Jersey. 
,,        ,,     17.  Tarleton  defeated  at  the  Cowpens. 

,,  Mar.  15.  Battle  of  Guildford.     Defeat  of  Greene. 
,,        ,,  The  War  in  the  Carnatic. 

,,  April  19.  Battle  of  Hobkirk's  Hill.     Defeat  of  Greene. 

,,  May     9.  West  Florida  surrendered  to  Spain. 
,,        ,,      10.  All  South  Carolina  in  Rebellion. 
,,        ,,     20.  Cornwallis  enters  Virginia. 

,,  Aug.     1.  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown. 
,,        ,,     20.  Washington  crosses  the  Hudson. 
,,        ,,     30.  Admiral  Parker  defeats  the  Dutch  at  the  Doggerbank. 

,,  Sept.    5.  Action  between  Graves  and  de  Grasse  in  the  Chesapeak. 
,,     28.  The  French  and  American  Armies  arrive  before  Yorktown. 


PRINCIPAL  EVENTS  xiii 

1 78 1,  Oct.    19.  Capitulation  of  Yorktown. 

,,     Nov.  26.  Sortie  of  the  Garrison  from  Gibraltar. 

1782,  Feb.  11.  Lord  George  Germaine  resigns.     Attempts  at  a  Coalition. 

,,        ,,     22.  General    Conway's    Motion    to  end   the   War.      (Majority  for 

Ministers,  1.) 
,,        ,,     27.  General  Conway's  Motion  to  end  Offensive  War  in  America. 

(Majority  against  Ministers,  19.) 
,,     Mar.    8.  Lord  John  Cavendish's  Resolutions  of  Censure.     (Majority  for 

Ministers,  10.) 
,,        ,,      15.  Sir  John  Rous' Motion  for  Withdrawing  Confidence.     (Majority 

for  Ministers,  9. ) 
,,        ,,     20.  Lord  North  Resigns. 
7I__j,     27.  Lord  Rockingham  forms  a  Cabinet. 
,,        ,,     29.  Negotiations  for  Peace  with  Holland  begun  by  Fox. 
,,     April  10.  Richard  Oswald  sent  to  Paris.     Quarrels  of  Fox  and  Shelburne. 
,,     May  23.  The  Cabinet  agrees  to  recognise  Independence. 
,,     June.        The  Enabling  Bill  passes. 

,,     July     1.  Death  of  Lord  Rockingham.     Shelburne  Minister. 
,,        ,,       5.  Fox  resigns. 
,,        ,,       9.  Negotiations  for  Peace  resumed. 
,,     Sept.    8.  The  great  Assault  on  Gibraltar  repulsed. 
,,     Nov.  30.  The  American  Preliminaries  signed  in  Paris  by  the  United  States 

Commissioners. 
,,     Dec.     5.  The  King's  Speech  declares  the  United  States  Free  and  Inde- 
pendent. 
1783,  Jan.    20.  Preliminaries    of  a  General   Peace  signed  at   Paris,  by  Great 

Britain,  France,  Spain,  Holland,  and  the  United  States. 
,,     Feb.  14.  Fox  joins  North. 
,,        ,,     21.  Lord  John  Cavendish  moves  a  Censure  on  the  Peace,  carried  by 

a  majority  of  19. 
,,,        ,,     24.  Lord  Shelburne  resigns.     The  Treasury  offered  to  William  Pitt. 
,,     Mar.  22.  The  Treasury  offered  to  Pitt  a  second  time. 
,,        ,,     24.  In  the  Debate  on  a  Motion  for  an  Address,   Fox  and  North 

formally  offer  to  unite  with  Pitt,  who  declines. 
,,     April    2.  The  Coalition  Ministry. 
,.     Sept.    3.  The  Definitive  Treaty  of  Peace  signed  at  Paris. 


CONTENTS 

VOL.    I 


CHAP. 

Introduction       ...... 

Principal  Events  ..... 

Bibliography        ...... 

I.  State  of  Parties  at  the  Beginning  of  the  Reign  of 

George  hi . 
II.  "Gentle  Shepherd,  tell  me  where  .  .  ." 
III.  An  Eighteenth-Century  View  of  Colonial  Policy 
IV.  The  Stamp  Act  .... 

V.  The  Occurrences  in  North  America 
VI.  The  Fall  of  the  Grenville  Cabinet 
VII.  The  Great  Debate     .... 

VIII.  Franklin 

IX.  The  Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act     •  . 
~~X.  The  Mutiny  Act         .... 

XI.  The  Patchwork  Cabinet 
XII.  The  East  India  Company 

XIII.  Charles  Townshend  .... 

XIV.  The  Suspension  Bill  .... 
XV.  Lord  North     ..... 

XVI.  The  Last  Days  of  a  Parliament   . 
XVII.  Boston    ...... 

XVIII.  "The  Circulatory  Letter" 
XIX.  The  Soldiers  come  to  Boston 
XX.  The  Commons  Concur 
XXI.  The  Farmer's  Grievances     . 
XXII.  Governor  Bernard's  Departure    . 
XXIII.  The  Occurrences  in  London 


PAGE 

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85 

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103 

10S 

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118 

122 

133 
142 
148 
159 


XVI 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

XXIV.  The  Horned  Cattle  Session 
XXV.  The  Repeal  of  the  Revenue  Act 
XXVI.  Thomas  Hutchinson 
XXVII.  The  5th  of  March,  1770 
XXVIII.  The  Publicity  of  Debate 
XXIX.  Steps  towards  Religious  Liberty 
XXX.  The  Company  again 
XXXI.  Clive's  Defence 
XXXII.  The  Select  Committee 

XXXIII.  The  Double  Verdict 

XXXIV.  A  Lull  in  the  Storm 
XXXV.  The  Letters. 

XXXVI.  "The  Boston  Tea-Party" 
XXXVII.  The  Dismissal  of  Fox 
XXXVIII.  The  Punitive  Bills  . 
XXXIX.  The  Boston  Port  Bill 

XL.  The  First  Continental  Congress 
XLI.  The  Bill  of  Famine  and  War 
XLII.  Lexington  and  Concord 
XLIII.  After  Lexington 
XLIV.  Bunker's  Hill 
XLV.  The  Blockade  of  Boston 
XLVI.  Canada 
XLVII.  In  England    .    •; 
XLVIH.  Independence 
XLIX.  The  Battle  of  Long  Island 

L.  The   Fall    of  Fort    Washington 

THROUGH    THE  JERSEYS 

LI.  The  House  of  Rodrique  Hortalez 
LII.  General  Lee  . 
LIII.  Trenton 

LIV.  The  King's  Debts  :  the  Expenses 
LV.  John  the  Painter  :  our  Criminai 

eenth  Century  . 
LVI.  In  New  York 
LVII.  "Mr.  Lee's  Plan"  . 
LVIII.  General  Burgoyne  . 
LIX.  The  Evacuation  of  the  Jerseys 


AND 


the   Retreat 


of  the  War 

Code  in  the  Eight 


CONTENTS 


xvn 


CHAP. 

LX.  The  Battle  of  the  Brandywine 
LXI.  Germantown  . 
LXII.  The  Retaking  of  Ticonderoga 
LXIII.  The  Indians  . 
LXIV.  The  Turn  of  the  Tide 
LXV.  Freeman's  Farm 
LXVI.  The  Night  after  a  Defeat 
LXVII.  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  Diversion 
LXVI II.  How  the  News  came  to  London 
LXIX.  The  French  Treaty 
LXX.  Chatham's  Last  Speech 
LXXI.  The  Army  of  the  Convention 
LXXII.  The  Conway  Cabal  . 
LXXIII.  The  Evacuation  of  Philadelphia 
LXXIV.  The  Commissioners:  the  French  Fleet 


504 

512 

518 

527 

534 

543 

553 

564 

and  Paris 

57o 

579 

598 

617 

. 

623 

A 

632 

[  Fleet 

•  647 

VOL.  I.- 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

OF  THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  WORKS  CONSULTED 


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Documents.     1852. 
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dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  America,  1764-75.      1777. 
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American  Loyalists.     Case  and  Claim  of  the  A.  L.  stated.     1783. 
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Country.     1 769.     8vo. 
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the  title-page  of  a  copy  in  the  London  Library. )     1769.     8vo. 
Letter  of  an  Old  Proprietor.     1769.     8vo. 
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Fitzgerald,  Percy.     Charles  Townshend,  Wit  and  Statesman.     1866. 

Life  and  Times  of  John  Wilkes.     1888. 
Fitzmaurice,  Lord  Edmund  G.  Petty,  Baron  Fitzmaurice.     Life  of  William 
Petty,  2nd  Earl  of  Shelburne  and  1st  Marquis  of  Lansdowne.     1875-6. 
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Correspondence  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  John  Burgoyne.     1876. 


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Peter  Force,  vols,  i.-iii.  Washington,  1848-53.  Folio. 
Fox,  Charles  James.     Memoir  of  his  Life,  etc.     With  his  character  by  R.  B. 

Sheridan.     1806.     8vo. 
Franklin,  Dr.  Benjamin.     Complete  Works,  including  Correspondence  and 

Autobiography.     Ed.  J.  B.  Bigelow.     1887-8. 
Franklin  in  France.     E.  E.  Hale  and  E.  E.  Hale,  Junior.     1887. 
Gentleman's  Magazine,  The. 
Gleig,  G.  R.     LifeofClive.     1848. 
Grafton,    Augustus    Henry    Fitzroy,    3rd    Duke.     Autobiography    and 

Political  Correspondence.     Ed.  Sir  W.  R.  Anson.     1898. 
Hadden,  Lieut.  J  AMES,  Roy.  Art.  Journal  and  OrderBooks  of  Burgoyne's  Campaign. 
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by  R.  MacKenzie,  etc.     1789.     8vo. 
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Royal  Institution  Papers  (known  as  Carleton  Papers). 
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Holland,  H.  R.  Vassal-Fox,  3rd  Baron.     Memoirs  of  the  Whig  Tarty  during 

my  time.     Ed.  by  his  Son.     1854. 
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of  Massachusetts  Bay,  1691-1774.     Ed.  J.  Hutchinson.     1828. 
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Diary  and  Letters,  from  the  original  documents.  Ed.  by  Peter  Orlando 
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Genuine  Letters  and  anecdotes.     (Almon.)     1771.     1806. 

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Ed.  J.  M.  Good.     1814. 
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H.  H.  Wilson.     1840-8. 
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ENGLAND   AND   AMERICA 


CHAPTER   I 

STATE  OF  PARTIES  AT  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE 
REIGN  OF  GEORGE  III 

"Born  and  educated  in  this  country,  I  glory  in  the  name  of  Briton." — His 
Majesty's  Most  Gracious  Speech  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  Nov.  18,  1760. 

"We  are  penetrated  with  the  condescending  and  endearing  manner  in  which 
your  Majesty  has  expressed  your  satisfaction  at  having  received  your  birth  and 
education  among  us.  What  a  lustre  does  it  cast  on  the  name  of  Briton,  that  you, 
Sire,  are  pleased  to  esteem  it  among  your  glories  !  " — Address  of  the  Lords  on  the 
Accession  of  George  III. 

"  Remember,  my  noble  and  generous  friend,  that  to  recover  monarchy  from 
the  inveterate  usurpation  of  oligarchy  is  a  point  too  arduous  and  important  to  be 
achieved  without  much  difficulty,  and  some  degree  of  danger." — Bubb  Dodington 
to  Lord  Bute,  Dec.  22,  1760. 

The   history  of  the   loss   of  America   is   the   history  of  a   Tory 
reaction. 

For  forty-five  years  the  Whigs  had  had  it  all  their  own  way. 
From  the  moment  that  the  Elector  of  Hanover  became  King  of 
England,  the  Tories  were  shut  out  from  politics.  Whatever  factions 
might  divide  the  Whigs  (and  there  were  almost  as  many  factions  as 
great  Whig  families),  they  always  united  to  keep  out  the  Tories — 
and  the  Pretender.  The  Stuarts  had  shown  themselves  incapable 
of  becoming  constitutional  sovereigns,  but  the  country  had  to  pay 
very  dear  for  keeping  them  out.  For  forty-five  years  progress 
ceased  in  England,  because  the  party  which  naturally  stood  for 
progress  was  solely  occupied  in  maintaining  the  House  of  Brunswick 
on  the  throne.  To  do  this  was  the  inspiring  motive  of  Sir  Robert 
Walpole's  long  rule.  It  was  in  doing  this  that  he  discovered  how 
many  men  had  their  price.  He  had  been  obliged  to  buy  them, 
vol.  1. — 1 


2  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

lest  they  should  bring  back  the  Stuarts.  In  those  days,  to  be  a 
Tory  meant,  if  not  to  be  actually  fetching  and  carrying  for  the 
Pretender,  to  be  in  the  confidence  of  those  who  were.  The 
enormous  development  of  smuggling,  after  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht, 
made  this  fetching  and  carrying  considerably  easier  and  safer  than 
it  would  otherwise  have  been.  Half  the  nation — and  that  not  the 
least  high-minded  and  pious  half — had  profound  scruples  as  to  the 
right  of  the  Elector  of  Hanover  to  the  throne.  One  evening,  at 
family  prayers,  the  Reverend  Samuel  Wesley,  Rector  of  Epworth, 
discovered,  to  his  dismay,  that  his  wife  refrained  from  praying  for 
King  George  ! 1  This  is  but  one  instance  of  the  profound  cleavage 
which  divided  English  society  on  the  greatest  political  question  of 
the  time.  The  effect  on  politics  was  strange,  and,  at  first  sight, 
perplexing.  But  the  explanation  was  simple.  The  Tories  of  those 
days  were  against  strengthening  the  prerogative — of  the  wrong 
king.  The  Whigs  were  willing  to  give  the  Crown  some  real 
power — to  defend  itself  against  the  machinations  of  the  Pretender. 
Chatham  was  the  first  great  Minister  who  was  not  handicapped  by 
the  necessity  of  keeping  out  the  Stuarts.  But  after  Culloden  all 
was  changed.  For  the  first  time  the  House  of  Brunswick  felt 
itself  firm  in  the  saddle ;  and  the  Tories  began  to  think  that,  since 
the  cause  of  the  right  King — the  King  de  jure — was  irretrievable, 
they  had  better  make  the  best  they  could  of  the  King  de  facto — 
admit  that  by  this  time  he  was  a  quasi-lawful  sovereign,  and  revive 
and  transfer  to  him  those  royal  prerogatives  which  it  was  now  hope- 
less to  think  of  restoring  to  the  Stuarts.  It  was  this  feeling  which 
prompted  the  famous  expression  in  George  Hi's  first  Speech  from 
the  Throne — "  I  glory  in  the  name  of  Briton."  The  word  was 
"  Englishman  "  at  first,  but  Bute  altered  it  to  "  Briton  " — as  was 
said,  that  it  might  include  John  Stuart — and  from  this  time 
forward  Bute's  friends  (who  were  "  the  King's  friends  ")  all  became 
Britons.2 

Bute  had  none  of  the  qualities  of  a  leader,  and  if  he  had  not 
happened  to  take  the  fancy  of  a  very  proud  and  ambitious 
princess,  of  a  more  courageous  temperament  than  his  own,  he 
would  never  have  been  heard  of  out  of  Scotland,  and  very  little  in 

1  Even  the  curious  and  never-explained  persecution  of  Mr.  Wesley's  family 
by  "Old  Jeffrey"  is  ascribed  by  one  biographer  to  "a  Jacobite  goblin,"  as  the 
disturbances  frequently  occurred  when  Mr.  Wesley  was  praying  for  the  King  or 
the  Prince  of  Wales. 

2  "  When  you  affectedly  renounced  the  name  of  Englishman,  believe  me,  Sir, 
you  were  persuaded  to  pay  a  very  ill-judged  compliment  to  one  part  of  your 
subjects,  at  the  expense  of  another." — Junius,  Letter  to  the  King,  Dec.  19, 
1769. 


STATE  OF  PARTIES  IN  REIGN  OF  GEORGE  III    3 

it.  As  it  was,  he  became  a  rallying-point  for  the  Tory  view  of 
sovereignty  during  the  first  ten  or  twelve  years  of  George  111. 
Those  years  were  crowded  with  important  events,  which  Tory 
policy  turned  into  great  calamities.  The  very  least  reproach  which 
can  be  made  to  Bute  is,  that  he  took  the  first  step  backwards 
towards  absolutism,  and  that  he,  with  the  Princess  Dowager,  formed 
the  political  opinions  of  George  in — grafting  the  fine  antique 
Stuart  notions  of  kingcraft  on  the  homely  stock  of  P'armer  George. 
The  result  was  a  curious  anomaly — a  painstaking,  plodding  man  of 
business  imbued  with  the  ideas  of  an  autocrat.  "  He  toiled  like  a 
warehouse-clerk"1  to  restore  the  royal  authority  to  the  place 
ordained  for  it  by  God.  He  was  solemnly  and  conscientiously 
convinced  that  it  was  so  ordained,  and  that  the  welfare  and  safety 
of  his  people  depended  on  his  restoring  it.  We  mistake  when  we 
think  of  George  111  as  an  idiot  with  flashes  of  madness.  The 
groundwork  of  his  character  was  indeed  extreme,  almost  childish 
simplicity,  but  —  despite  the  story  of  the  apple-dumpling  —  it  was 
a  very  shrewd  simplicity.  His  correspondence  with  Lord  North 
shows  that  he  had  a  clear  vision  of  every  situation, — nor  did  he  ever 
shrink  from  calling  that  situation  by  its  true  name, — as  when  he 
complains  that  the  recruiting  in  Waldeck  is  making  him  "a  kid- 
napper." He  had  great  common-sense.  His  mind  was  sane, 
prosaic,  and  literal,  until  his  authority  was  called  in  question. 
Then  his  anger  was  so  intense  that  the  effort  to  control  it  made  him 
ill  physically  and  mentally.  He  describes  himself  as  "  trembling  " 
with  suppressed  wrath.  It  is  pretty  certain  that  his  first  attacks 
of  mental  disturbance  were  caused  by  Grenville's  opposition,  and 
Wilkes'  defiance.  The  little  we  know  about  the  later  and  far  more 
serious  attacks  shows  that  his  delusions  were  royal — he  never  forgot 
that  he  was  a  king,  and  he  neither  forgot  nor  forgave  those  who 
in  the  course  of  their  medical  attendance  had  presumed  to  use  force 
to  restrain  him.  In  his  sanity,  he  is  plain,  clumsy  Farmer  George, 
with  little  that  is  kingly  about  him — hurried  and  flurried  in  speech 
and  manner,  undignified  in  appearance,  his  notions  of  prerogative 
resembling  rather  the  irritable,  pig-headed  obstinacy  of  the  senior 
partner  in  a  mercantile  firm  than  the  imperiousness  of  a  monarch. 
In  his  madness  he  becomes  a  strangely  tragic  figure,  as  we  obtain 
glimpses  of  him — now  tortured  by  the  consciousness  of  his  own 
condition,  now  talking  of  high  affairs  of  State  with  Ministers  long 
dead  and  gone. 

The  Revolution  of  1688  was  not  the  unmixed  good  it  has  been 
represented  to  be  by  those  whose  privileges  it  assured.     Even  its 
1  Donne,  Correspondence  of  George  III  with  Lord  North. 


4  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

boasted  "  establishment  of  religious  liberty "  was  little  more  than 
a  turning  of  the  tables.  Not  only  a  free-lance  like  William  Cobbett, 
but  a  pre-eminently  sober  historian  like  Mr.  Lecky,  has  expressed 
the  deliberate  opinion  that  in  the  long-run  it  might  have  been 
better  for  liberty  to  have  kept  the  Stuarts  and  made  the  best  of 
them.  It  is  a  startling  proposition  to  those  who  hear  it  for  the  first 
lime ;  but  a  close  study  of  English  legislation  during  the  eighteenth 
century  woefully  disenchants  us  with  the  "  Glorious  Revolution  "  of 
1688,  and  still  more  with  the  Hanoverian  Succession.  The  Stuarts 
are  the  most  interesting  of  Royal  Houses — the  House  of  Brunswick  is 
perhaps  the  least  so.  The  virtues  and  vices  of  the  Stuarts  were 
kingly — those  of  the  Hanoverians  were  essentially  bourgeois.  The 
Stuarts'  idea  of  government  was  the  King  and  his  echo,  the  Council 
of  State,  and  his  more  distant  echo,  a  Parliament  filled  with  royal 
nominees.  Yet  the  very  delight  of  one  half  the  English  people  at 
being  rid  of  the  Kings  by  Right  Divine,  became  a  danger.  It  pro- 
duced the  singular  paradox  of  a  turbulent  people  submitting  quietly, 
sometimes  eagerly,  to  measures  passed  by  the  new  regime,  against 
which  it  would  have  risen  in  rebellion  under  the  old.  The  Riot 
Act  is  an  instance.  By  that  Act — almost  the  first  of  George  1 — any 
twelve  persons  assembling  together  in  public,  and  for  the  space 
of  one  hour  refusing  to  disperse,  could  be  fired  on.  It  may  almost 
be  said  that  we  resigned  our  liberties  in  our  eagerness  to  preserve 
them — as  the  crew  of  a  storm-tossed  vessel  fling  overboard  the  cargo 
which  was  the  object  of  their  voyage.  Riot  Acts,  Test  Acts,  Penal 
Laws,  and  a  Criminal  Code  of  ever-increasing  severity  disgraced  the 
final  establishment  of  "  constitutional "  government,  until  the 
student  of  history  asks  in  despair  whether  human  progress  is  any- 
thing but  movement  in  a  circle. 

The  English  people  have  done  and  suffered  much  to  be  free, 
but  they  have  not  even  yet  built  upon  the  only  sure  foundation — 
the  Rights  of  Man.  They  love  little  issues,  and  shrink  from  general 
principles.  They  have  been  content  to  claim  the  rights  of  English- 
men, and  this  is  perhaps  one  reason  why  they  have  not  felt  their 
consciences  prick  them  for  denying  the  rights  of  Irishmen.  This 
claim  of  the  Englishman  has  allowed  us  throughout  our  history  to 
serve  two  masters — Liberty  and  Oppression — at  the  same  time. 
The  open  sore  of  Ireland  was  so  far  from  being  healed  by  the 
success  of  our  own  struggles  for  freedom,  that  the  triumph  of  the 
rebellious  Englishmen  here  was  always  the  still  more  utter  ruin  of 
rebellious  Irishmen  there.  The  wrongs  of  the  English  in  1641 
were  to  the  wrongs  of  the  Irish  at  the  same  moment  as  whips  to 
scorpions.     But  the  Englishmen  who  were  most  forward  to  adven- 


STATE  OF  PARTIES  IN  REIGN  OF  GEORGE  III    5 

ture  life  and  fortune  for  their  own  political  and  religious  rights  were 
the  very  men  who  could  not  be  brought  to  admit  that  an  Irishman 
had  any  rights  at  all — scarcely  even  the  right  to  exist,  certainly  not 
the  right  to  complain  of  being  killed.  It  was  a  glaring  inconsistency, 
and  it  has  brought  its  own  Nemesis — a  Nemesis  not  even  yet  fully 
recognised  by  us  as  the  inevitable  consequence  when  a  free  people 
plays  the  oppressor.  In  the  very  nature  of  things,  such  a  people 
slowly  but  surely  undermines  its  own  most  cherished  principles,  slowly 
but  surely  coarsens  its  conscience  and  confuses  its  judgment.  And 
this  enfeebling  of  principle  and  confusion  of  judgment  act  as  a 
drag  on  progress,  which  becomes  unaccountably  slow,  until  nations 
which  started  later  on  the  road  to  political  enfranchisement  pass  us 
in  the  race. 

In  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  situation  was 
acute.  The  two  parties  stood  each  for  a  dynasty, — the  most 
immediate  and  appealing  issue  which  can  divide  a  State,  because  all 
men  can  see  it,  and  believe  that  they  understand  it,  and  because  the 
rewards  or  punishments  of  successful  or  unsuccessful  action  in  the 
matter  are  so  swift  and  tangible.  And  these  parties  were  so  evenly 
divided, — or  appeared  so, — and  there  was  so  much  uncertainty  as  to 
any  man's  real  convictions,  that  every  man  distrusted  his  neigh- 
bour; and  leading  politicians  who  in  their  hearts  preferred  the 
House  of  Brunswick  yet  thought  it  prudent  to  provide  for  the  other 
event  by  keeping  up  a  correspondence  with  the  King  over-the-water.1 
Such  a  correspondence  could,  if  detected,  be  represented  as  a  mere 
ruse  de  guerre^  and  no  one  could  be  quite  certain  which  was  really 
the  betrayed  party — the  King  or  the  Pretender.  We  have  Septennial 
Parliaments,  because  the  risk  of  more  frequent  General  Elections  was 
too  great.  Nor  could  Septennial  Parliaments  be  trusted  to  stand 
firm  without  bribes  to  stiffen  their  loyalty.  Bribery,  which  till  then 
had  been  an  occasional  incident,  became  an  organised  system,  the 
regular  payment  of  a  salary.  "  Satis  bibisti  ac  bribisti"  said  someone 
as  he  looked  on  a  portrait  of  the  great  Sir  Robert.  But  it  was  not 
only  Walpole, — poor  old  Newcastle,  himself  the  most  disinterested 
of  men,  who  was  more  than  forty  years  in  office,  and  left  it  poorer 
than  he  went  in,  superintended  one  of  the  vastest  systems  of  bribery 
which  ever  turned  representative  government  into  a  farce.     Above 

1  When  the  King's  health  was  drunk,  it  was  not  always  certain  which  King's 
it  was — 

11  Long  live  the  King,  and  down  with  the  Pretender  ! 
God  save  the  King,  and  bless  the  Faith's  Defender  ! 
But  who  Pretender  is,  and  who  the  King, 
God  bless  us  all !  is  quite  another  thing ! " 


6  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  monument  of  Abraham  Cowley,  in  Poets'  Corner,  there  is  a 
tablet  to  the  memory  of  "John  Roberts,  Esq.,  the  very  faithful 
Secretary  of  the  Right  Honourable  Henry  Pelham,  Minister  of 
State  to  George  n."  When  Pelham  was  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury, 
and  his  brother  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  was  Secretary  of  State,  John 
Roberts  used  to  stand  in  the  Court  of  Requests,  on  the  day  of 
prorogation,  with  the  "  Minister's  pocket-book  "  in  his  pocket,  and 
as  the  members  whose  names  were  written  there  passed  through, 
Roberts  took  each  kindly  by  the  hand,  wished  him  good-bye,  and 
left  him  with  a  final  squeeze  which  closed  his  not  reluctant  fingers 
over  bills  representing  a  substantial  income.1 

Nor  did  the  falsity  of  the  situation  end  with  bribes.  Many  an 
honest  man,  who  would  have  scorned  a  bribe,  desisted  from 
opposition,  fearing  to  further  the  cause  of  the  King  at  St.  Germain ; 
while  the  dishonest  opposed  just  enough  to  make  themselves  worth 
inscribing  in  the  pocket-book. 

Then  came  the  Forty-Five.  It  very  nearly  succeeded.  In  all 
probability,  if  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  had  been  as  incompetent  as 
General  Wade,  and  if  Charles  Edward  had  not  turned  back  at 
Manchester,  James  in  would  have  been  crowned  in  Westminster 
Abbey. 

The  Stuart  star  set  for  ever  at  Culloden ;  but  this,  instead  of 
placing  civil  liberty  on  a  firmer  footing,  only  gave  her  enemies  a 
vantage-ground  from  which  to  attack  her  with  more  effect.  The 
great  Tory  families,  out  of  office  since  the  death  of  Queen  Anne,  now 
returned  to  the  arena,  and  in  transferring  their  allegiance  to  the 
House  of  Hanover  set  themselves  to  make  that  House  as  absolute 
as  they  formerly  hoped  to  make  the  Stuarts.  Their  principles 
were  unchanged — the  Fortune  of  War,  the  malice  of  Fate,  had  com- 
pelled them  to  accept  the  King  de  facto ;  they  appeased  their 
consciences  by  demanding  for  him  the  prerogatives  of  the  Kings 
dejure.  Nothing  could  be  hoped  from  the  old  King,  but  there  was 
a  young  Prince,  his  grandson,  with  a  mind  like  wax  to  receive  an 
impression,  and  marble  to  retain  it.  The  accident  of  a  wet  day  at 
Egham  Races  introduced  into  the  circle  of  Frederick,  Prince  of 
Wales,  a  young,  poor,  and  obscure  Scottish  nobleman,  a  scion  of 
the  old  Royal  House.2     Never  did  the  jade  Fortune  play  a  more 

xIt  was  often  from  five  to  eight  hundred  pounds.  When  Pelham  died 
George  n  sent  for  Roberts  and  his  book,  and  burned  the  book  then  and  there  to 
prevent  accidents. 

2  Bute  formed  the  idea  of  the  Double  Cabinet  about  1753.  He  got  it  from 
Baty,  who  told  him  official  men  ought  never  to  be  trusted  with  information  of 
any  measure  until  it  was  given  them  to  execute. — Almon. 


STATE  OF  PARTIES  IN  REIGN  OF  GEORGE  III    7 

malicious  trick  than  in  that  introduction.  Never  did  a  lost  cause 
so  subtilely  avenge  itself.  The  principles  which  Bolingbroke  had 
tried  in  vain  to  plant  in  English  politics,  never  struck  root  till 
Charles  Edward,  demoralised  by  Culloden,  and  abandoned  by 
Louis  xv,  was  drinking  himself  out  of  the  semblance  of  a  gentleman, 
frequenting  a  common  ale-house,  beating  his  unfortunate  mistress 
after  the  manner  of  a  costermonger,  and  when  she  fled  from  him  to 
a  convent,  asking  Louis  (who  had  ignominiously  expelled  him  from 
his  dominions)  to  kidnap  and  send  her  back.  The  fatality  which 
ever  attended  the  House  of  Stuart  was  manifested,  even  in  this 
short-lived  post-mortem  triumph  of  its  principles,  with  the  disastrous 
catastrophe  which  followed. 

The  situation  was  further  complicated  by  personal  enmities  and 
personal  friendships, — by  the  warm  attachment  between  Pitt  and  the 
Grenvilles,  and  by  the  hatred  of  Temple  for  the  Bedfords.  But  the 
Pelhamites  and  the  Pittites,  furiously  as  they  opposed  each  other, 
differed  but  little  in  principle.  Pitt  was  once  of  Pelham's  party. 
George  Grenville  was  Treasurer  of  the  Navy  in  Newcastle's 
Administration.  So  acute  a  politician  as  Edmund  Burke,  while 
telling  us  that  observers  perceived  that  two  of  the  three  factions 
would  certainly  be  compelled  to  unite  to  overturn  the  third,  says 
that  no  one  could  foresee  which  two  would  coalesce,  or  which  way 
the  balance  of  power  would  finally  incline. 

Pitt,  recalled  to  office  at  the  darkest  moment  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  had  retrieved  the  glory  of  England  and  turned  defeat 
into  victory.  Never  had  Minister  been  so  popular,  and  his 
popularity  was  heightened  into  adoration  by  his  refusal  of  a  title. 
The  name  once  given  to  William  Pulteney  was  fondly  revived  for 
William  Pitt,  and  the  people  delighted  to  call  him  "the  Great 
Commoner."  Amidst  every  temptation  and  every  discouragement, 
he  held  fast  by  the  principles  of  representative  government;  and 
when  the  leaders  of  the  State  were  beginning  to  swerve  from  these 
principles,  even  where  Englishmen  were  concerned,  Pitt  dared  to 
maintain  that  we  must  extend  them  to  Americans. 

Edmund  Burke  has  left  us  an  account  of  English  parties  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Seven  Years'  War.  "The  gross  of  the  people," 
he  says,  "  seemed  to  have  no  further  views  than  a  redress  of  their 
grievances,  by  whatever  means  that  could  be  brought  about."  The 
"  ruling  men  of  the  nation  "  were  divided  into  three  factions.  The 
first  comprised  the  men  of  the  old  Ministry — Pelham's  and 
Newcastle's  Administrations.  It  had  the  greatest  "Parliamentary 
interest."  (This  means  that  it  could  spend  most  largely  on  elec- 
tions, and  control  the  greatest  number  of  seats.)     It  had  also  the 


8  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

moneyed   interest.     But   it  was    unpopular,  and  its  abilities  were 
thought  of  but  poorly. 

The  second,  the  party  of  Lord  Bute,  was  still  more  unpopular, 
and  made  no  effort  to  become  less  so.  It  had  much  less  Parlia- 
mentary interest,  but  the  Court  influence  of  "a  powerful 
connection  "  enabled  it  to  hold  its  own  with  the  Pelham  faction ; 
and  its  abilities  were  not  considered  insufficient.  The  "generality" 
suspected  it  of  dangerous  designs,  but  no  one  would  say  plainly 
what  the  designs  were.  The  youthful  Heir  to  the  Crown  was 
completely  under  the  tutelage  of  this  party,  and  was  especially 
influenced  by  the  chief  object  of  abhorrence,  John  Stuart,  Earl  of 
Bute. 

The  third  party — that  of  Pitt — had  little  Parliamentary  and  less 
Court  influence,  but  it  had  a  great  leader  and  "a  prodigious 
popularity."  The  nation  believed  implicitly  in  that  leader's  integrity 
— which  was  confessed  even  by  his  enemies — and  he  and  his 
followers  laid  themselves  out  to  influence  public  opinion. 

The  first  two  factions,  while  differing  greatly  as  to  what  should 
be  the  balance  of  power  within  the  Constitution,  differed  very  little 
as  to  foreign  policy.  Both  considered  France  as  our  most 
dangerous  enemy,  and  the  efforts  of  both  were  directed  towards 
maintaining  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe,  that  the  preponderance 
of  France  might  be  restrained  within  due  bounds.  The  policy  of 
Louis  xiv  and  Louis  xv  had  given  much  justification  for  such  fears. 
These  factions  were  both  for  "seeking  our  particular  safety  and 
liberty  in  the  general  safety  and  liberty  of  Europe."  They  were, 
therefore,  in  favour  of  a  "  close  connection "  with  the  Continental 
Powers,  to  be  kept  up  by  "continual  negotiations  and  large  sub- 
sidies, and  even  by  aiding  them  with  our  own  troops  if  the  occasion 
should  require  such  assistance."  They  agreed  that  our  navy  ought 
not  to  be  neglected,  but  were  more  disposed  to  rely  on  an  army, 
ready  to  be  used  in  any  European  complication.  Both  parties  were 
"far  from  being  friends  to  arbitrary  power,  or  in  any  sort  averse 
to  Parliaments."  "They  loved  the  Constitution,"  but  were  for 
"  preserving  the  authority  of  Government  in  its  utmost  lawful  force." 
To  make  government  easy,  both  were  for  ruling  men  "by  their 
interests,  if  they  could  not  by  their  virtues";  and  both  always 
sought  to  obtain  a  majority  in  Parliament  by  a  judicious  distribution 
of  places  and  employments. 

The  third  party  took  a  very  different  view.  They  also  feared 
the  boundless  ambition  of  France,  but  were  for  trusting  rather  to 
our  navy  than  our  army.  They  said  that  our  insular  position 
pointed  out  our  true  policy  as  one  differing  greatly  from  that  of 


STATE  OF  PARTIES  IN  REIGN  OF  GEORGE  III    9 

other  nations.  "Our  natural  strength,"  said  Pitt,  "is  a  maritime 
strength,  as  trade  is  our  natural  employment :  these  must  always  go 
hand  in  hand,  and  they  mutually  support  one  another.  By  entering 
that  inextricable  labyrinth  of  Continental  politics,  making  ourselves 
parties  in  every  dispute,  exhausting  our  wealth  in  buying  the  useless 
and  precarious  friendship  of  every  petty  prince,  we  shall  be  so  far 
from  reducing  France,  that  we  shall  be  attacking  her  on  her  strong 
side,  and  shall  be  destroying  ourselves  by  our  ill-judged  efforts  to 
destroy  her.  While  we  preserve  our  superiority  at  sea,  we  need  not 
fear  what  France  can  do.  The  fear  of  invasion  from  a  Power  weak 
in  its  marine,  is  the  idlest  of  all  fears."  A  well-trained  militia, 
11  supplying  by  their  zeal  the  defects  of  their  discipline"  will  be  a  sufficient 
protection ;  a  standing  army,  "  in  whatever  shape,  is  dangerous  to 
freedom."  Nor  need  a  good  Government  bribe  its  people.  "A 
Government  pleasing  to  the  people,  as  every  good  Government  must 
be,  can  never  be  generally  opposed." 

The  first  ten  years  of  George  in  were  one  long  struggle  between 
a  king  with  high,  narrow  notions  of  prerogative,  inherited  from  a 
petty  German  Court,  and  one  Minister  after  another  with  a  more  or 
less  clear  notion  of  constitutional  government.  And  the  King  won. 
He  won,  not  because  he  was  the  King,  but  because  his  purpose  was 
more  single,  his  will  more  inflexible,  and  his  courage  more  steadfast 
than  those  of  any  Englishman  of  his  time,  except  Chatham.  Within 
his  narrow  limits,  George  111  possessed  strong  sense.  Unfortunately, 
he  started  from  the  false  premises  of  Divine  Right  and  non-resist- 
ance— but  from  these  premises  he  drew  perfectly  logical  conclusions. 
And  he  never  wavered.  Once  or  twice  the  irresistible  force  of 
circumstances  broke  him  ;  but  he  never  bent.  He  never  concealed 
his  abhorrence  of  the  concessions  he  was"  compelled  to  make,  and 
he  never  forgave  those  who  compelled  him  to  make  them.  He 
never  changed  his  mind,  even  after  the  event.  He  might  intrigue 
against  his  Ministers,  but  that  was  only  because  the  Constitution  left 
him  no  other  means  of  circumventing  them.  When  it  came  to  a 
duel  of  wills  a  outrance,  Chatham  himself  could  not  shake  him ; 
and  Chatham  himself  was  out-manceuvered  by  him.1     Few  men  in 

1  "  George  in  was  not  a  weak  man.  His  objects  were  little,  and  injudici- 
ously chosen ;  but  no  Monarch  ever  displayed  more  dexterity  in  his  choice  of 
the  means  to  obtain  those  objects." — Nicholls,  Recollections  and  Reflections 
during  the  Reign  of  George  m,  i.  382.  Nicholls  observes  that  it  was  by  no 
means  a  reign  of  favouritism,  as  had  been  expected.  He  does  not  think  the 
King  was  attached  to  any  of  his  Ministers,  except  as  they  furthered  his  wishes. 
When  he  found  that  Bute  "  wanted  the  courage  necessary  for  his  purpose,  he 
seems  to  have  withdrawn  all  his  favour  from  him,  and  nevermore  to  have  wished 
to  replace  him  in  office." 


io  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

a  position  of  authority  have  had  so  many  virtues  and  so  few  faults ; 
and  yet  few  men  have  been  more  mischievous  in  their  day  and 
generation.  The  second  ten  years  of  his  reign  are  the  years  of  his 
triumph,  when  he  had  a  Minister  after  his  own  heart.  They  are 
the  most  disastrous  years  of  our  history.  But  for  him,  Chatham 
would  have  composed  the  difference  with  America.  But  for  him, 
the  Younger  Pitt  would  have  begun  to  heal  the  old  sore  of  Ireland, 
which  festers  to  this  day. 

Ever  since  1688  England  had  taken  what  we  must  call  the 
Liberal  side  in  political  issues — the  side  opposed  to  arbitrary  power, 
the  side  which  rests  the  authority  of  Governments  on  the  consent  of 
the  governed,  rather  than  on  the  divine  right  of  kings.  With  the 
accession  of  George  in  the  opposite  set  of  principles  began  to 
prevail,  and  the  first  serious  consequence  was  the  loss  of  America.1 

1  "At  your  accession  to  the  throne,  the  whole  system  of  government  was 
altered,  not  from  wisdom  or  deliberation,  but  because  it  had  been  adopted  by 
your  predecessor." — Junius,  Letter  to  the  King,  Dec.  19,  1769. 


CHAPTER  II 
"GENTLE  SHEPHERD,  TELL  ME  WHERE  .  .  ." 

"  Why  are  these  things  to  be  palliated  and  plaistered  and  whitewashed  ? 
For  God's  sake  let  us  speak  of  things  as  they  are.  A  debt  is  a  debt,  and  if  the 
Minister  would  but  look  it  in  the  face  like  a  man,  it  would  be  the  way  to  make 
the  lightest  of  the  evil  that  can  be.  You  cannot  lessen,  but  may  increase  the 
evil  by  delay  .  .  .  but  all  the  procrastination  in  the  world  won't  make  a  debt 
anything  but  a  debt.  .  .  .  See  what  miserable  shifts  people  are  driven  to  when 
they  try  to  make  less  of  a  thing  than  it  really  is." — "  The  State  of  the  Nation," 
Gentleman's  Magazine,  March,  1765. 

The  British  people  liked  the  Seven  Years'  War  well  enough,  till 
they  had  to  pay  for  it.  It  is  unfair  to  lay  wars  to  the  exclusive 
account  of  Kings  and  Governments — if  a  war  were  really  unpopular, 
the  most  despotic  King,  the  strongest  Government,  could  not  carry 
it  on  for  long.  Most  wars  quicken  certain  trades  for  the  time ;  and 
as  the  trades  which  profit  by  war  are  usually  tolerably  rich  to  begin 
with,  there  is  always  a  somewhat  influential  commercial  opinion 
ready  to  support  any  war  which  seems  to  have  a  prospect  of  success. 
It  is  only  later  that  the  wasteful  and  wasting  nature  of  war-expendi- 
ture comes  home  to  the  bulk  of  the  people,  and  by  that  time  there 
is  generally  no  turning  back. 

With  the  accession  of  George  in  the  Earl  of  Bute  stepped  into 
power.1  He  was  perhaps  the  most  unpopular  Minister  who  ever 
held  seals  of  office  in  England.  He  was  not  a  man  of  either  great 
parts  or  resolute  will.  Like  all  weak  men,  he  was  afraid  of  seeming 
to  be  influenced  ;  it  was  said  of  him  that  he  would  spoil  what  good 
there  was  in  a  measure,  by  way  of  making  it  his  own.  He  had  some 
literary  taste,  which  was  no  doubt  one  of  the  qualities  which  recom- 
mended him  to  the  Princess  of  Wales.  His  fine  person  and  his 
political  views  did  the  rest.  His  aim  was  to  make  the  King 
independent  of  Parliament,  to  be  at  peace  with  France,  and  to  stand 
aloof  from  Germany  j  and  on  all  these  points  Pitt  furiously  opposed 

1  M  The  first  wish  of  George  III  was  to  break  the  party  of  Pelham,  and  restore 
peace — a  good  wish,  but  injudicious  instruments  chosen.  Bute  not  qualified  to 
be  a  Minister.     After  his  removal  came  the  Double  Cabinet."— NiCHOLLS. 

11 


12  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

him.  How  much  of  the  people's  hatred  was  for  the  Scotsman,  how 
much  for  the  lover  of  the  King's  mother,  how  much  for  the  author 
of  the  Peace,  is  difficult  to  decide.  As  for  the  Peace,  it  was  enough 
that  Bute  made  it,  and  Mr.  Pitt  was  against  it.  Pitt  thought  we 
were  getting  too  little  for  our  money  and  our  blood.  There  was  a 
loud  outcry  that  we  had  not  our  fair  share  of  the  spoils,  that  we  were 
not  exhausted,  and  could  go  on  for  two  years  more.  Bute  said  after- 
wards that  he  knew  peace  was  necessary  to  the  country,  and  came 
in  determined  to  make  it.  Make  it  he  did,  in  spite  of  Pitt's 
opposition,  and  denunciations  of  the  bribery  and  intimidation,  and 
dishonourable  desertion  of  Frederick,  by  which  it  was  obtained. 
Ministers  were  accused  of  having  given  France  a  hint  to  lie  low, 
and  they  would  raise  a  clamour  for  peace.  Especially  did  the 
restitution  of  the  French  West  India  Islands,  and  the  concessions 
in  the  Newfoundland  fisheries,  incense  the  party  who  were  for 
going  on. 

Peace  was  signed  in  Paris  on  the  ioth  of  February,  1763,  between 
England,  France,  Spain  and  Portugal.  Frederick  was  left  to  settle 
matters  for  himself  with  Maria  Theresa.  The  death  of  his  enemy, 
Elizabeth  of  Russia,  saved  him;  his  ally  left  him  in  the  lurch. 
Those  who  had  been  shouting  that  we  could  go  on  for  another 
two  years  may  have  been  secretly  glad  they  were  not  taken  at  their 
word  when  the  bills  came  in,  and  they  saw  the  shifts  Ministers  were 
put  to  to  find  money.1  In  the  seven  years  of  the  war  the  National 
Debt  had  gone  up  from  about  ^7  7,000,000  sterling  to  ^140,000,000. 
How  was  the  money  to  be  raised  ?  The  British  people  of  that  day 
had  a  particular  dislike  to  new  taxes ;  Ministers  were  at  their  wits' 
end  to  find  a  popular  object  of  taxation.  ^£2, 000,000  were  to 
come  out  of  the  Sinking  Fund — luckless  Sinking  Fund,  always  the 
first  resort  of  a  Minister  in  difficulties  !  ^1,800,000  was  to  be 
raised  by  striking  Exchequer  Bills,  and  ^2,800,000  to  be  borrowed 
on  annuities.  The  interest  on  all  this  was  to  come  out  of  a  duty 
of  £8  per  tun  on  French  wines,  and  £4  on  other  wines ;  and  there 
was  to  be  a  tax  of  4s.  a  hogshead  on  cider. 

The  Cider  Bill  called  forth  such  a  storm  as  had  not  been  seen 
even  when  the  Hanoverians  were  sent  for.  The  cider  counties  said 
they  would  be  ruined ;  but  the  objection  most  loudly  put  forward 

1  "  No  nation  ever  terminated  a  war  against  a  powerful  antagonist  with  more 
reputation  than  Great  Britain  terminated  the  last  against  the  united  Houses  of 
Bourbon ;  but  her  expenses  were  beyond  example.  .  .  .  We  were  obliged  to 
supply  our  armies  by  husbandmen  and  manufacturers,  while  the  plough  and  the 
loom  stood  still.  France,  indeed,  was  bankrupt,  but  .  .  .  she  mortgaged  no 
such  taxes  as  Great  Britain  imposed  in  perpetuity  for  payment  of  interest." — 
"The  Present  State  of  the  Nation,"  Gentlemarts  Magazine  >  1769,  p.  529. 


"GENTLE  SHEPHERD,  TELL  ME  WHERE..."  13 

was  that  the  new  tax  was  an  extension  of  that  hated  thing,  Excise. 
The  tax  means  that  the  exciseman  may  enter  the  house  and 
pry  into  the  cellar  of  any  man  who  makes  a  gallon  of  cider — and 
it  is  ^50  fine  for  resisting  him  !  Mr.  Pitt  made  one  of  his  burning 
speeches  about  an  Englishman's  house  being  his  castle.  "  Where 
are  we  to  lay  another  tax  ?  "  said  Mr.  Secretary  Grenville.  "  Why 
does  he  not  tell  us  where  we  can  lay  another  tax?  Let  him 
tell  me  where — only  tell  me  where  ! "  Mr.  Pitt  did  not  tell  him 
where — he  only  hummed  "in  a  musical  tone"  a  line  from  the 
popular  song — 

"  Gentle  Shepherd,  tell  me  where  .  .  ." 

The  House  roared,  and  Mr.  Grenville  was  the  Gentle  Shepherd 
ever  after.  But  in  spite  of  petitions,  protests,  and  riots,  the  Cider 
Bill  passed,  and  a  very  few  days  later  Bute  astonished  everybody, 
and  disgusted  his  friends,  by  resigning. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  his  courage  failed  him.  He  had 
had  a  bad  fright  on  November  9,  1761;  he  was  mobbed  as  he 
attended  the  King  to  the  Guildhall  Banquet,  while  Pitt  received  a 
great  ovation.  The  Cider  Bill  Riots  had  been  ugly ;  Pitt's  speeches 
were  not  pleasant,  though,  as  they  were  made  in  the  Commons,  Bute 
was  not  obliged  to  listen  to  them.  Then  there  was  Wilkes,  the  member 
for  Aylesbury,  a  dreadful  person  who  had  been  writing  violent 
articles  in  his  scurrilous  paper  The  North  Briton.  By  the  advice 
of  his  mentor,  Bubb  Dodington,  Bute  had  set  up  a  paper  of  his 
own,  and  called  it  The  Briton^  and  Mr.  Glover  (of  "  Leonidas  ")  and 
other  writers  wrote  for  it,  supporting  Ministers  and  vilifying  Mr. 
Pitt.  So  last  June,  Wilkes  had  started  The  North  Briton^  a  paper 
devoted  to  reviling  Scotsmen  in  general  and  the  Earl  of  Bute  in 
particular.  Wilkes  always  called  him  "  the  Thane,"  when  he  did 
not  call  him  anything  worse,  and  he  had  made  Bute  fifty  times 
more  unpopular  than  he  was  already.  Bute's  friends  said  he  was 
weary  of  the  cares  of  office,  and  wanted  to  retire  to  the  country  and 
his  books.  Bute  himself  said  that  he  resigned  because  he  found 
himself  "  single  in  his  Cabinet,"  x  with  his  colleagues  speaking  against 
him  in  Parliament.  "  The  ground  I  tread  upon  is  so  hollow,"  he 
wrote  to  Dodington,  "  that  I  am  afraid  not  only  of  falling  myself, 
but  of  involving  my  royal  master  in  my  ruin."  It  was  a  strange 
expression,  and  proves  that  Bute  was  well  aware  he  was  engaging  his 
master  in  a  dangerously  unpopular  policy.2 

1  He  had  turned  out  all  the  Whigs  who  were  at  first  included  in  his  Cabinet. 
Hence  his  "  singleness." 

2  Bute  was  compared  by  Wilkes  to  Roger  Mortimer,  the  lover  of  a  queen,  who, 


14  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Bute  advised  the  King  to  send  for  Mr.  Grenville.  George 
Grenville  was  a  brother  of  Earl  Temple,  and  a  brother-in-law  of 
Pitt,  whom  George  had  forsaken  to  take  office  under  Bute.  Bute 
reckoned  that  George  would  be  his  docile  puppet,  and  continue  his 
policy.  But  Bute  never  made  a  greater  mistake.  Grenville  was 
not  the  man  to  be  anybody's  puppet — not  even  Pitt's.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  ability,  with  a  head  for  finance ;  a.  staunch  constitution- 
alist, an  even  pedantic  stickler  for  the  supremacy  of  Parliament. 
He  quickly  showed  "  the  Favourite  "  that  he  would  not  be  his  tool, 
and  Bute  began  to  intrigue  to  get  him  out. 

Bute  resigned  on  the  8th  April ;  on  the  19th  the  King  prorogued 
Parliament,  and  on  the  23rd  appeared  No.  45  of  The  North  Briton, 
accusing  his  Majesty  of  telling  a  falsehood  in  the  Speech  from  the 
Throne.  The  new  Secretaries,  Lords  Egremont  and  Halifax,  at  once 
issued  a  "  General  Warrant " 1  for  arresting  the  authors,  printers  and 
publishers  of  "No.  45."  On  the  night  of  the  29th,  the  King's 
Messengers  entered  Wilkes's  house  in  Great  George  Street,  and 
seized  his  papers ;  and  next  day  he  was  committed  to  the  Tower. 
So  began  the  seven  years'  civic  war,  which  convulsed  the  country, 
occupied  the  chief  attention  of  one  entire  Parliament,  and  ended  in 
the  victory  of  Wilkes  and  the  publicity  of  debate. 

From  the  first  the  King  could  not  get  on  with  George  Grenville. 
He  was  as  obstinate  as  his  Majesty,  to  whom  he  talked  as  though 
he  were  making  a  speech  in  the  House  —  for  hours  at  a  time. 
Then  he  was  so  "  disobliging."  His  dread  of  having  to  lay  a  new 
tax  made  him  so  parsimonious  that  he  would  not  buy  the  piece  of 
open  field  west  of  Buckingham  House,  whereby  it  was  presently 
built  on,  and  the  King  and  Queen  were  overlooked  "from  a 
hundred  houses  "  as  they  walked  in  the  gardens.  Mr.  Greenville — 
as  the  King  always  wrote  his  name  —  fairly  wore  him  out,  and 
was,  besides,  always  complaining  that  he  had  not  his  Majesty's 
confidence,  and  hinting  at  a  secret  influence  behind  the  throne, 
in  Mr.  Pitt's  own  style.     He  never  by  any  chance  did  as  the  King 

"  from  personal  motives  of  power  and  ambition,  hastily  concluded  an  ignominious 
peace."  No.  44  of  The  North  Briton,  issued  April  2,  only  six  days  before  Bute 
resigned,  had  a  furious  article  on  the  Minister,  who  had,  "if  possible,  made  the 
name  of  Stuart  more  odious  and  contemptible  than  it  was  before."  It  threatened 
him  with  Strafford's  fate. 

1  "  A  General  Warrant  was  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  a  person  or  persons  not 
named — it  could  therefore  be  used  to  arrest  persons  on  suspicion,  and  was  more 
suited  to  the  lawlessness  of  martial  law  than  to  the  cautious  procedure  of  civil 
government.  Burke  calls  the  process  '  a  loose  office  form,  which  had  been  con- 
stantly practised  from  the  Revolution,  and  never  in  any  instance  censured  during 
that  period.'  " — Annual  Register,  1764. 


"GENTLE  SHEPHERD,  TELL  ME  WHERE..."  15 

wished — Mr.  Pitt  did  not  either,  but  Mr.  Pitt  was  always  reverential, 
even  when  most  disobliging ;  whereas  Grenville  was  barely  civil  to 
his  Sovereign.  So  when  Egremont  died  in  August,  the  King 
made  a  desperate  effort  to  be  rid  of  Mr.  Grenville,  who  made  him 
so  miserable  that  he  was  almost  willing  to  take  back  Mr.  Pitt. 
Bute  was  sent  to  sound  the  great  man,  who  consented  to  wait 
upon  his  Majesty — but  not  privately,  as  Bute  proposed.  So,  on  a 
certain  Saturday,  Pitt  had  himself  carried  through  the  Mall  at 
noonday,  in  his  sedan-chair,  which  everybody  about  town  recognised 
(it  was  made  in  a  peculiar  manner  to  accommodate  Pitt's  gouty 
leg).  He  was  three  hours  with  the  King,  and  all  was  arranged. 
Pitt's  terms  were  what  they  always  had  been — his  Majesty  must 
recall  the  Whigs.  His  Majesty  consented — anything  to  be  rid  of 
"  Mr.  Greenville."  Bute  was  with  the  King  till  late  that  night,  and 
again  early  in  the  morning — about  which  time  Mr.  Pitt  went  down 
to  Claremont,  to  tell  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  arrange  the  new 
Cabinet.  But  from  Buckingham  House  Bute  went  to  Kew,  where 
he  saw  Mr.  Jenkinson  (afterwards  Lord  Liverpool)  and  Mr.  Elliott. 
Jenkinson  had  been  his  private  secretary,  and  was  now  Secretary 
to  the  Treasury,  and  Elliott  was  Treasurer  of  the  King's  Chambers. 
Both  were  friends  of  Grenville,  and  had  places  to  lose  if  Pitt  came 
in.  So  they  talked  to  Bute  about  what  he  was  doing  in  saddling 
himself  with  Pitt,  till  Bute  went  back  to  the  King  in  a  fright ;  and 
at  eight  that  evening  Grenville  was  sent  for.  The  King  told  him 
he  had  thought  of  "making  a  change,"  and  had  seen  Mr.  Pitt. 
"But  his  terms  are  too  hard — I  can't  think  of  complying.  You 
must  go  on."  And  the  first  thing  on  Monday  morning,  Alderman 
Beckford  went  to  Pitt  to  express  Lord  Bute's  regret  that  the 
negotiation  had  failed,  "the  terms  being  too  high."  He  brought 
a  new  set  of  terms  which  were  much  too  high  for  Mr.  Pitt.  Pitt 
went  to  the  King — who  was  particularly  gracious,  as  was  his  way 
when  getting  rid  of  anybody — and  told  him  "  affairs  could  not  go 
on "  without  the  great  families  who  had  supported  the  Revolution 
Government — thus  gently  reminding  his  Majesty  who  had  put  him 
where  he  was.  But  the  King  only  replied  that  his  honour  was 
concerned,  "and  I  must  support  it."     So  Grenville  went  on. 

Wilkes  was  the  popular  idol.  On  the  23rd  December,  when 
No.  45  was  to  be  burnt  by  the  common  hangman,  the  mob  spat  in 
the  City  Marshal's  face,  threw  stones  at  the  High  Sheriff,  rescued 
the  remains  of  No.  45  from  the  fire,  and  marched  with  it  in 
triumph,  yelling,  "  Wilkes  and  Liberty ! "  to  Temple  Bar,  where 
they  burnt  a  jack-boot  in  a  bonfire.1  At  Drury  Lane  the  King  was 
1  Horace  Walpole's  letter  to  Lord  Hertford. 


1 6  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

received  in  silence ;  and  when  All  i?i  the  Wrong  was  given  out  as 
the  play  for  the  next  night,  the  gallery  cried,  "  Let  us  be  all  in  the 
right  —  Wilkes  and  Liberty  ! "  In  the  debate  on  Privilege,  Pitt, 
ill  of  the  gout  and  wrapped  in  flannels,  spoke  for  two  hours  for 
privilege  of  Parliament,  even  in  the  case  of  libel.  But  the  House 
voted  that  a  libel  is  not  privileged,  and  on  January  20,  1764, 
it  expelled  Wilkes.  Then  came  on  the  first  of  the  debates  on 
General  Warrants,  when  Opposition  made  so  formidable  an  attack 
that  the  Government  escaped  defeat  only  by  adjourning  the  ques- 
tion to  that  day  four  months.1  Presently  afterwards  Generals 
Conway  and  A'Court  were  deprived  of  their  commands  for  speak- 
ing and  voting  with  Opposition  against  the  Warrants.  To  make 
matters  worse,  the  drought  of  1762  had  caused  the  slaughter  of  so 
many  cattle,  and  the  floods  which  followed  had  drowned  so  many 
sheep  and  lambs,  that  meat  was  dear.2  Wheat  was  52s.  the 
quarter,  all  provisions  were  high,  and,  the  croakers  said,  likely  to 
be  higher.  In  proportion  as  Ministers  grew  in  favour  with  the 
King,  they  fell  with  the  people.  It  was  rumoured  that  they  were 
reconciled  writh  Bute,  and  that  Bute  saw  the  King  continually. 
This  was  the  situation  when  Grenville  saw  himself  compelled  to 
present  his  Budget.  The  bill  for  the  war  was  still  unpaid.  The 
millions  already  provided  were  not  nearly  enough.  Where  was  the 
rest  to  come  from  ?  His  Majesty's  loyal  subjects  in  England  were 
hardly  in  a  humour  for  new  taxes.  The  country  gentlemen  were 
indignant  that  the  land-tax  was  still  kept  at  the  war-level  of  4s.  in 
the  pound.  The  malt-tax  could  not  safely  be  increased.  What 
was  to  be  done  ?     "  Tell  me  where — only  tell  me  where  ! " 

Then  Grenville  bethought  him  of  his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects  in 
North  America.  Part  of  the  debt  for  the  war  had  been  incurred  in 
defending  them — the  part  not  spent  on  the  subsidies  to  Frederick, 
the  Landgrave,  and  the  other  German  princes.  Let  the  Colonies 
help  us ! 

It  was  on  the  10th  of  March,  1764,  that  Grenville  brought 
forward  the  "  Resolutions  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means," 
which  were  to  lose  this  country  the  dominion  over  half  a  continent, 
and  to  fulfil  the  sinister  omen  that  attended  the  King's  coronation.3 
There  were  twenty-two  of  these  Resolutions.  They  began  with  a 
duty  of  £2,  9s.  9d.  per  cwt.  on  all  foreign  coffees  imported  into 
the  North  American  colonies  from  any  place  except  Great  Britain ; 

1  ' '  Barre,  with  a  French  bullet  still  in  his  face,  told  the  House  that  by  voting 
for  Wilkes  he  had  lost  rank  and  employment." — Trevelyan. 

2  See  a  letter  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  November,  1 764. 

3  The  largest  jewel  fell  from  the  crown. 


"GENTLE  SHEPHERD,  TELL  ME  WHERE..."  17 

and  ended  with  the  ,£2,000,000  to  be  taken  out  of  the  Sinking 
Fund.  Clause  13  explained  that  the  produce  of  all  these  duties 
was  to  be  "  from  time  to  time  disposed  of  by  Parliament,  towards 
defraying  the  necessary  expenses  of  defending,  protecting  and 
securing  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  in  America."  And 
Clause  14 — said  by  Burke  to  have  been  added  and  passed  "at  the 
close  of  the  night,  and  at  the  rising  of  the  House  " — ran  thus  : — 

"That  towards  further  defraying  the  said  expenses,  it  may  be 
proper  to  charge  certain  Stamp  Duties  in  the  said  colonies 
and  plantations." 

There  is  a  very  curious  passage  in  Nicholls'  Recollections,  which 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  commented  on — perhaps  because 
revenue  so  very  soon  became  a  secondary  consideration  in  the 
quarrel.  The  fact  he  mentions,  if  correct,  makes  the  Stamp  Act 
merely  the  first  step  in  that  "  plot  against  their  liberties  "  in  which 
the  Americans  so  firmly  believed.1 

1  "  From  the  obstinacy  with  which  the  King  persevered  in  it,  from  the  eager- 
ness with  which  it  was  proclaimed  that  it  was  personally  the  King's  object ;  that 
those  who  supported  it  were  his  friends,  while  those  who  opposed  it  were  to  be 
ranked  as  disloyal,  and  his  enemies ;  from  this  language  being  held  long  after 
the  death  of  Mr.  Grenville,  when  his  influence  must  have  ceased,  men  are 
induced  to  suspect  that  it  was  the  King's  measure  rather  than  that  of  Mr. 
Grenville  "  {Recollections,  p.  386).  Nicholls  goes  on  to  say  that  another  circum- 
stance "leads  men  to  doubt"  whether  the  measure  originally  proceeded  from 
Mr.  Grenville.  From  the  beginning  of  Grenville's  administration,  it  was  mani- 
festly his  object  to  increase  the  revenue ;  but  if  his  only  idea  was  to  make 
America  contribute,  "he  had  no  occasion  to  bring  forward  the  Stamp  Act. 
He  had  the  money  already  collected.  ...  It  had  been  deemed  advisable  to 
encourage  the  growth  of  various  articles  of  American  produce,  by  allowing  a 
bounty  on  their  importation  into  Great  Britain.  I  have  been  told  that  when 
the  Stamp  Act  was  brought  forward  by  Mr.  Grenville,  the  bounties  thus  payable 
on  American  produce  amounted  to  five  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year. 
Mr.  Grenville  only  proposed  to  raise  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year  by 
the  Stamp  Act.  If  revenue  alone  was  his  object,  it  is  scarcely  credible  that  he 
could  have  overlooked  this  sum,  which  was  already  in  the  coffers  of  the  public  ; 
and  resorted  to  a  mode  of  taxation,  which  from  its  novelty  was  necessarily 
uncertain.  But  revenue  was  not  the  object  of  those  who  recommended  the 
Stamp  Act.  Power  and  patronage  influenced  their  wishes  "  (388-9).  Grenville, 
however,  to  the  last  always  spoke  of  the  Stamp  Act  as  his  own  work. 


VOL.  I. — 2 


CHAPTER   III 

AN  EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  VIEW  OF  COLONIAL 

POLICY 

"The  bent  and  genius  of  the  age  is  best  known  in  a  free  country  by  the 
pamphlets  and  papers  which  daily  come  out,  as  containing  the  sense  of  parties, 
and  sometimes  the  voice  of  the  nation." — Lord  Somers. 

Early  in   1764  a  pamphlet  was  published  which  sets  forth  very 
ably  the  principles  of  our  Colonial  policy.1 

The  author  starts  by  saying  that  Commerce  now  rules  the  world. 
Commercial  considerations  are  becoming  "  the  predominant  principle 
that  will  form  the  general  policy,  and  rule  the  powers  of  Europe." 
At  the  beginning  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  the  "lead"  in  commerce 
"  seemed  to  vibrate  between  us  and  the  French,"  but  is  now  in  our 
hands.  The  thing  is  to  keep  it.  Our  kingdom  will  then  no  more 
be  considered  as  "  the  mere  kingdom  of  this  island,  with  its  appen- 
dages of  provinces,  colonies,  and  settlements,  but  as  a  great 
maritime  dominion,  consisting  of  our  possessions  in  the  Atlantic 
and  in  America,  united  into  one  interest,  of  which  Great  Britain 
will  be  the  commercial  center." 

How  is  this  to  be  brought  about  ?  "  It  is  a  general  maxim  that 
the  trade  of  colonies  should  be  confined  to  the  mother-country ;  but 
a  total  infraction  of  this  principle  is  at  present  absolutely  necessary, 
not  only  to  the  trade  of  our  colonies,  but  their  existence."  The 
fact  is,  "  they  are  not  naturally  united  with  the  interest,  and  sub- 
/mitted  to  the  dominion  of  the  mother-country."  They  may  even 
be  "at  war  when  we  are  at  peace,  the  Spanish  war  is  a  proof";  or 
they  may  be  "  in  full  possession  of  the  commerce  of  peace  when  the 
mother-countries  may  be  at  war,  every  war  is  a  proof."  Their 
interest  requires  a  trade  independent  of  the  Mother  Country,  and 
this  independent  trade  will  become  the  natural,  and  that  with  the 
i/Mother  Country  only  the  artificial,  branch  of  their  commerce.  The 
only  way  to  obviate  this  is  to  hit  on  some  scheme  for  giving  our 

1  The  Administration  of  the  Colonies.      This   pamphlet  is  abridged  in  the 

Gentleman' 's  Magazine  for  March,  1764. 

18 


VIEW  OF  COLONIAL  POLICY  19 

Colonies  a  natural  interest  in  us.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  is 
to  establish  a  Department  for  the  General  Regulation  of  Trade. 
Within  its  own  sphere,  it  must  be  "  sovereign  and  supreme,"  and 
the  King  in  Council  should  act  on  its  information  in  all  matters 
affecting  the  Colonies.  In  fact,  the  author  calls  for  a  Colonial 
Secretary,  with  a  Board  under  him. 

Our  object  is  to  be:  "First,  that  all  the  profits  of  their 
produce  and  manufactures  center  in  the  mother-country.  Secondly, 
that  they  continue  the  sole  customers  of  the  mother-country. 
Care  should  also  be  taken  to  keep  them  unconnected  and  in- 
dependent of  each  other ;  because,  by  a  union,  they  might  possibly 
shake  off  their  dependance  upon  the  mother-country,  and  set  up  for 
themselves."  "Fortunately,  for  us,  they  are  settled  in  different 
manners,"  have  different  forms  of  government,  and  different" 
principles  both  of  religion  and  policy.  We  have  only  to  secure 
them  in  these  rights  and  privileges  in  order  to  preserve  their 
disunion. 

We  are  to  strive  to  keep  them  as  our  "  appropriated  customers  " ; 
they  must  not  export  but  to  a  British  market,  and  they  must  not 
import  but  from  a  British  market ;  but  this  should  not  continue  to 
mean  that  they  may  only  trade  with  Britain.  There  should  be 
British  markets  established  in  other  countries,  and  the  colonists 
should  be  permitted  to  export  to  a  foreign  country,  provided  they 
sell  to  a  British  House — of  course  paying  the  same  duties  as  if 
trading  direct  with  England.  He  then  instances  the  various 
"factories"  (at  Petersburg,  Riga,  Hamburg,  Lisbon,  Cadiz,  etc.), 
but  seems  not  quite  sure  whether  they  really  do  ensure  that  profits 
centre  in  Britain. 

He  is  clearer  as  to  the  advantages  of  supplying  the  colonists 
with  East  India  goods — "  in  a  way  that  would  totally  prevent  the 
contraband  trade."  The  East  India  Company  would  thus  become 
"  the  collector  of  all  the  surplus  silver  in  America,  and  perhaps  also 
some  of  the  gold  and  ivory  of  Africa." 

He  is  aware  that  unwise  duties — like  that  on  molasses — may 
defeat  their  own  object,  and  destroy  a  valuable  trade.  That  duty 
was  laid  to  please  the  West  India  Islands — there  was  "a  struggle 
between  the  West  India  and  North  American  traders,  who  should 
have  the  profit  of  it."  We  have  sacrificed  the  American  interest  to 
the  West  India ;  but  the  Government  must  know  that  this  was  false 
policy — the  law  has  been  evaded,  and  a  good  thing  too.  Then 
there  is  the  law  about  white  pines.  No  pine  of  24  inches 
diameter  at  20  inches  from  the  ground,  and  not  private  property, 
may  be  cut  down.     This  law,  passed  to  preserve  white  pines  for 


20  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

masts,  operates  to  their  total  destruction — for  the  colonists  evade  the 
law  by  felling  them  before  they  are  fit  for  masts ;  and  now  we  have  to 
go  a  great  distance  for  our  masts,  and  in  a  short  time  shall  have  none 
at  all  within  practicable  reach.  If  we  go  on  as  we  are,it  will  soon 
take  seventy  or  eighty  yoke  of  oxen  to  drag  the  trees  from  the  remote 
parts  where  alone  they  are  now  suffered  to  reach  the  required  size. 

Nothing  has  prevented  the  Americans  from  going  into  manu- 
factures, but  the  dearness  of  labour.  Put  up  the  price  of  imports, 
and  you  make  it  worth  their  while  to  manufacture. 

The  mingled  sense  and  folly  of  this  reasoning  must  strike  every- 
one. The  author  sees  that  the  total  dependence  of  the  Colonies  on 
the  Mother  Country  is  unnatural  and  pernicious.  He  proposes  to 
make  it  less  pernicious  by  another  unnatural  arrangement — the 
costly  and  roundabout  device  of  intermediate  markets,  with  all 
their  inconveniences  and  increased  risks  of  transport.  He  calmly 
ignores  the  "interest"  of  the  foreign  nations  on  whose  territory  he 
proposes  to  establish  markets  which  are  to  be  exclusively  for  our 
benefit — nay,  are  intended  to  benefit  us  at  their  expense,  by  com- 
pelling them  to  accept  us  as  middlemen  instead  of  trading  with 
their  customers  directly.  It  never  seems  to  occur  to  him  that  the 
commercial  principles  which  are  in  future  to  rule  the  world  may 
operate  to  prevent  foreign  Powers  from  acquiescing  in  this  snug 
little  arrangement,  the  intention  of  which  he  so  candidly  explains. 

His  very  sensible  remarks  on  the  effect  of  "  unwise "  duties 
show  that  he  was  a  free-trader  without  knowing  it.  A  little  deeper 
reflection  would  have  shown  him  the  high  probability  that  his 
artificial  markets  would  only  have  produced  analogous  evil  effects  on 
a  vaster  scale.  His  remark  on  the  transfer  of  the  world's  trade,  as  the 
result  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  may  set  us  thinking  in  another 
direction — on  the  futility  of  wars  undertaken  to  divert  the  trend  of 
commerce.  When  commerce  is  setting  in  a  given  direction,  the 
country  which  sees  itself  losing  never  retrieves  itself  by  arms.  The 
efforts  of  France  to  oust  us  from  India  are  an  instance.  In  greedily 
snatching  at  all,  she.  lost  all.  If  she  had  let  us  alone,  nothing  worse 
could  possibly  have  befallen  her  than  that  which  did  befall — and  it 
is  quite  possible  that  instead  of  all  India  being  this  day  a  British 
possession,  France  might  have  shared  it  with  us.  And  if  this  had 
been  for  us  both  rather  as  a  "  sphere  of  influence  "  than  as  a  con- 
quered demesne,  it  might  have  been  no  worse  for  either  of  us,  or 
for  India,  or  the  world. 

In  1764,  English  manufacturers  spoke  with  the  utmost  candour 
of  their  desire  to  prevent  the  development  of  American  commerce. 
On  February  10,  1773,  Isaac  Spooner  of  Birmingham  puts  the  case 


VIEW  OF  COLONIAL  POLICY  21 

to  Lord  Dartmouth,  in  a  letter  prompted  by  fears  lest  "  Mr.  Quincy's 
petition  "  be  granted.1  "  If  they  manufacture  the  steel  and  send  it 
over  to  England  it  will  greatly  injure  the  home  trade.  ...  If  they 
are  permitted  to  make  steel,  and  draw  it  with  Tilt  hammers,  they 
will  soon  manufacture  it,  that  being  the  next  step  .  .  .  manufacturers 
will  soon  increase  with  them,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  England  .  .  . 
nor  need  I  mention  to  you  how  greatly  any  progress  in  the  Iron 
and  Steel  Manufacturies  will  tend  to  promote  the  favourite  scheme 
of  America ;  Independence  on  (sic)  this  Kingdom.  Tilt  hammers 
are  of  very  general  utility  in  almost  every  Branch  of  the  Iron  and 
Steel  manufacturys,  being  a  more  expeditious  and  cheaper  method 
of  preparing  both  .  .  .  and  I  think  should  be  absolutely  prohibited 
in  America,  if  we  have  any  power  to  prevent  their  use  there." 

Mr.  Spooner  does  not  call  England  the  "mother-country," 
probably  his  fear  of  the  Americans  getting  leave  to  use  tilt-hammers 
had  for  the  moment  chilled  his  paternal  sentiments.  It  is  really 
strange  that  we  did  not  perceive  the  irony  of  the  expression.  We 
had  from  the  first  behaved  towards  American  commerce  as  a  thing 
we  must  never  allow  to  flourish.  If  the  colonists  were  our  children, 
our  action  had  been  that  of  a  father  with  grown-up  sons.  He  is  in 
a  large  way  of  business,  but  he  carefully  refrains  from  taking  his 
sons  into  full  partnership,  lest  they  should  interfere  with  his  business, 
and  take  away  his  customers.  He  does  not  wish  them  to  prosper 
much,  and  he  does  all  he  can  to  prevent  it.  If  they  ask  him  to 
allow  them  to  extend  their  own  little  businesses,  he  exclaims  that 
they  intend  to  set  up  for  themselves  and  reduce  him  to  beggary, 
and  when  they  persist  in  their  demands,  he  brings  an  action  against 
them,  and  threatens  to  seize  anything  they  dare  to  sell,  except  to 
himself.  Between  a  father  and  his  sons,  we  should,  even  in  1764, 
have  thought  such  conduct  madness,  and  the  father  fallen  into 
dotage ;  but  for  centuries  it  appeared  to  everybody  the  right  way  to 
treat  Colonies  which  we  were  proclaiming  a  part  of  our  "  Empire," 
therefore  to  some  extent  our  partners  in  business. 

One  of  the  most  curious  features  of  the  contest  with  America  is 
the  fact  that  we  drifted  into  it  with  our  eyes  open.  We  understood 
instantly  that  the  Colonies  were  deeply  offended — so  we  resolved  to 
provoke  them  further.  We  saw  in  their  indignation  a  proof  that 
they  intended  to  cast  off  our  yoke — so  we  at  once  set  about  to 
make  that  yoke  heavier  than  it  ever  was  before.  Not  content  with 
this,  we  talked  about  independence  long  before  a  single  one  of  the 
provinces  ever  dreamed  of  it.  The  stock  argument  of  the  advocates 
of  "firmness,"  was,  that  if  we  yielded  in    the  matter  of  internal 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Report  XIV,  App.  10,  Dartmouth  MSS.,  p.  137. 


22  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

taxation,  the  Colonies  would  set  up  for  themselves — as  though  we 
were  determined  to  show  them  that  they  could  not  have  the 
benefits  of  union  without  surrendering  their  constitutional  rights. 
This  view  was  urged  in  speeches  in  Parliament,  in  the  public  Press, 
and  in  private  letters — in  every  key,  from  the  ferocious  howls  for 
blood  uttered  by  that  reverend  incendiary,  Dr.  James  Scott,  up  to 
the  calm  and  moderate  reasoning  of  Grenville  himself.  It  is 
indeed  strange  to  find  Grenville  writing  to  Lord  Trevor  that,  if  the 
new  Secretary  for  the  Colonies  means  to  "be  reconciled  to  the 
ideas  of  their  dependence  and  obedience,  agreeably  to  the  letter 
and  intention  of  the  British  Acts  of  Parliament,"  then  "  a  firm  and 
temperate  conduct  must  be  steadily  pursued";  but  "if  indepen- 
dence is  to  be  openly  avowed,  appearances  of  resentment  against 
the  Americans  will  only  expose  the  honour  of  the  King  and  king- 
dom to  fresh  insults  and  contempt."  So  that,  unless  we  are 
prepared  to  grant  independence  we  must  be  careful  not  to 
conciliate  the  Americans  ! 

Those  who  were  now  conducting  affairs,  however,  managed  to 
combine  the  evils  of  both  policies  with  the  advantages  of  neither. 
They  were  not  mad  enough  deliberately  to  plan  another  war  before 
they  had  paid  for  the  first.     They  did  not  think  they  would  have  to 
fight  America.     They  were  sure  bullying  would  be  enough.     When 
they  found  they  were  bullying  the  colonists  into  armed  resistance, 
they  thought  a  few  regiments  would  be  enough.     Then  an  army. 
Then  two  armies.     To  the  last,  the  one  contingency  that  never 
presented  itself  to  their  minds  was  that  the  bullying  system  might 
finally  land  them  in  a  situation  beyond  their  control.     They  thought 
their  choice  lay  between  yielding  a  certain  point,  or  obtaining  it  by 
compulsion.     They  never  perceived  that  the  real  alternative  was, 
whether  Great  Britain  should  retain  her  North  American  Provinces 
as  a  part  of  the  Empire,  by  allowing  dependence  to  become  merely 
nominal — an   arrangement   which  would   have   perpetuated  every 
solid  advantage  the  Empire  ever  did  derive  or  ever  could  derive 
from  colonies — or  lose  them  for  ever.     As  we  follow  the  story,  we 
shall  see  Administration  committing  the  opposite  blunders  of  haste 
and  delay,  vacillation   and   tenacity,  feebleness   and  violence.     A 
year  was  taken  to  consider  whether  Government  should  persist  in  a 
measure  which  it  seems  not  to  have  considered  for  five  minutes 
before  proposing.     The  year's  consideration  having  shown  beyond 
a  doubt  that  the  tax  was  producing  ill-will  from  one  end  of  America 
to  the  other,  Government  resolved  to  persist !     Finding  that  it  was 
injuring  British  trade,  it  repealed  the  measure,  and  turned  resent- 
ment into  gratitude — whereupon  it  devised  a  new  measure,  more 


VIEW  OF  COLONIAL  POLICY  23 

obnoxious  than  the  first,  and  on  a  far  larger  scale.  Henceforth 
the  colonists  knew  that  even  if  they  succeeded  in  getting  one 
injurious  tax  withdrawn,  another  of  the  same  nature  would  be 
promptly  substituted. 

There  are  only  two  possible  ways  of  preventing  discontent  from 
developing  into  rebellion:   one   is  to  avoid   legislation  certain  to 
arouse  dangerous  resistance ;  the  other  is  to  resort  at  once  to  force 
— to  call  out  the  troops  and  mow  the  people  down,  till  resistance  is 
crushed.     The  chief  disadvantage  of  the   latter   method   is   that 
though  the  generation  which  receives  so  terrible  a  lesson  is  cowed, 
it  is  not  made  loyal,  and  it  almost  always  happens  that  the  next 
generation  requires  a  still  more  terrible  lesson,  until  a  Government 
has  so  much  to  do  in  shooting  its  own  subjects  that  it  can  hardly 
spare  soldiers  to  fight  its  enemies.     And  the  farther  off  the  country 
which  has  to  be  thus  held  down,  the  greater  the  expense,  inconven- 
ience— and  finally,  danger — of  holding  it.     In  the  case  of  America, 
the  British  Government  took  a  middle  course — it  tried  to  cheat  the 
Colonies   into  submission    by  threats;    but   it  only  succeeded  in 
cheating  the  British  nation  into  believing  that  the  trouble  was  the 
work  of  a  few  disreputable  agitators,  whose  hired  ruffians  would  run 
away  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  shako  of  a  British  grenadier.     The 
stamps  were  never  expected  to  bring  in  more  than  ;£  100,000  a 
year ;  the  tax  on  tea  was  never  estimated  at  more  than  ,£30,000  or 
£40,000  a  year.     If  the  British  Parliament  had  realised  that  to  gain 
these  revenues  would  cost  an  Eight  Years'  War,   £128,000,000, 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  British  lives  ;  that,  after  the  victory,  a  large 
army  must   be   permanently  kept  in  North  America — more  than 
swallowing  up  all  the  revenue  that  could  possibly  be  obtained  there, 
— if  they  had  realised  this,  would  they  still  have  passed  the  Boston 
Port  Bill  ?     And  if  they  had  foreseen  that  when  the  Eight  Years' 
War  and  the  £128,000,000  were  gone,  a  second  British  army  would 
surrender  to  the  united  armies  of  France  and  America,  one  would 
think  there  was  no  man  in  Great  Britain  but  would  have  run  out 
into  the  streets  crying  for  instant  reconciliation  with  the  Colonies. 
But  who  can  say?     A  madman  was  able  to  bring  100,000  men  to 
London   to  protest   against   the   repeal  of  laws  which  denied  to 
Catholics    the    rights   of    citizens;   but    Chatham  himself  could 
not  persuade  the   House  of  Lords  to  make  up  the  quarrel  with 
America. 

For  a  hundred  years  we  had  been  trying  to  repress  Colonial 
progress.  The  Navigation  Act,  the  Trade-Laws,  were  all  intended  to 
prevent  the  Colonies  from  having  a  fair  chance.  To  this  end  we 
made  29  Laws,  which  show  ingenuity  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 


24  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

The  following  is  quoted  from  an  American  writer,  but  the  facts  are 
to  be  found  on  the  pages  of  our  Statute  Books  : — 

"The  barbarous  code  of  commercial  law,  which  disgraced  the 
Statute-book  of  England  for  the  exact  century  which  intervened 
between  the  introduction  and  expulsion  of  her  Colonial  Collectors 
and  other  officers  of  the  Customs,  was  entitled  to  no  respect  what- 
ever. Separation  would  have  followed  as  certainly  in  1676,  when 
the  first  attempt  was  made  to  fix  this  code  on  America,  as  in  1776, 
when  the  experiment  failed  a  second  time,  if  there  had  been  at  the 
one  period  the  same  strength  and  concert  ...  as  existed  at  the 
other.  There  never  was  a  moment,  early  or  late,  when  the  mari- 
time Colonies  would  have  submitted  willingly  to  the  requirements 
of  these  statutes,  or  have  submitted  to  them  at  all  without  the  use 
of  force.  ...  An  American  merchant  had  to  evade  the  law  of  the 
land  to  give  a  sick  neighbour  an  orange  or  cordial  of  European 
origin,  or  else  obtain  them  loaded  with  the  time,  risk,  and  expense 
of  a  voyage  from  the  place  of  growth  or  manufacture  to  England, 
and  thence  to  his  own  warehouse.  If  an  American  ship  were 
wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Ireland,  she  must  not  unload  her  cargo 
there,  but  must  send  her  merchandise  to  England — then,  if  it  was 
intended  for  Ireland,  an  English  ship  would  take  it  back." l 

It  is  no  wonder  that  a  fourth  of  those  who  signed  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  were  merchants !  No  people  could  endure 
such  unnatural  restrictions.  The  colonists  did  not.  An  admirably 
organised  system  of  smuggling  made  commercial  life  possible — 
here,  as  in  all  other  countries,2  evading  all  the  costly  machinery  of 
government.  Writs  of  Assistance  were  intended  to  check  smug- 
gling, by  extending  the  right  of  search.  The  trade  laws  were  not 
even  workable.  The  Molasses  Act  of  1733  was  suspended  for 
thirty  years — to  be  revived  at  the  time  of  the  Stamp  Act.3  It  was 
the  law  of  nature  that  America  should  sooner  or  later  become 
independent.  Nations,  like  individuals,  reach  a  stage  in  their 
growth  when  the  most  benevolent  control  becomes  first  useless, 
then  injurious.  If  a  father  exacted  from  a  grown-up  son  the  un- 
questioning obedience  of  a  child,  the  situation  would  soon  become 

1  Sabine,  The  American  Loyalists. 

2  The  duties  only  made  smuggling  worth  while.  Many  years  later,  Mr.  Holroyd 
told  Arthur  Young  that  all  the  " lively  young  men"  in  Sussex  were  employed  in 
smuggling.  They  could  earn  a  guinea  a  week  as  riders  and  carriers,  with  no 
risk,  and  cannot  therefore  be  expected  to  work  in  the  fields  for  8s. — Hist.  MSS. 
Comtn.  Report  XV,  App.  6. 

8  9d.  a  gallon  on  rum  ;  6d.  on  molasses ;  5s.  a  cwt.  on  sugar  not  imported 
from  the  British  sugar  islands.  Governor  Bernard,  in  1763,  begged  that  lemons 
might  be  free,  as  they  were  necessary  to  health  in  the  climate  of  Massachusetts. 


VIEW  OF  COLONIAL  POLICY  25 

impossible,  though  the  father  might  have  no  separate  interest  to 
serve.  How  much  more  impossible  must  it  be,  when  a  "  Mother 
Country  "  tries  to  prevent  her  Colonies  from  getting  on  too  well,  lest 
they  should  injure  herself!  No  such  attempt  can  ever  succeed.  If 
the  colony  has  not  the  spirit  or  the  power  to  resist,  it  will  dwindle 
and  pine  till  it  ceases  to  profit  the  Mother  Country.  If  it  resists 
and  is  subdued,  all  the  Mother  Country  gains  is  the  wretched 
satisfaction  of  wasting  her  own  dominions,  and  sowing  ill-will  to 
herself  for  generations  yet  unborn. 


CHAPTER    IV 
THE  STAMP  ACT 

"We  hardly  read  a  newspaper  that  does  not  mention  manufacturers  of  one 
kind  or  another  going  from  England,  Scotland,  or  Ireland,  to  settle  in  those 
Colonies ;  which,  if  true,  is  certainly  a  matter  that  should  to  the  last  degree 
prove  alarming  to  these  kingdoms.  .  .  .  Are  we  not  two  ways  contributing  to 
the  undoing  of  ourselves  ?  .  .  .  Must  it  not  then  be  worth  while  to  look  a 
little  way  before  us?" — Letter  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  January,  1765* 

"I  sat  as  a  stranger  in  your  gallery  when  the  Act  was  under  consideration. 
Far  from  anything  inflammatory,  I  never  heard  a  more  languid  debate  in  this 
House.  No  more  than  two  or  three  gentlemen,  as  I  remember,  spoke  against 
the  Act.  ...  In  fact,  the  affair  passed  with  so  very,  very  little  noise,  that  in 
town  they  scarcely  knew  the  nature  of  what  you  were  doing." — Mr.  Burke's 
Speech  on  American  Taxation,  April  19,  I774« 

"Children  planted  by  your  care!  No!  Your  oppression  planted  them  in 
America.  Nourished  by  your  indulgence  !  They  grew  by  your  neglect  of 
them.  .  .  .  Protected  by  your  arms  !  they  have  nobly  taken  up  arms  in  your 
defence." — Speech  of  Colonel  Barrd,  March  6,  1765. 

The  "  Gentle  Shepherd  "  must  have  had  some  misgivings,  for  the 
clause  relating  to  the  duty  on  stamps  was  withdrawn  "for  the 
present,"  to  give  time  for  the  Colonies  to  petition  upon  it.  Grenville 
expected  this  "  petition  "  to  take  the  form  of  an  offer  of  a  lump  sum 
in  compensation ;  and  when  the  Colonial  agents  waited  on  him  to 
thank  him  for  the  promised  delay,  he  told  them  he  was  quite  ready 
to  receive  proposals  for  any  other  tax,  equivalent  to  the  stamp  tax 
in  value;  and  he  hinted  that  if  the  colonists  agreed  to  this  they 
would  establish  a  precedent  for  being  consulted  another  time. 
"  Tell  me  where  !     Only  tell  me  where  ! " 

But  it  was  not  Clause  14  over  which  the  several  political  parties 
wrangled  in  the  public  prints.  The  appropriation  of  the  Sinking 
Fund  had  the  first  place  in  these  discussions,  and  next  to  it  the 
blow  which  Grenville's  Budget  struck  at  the  inter-colonial  trade  of 
North  America. 

The  British,  Spanish,  and  French  colonies  of  North  America  had 
long  done  a  brisk  trade  among  themselves.  So  important  was  this 
trade  that  it  had  been  carried  on,  even  during  the  late  war,  under 


THE  STAMP  ACT  27 

flags  of  truce,  and  by  roundabout  ways,  through  the  Dutch  and 
Danish  islands ;  until  the  British  Government,  discovering  that  the 
French  were  profiting  by  it,  declared  it  treasonable  to  supply  the 
enemy  with  necessaries.  But  the  moment  peace  was  made,  this 
trade  had  been  resumed.  Now,  at  one  blow,  it  was  to  be  destroyed. 
Armed  cutters,  commanded  by  naval  officers,  were  sent  over  "  to 
stop  the  smuggling"  on  the  coasts  of  North  America.  This  de- 
graded officers  to  the  level  of  excisemen — the  usual  custom-house 
oaths  were  administered  to  them.  But  they  were  entirely  unfit  for 
the  work.  These  "  sea-officers  "  knew  nothing  of  legal  niceties,  and 
cared  as  little.  A  great  temptation  was  placed  in  their  way — it  was 
so  easy  to  make  a  mistake,  so  difficult  and  tedious  for  that  mistake 
to  be  set  right.  They  seized  vessels  right  and  left,  Colonial  as  well 
as  Spanish,  and  complaints  could  only  be  settled  by  wading  through 
interminable  piles  of  bonds,  cockets,  clearances,  certificates,  mani- 
fests, registers ;  and  when  all  these  had  established  the  fact  of  an 
error,  there  was  the  further  delay  of  an  appeal  to  the  Lords  of  the 
Admiralty,  3000  miles  and  six  or  eight  weeks'  sail  away. 

Moreover,  as  though  it  was  intended  to  press  as  hardly  as 
possible  on  the  Colonies,  the  duties  must  now  be  paid  in  specie, 
which  must  be  sent  to  England.  Even  the  money  which  was 
to  be  spent  in  paying  the  troops  sent  out  "  to  defend  the 
Colonies  "  must  first  come  to  England,  and  then  go  back  again  to 
America ! 

As  might  have  been  expected,  on  the  first  news  of  Grenville's 
Budget,  the  colonists  took  the  alarm.  They  disowned  the  right  of 
their  agents  to  make  any  promises  in  their  name,  and  they  openly 
questioned  the  right  of  the  British  Parliament  to  tax  them  at  all. 
They  said  that  taxes  were  a  free  gift ;  whatever  taxes  the  Colonies 
paid  must  be  voted  by  their  own  legislatures.  When  they  were 
reminded  that  the  money  was  to  be  spent  in  defending  them,  they 
replied  that  they  would  just  as  lief  defend  themselves.  They  were 
still  sore  at  the  way  in  which  the  provincial  officers  had  been 
slighted,  and  their  advice  over-ruled,  during  the  late  war,  and  they 
had  not  forgotten  poor  Braddock's  disaster.  Nor  were  they  without 
grievances  of  older  date.  The  law  respecting  white  pines  has 
been  mentioned.  There  were  other  laws  of  the  same  sort — some 
twenty-nine  in  all — passed  at  various  times  by  the  jealous  old  Mother 
Country  to  restrain  the  industries  of  the  Colonies — laws  against 
setting  up  looms,  erecting  machinery,  even  against  using  the  water- 
falls provided  by  bounteous  Nature  for  the  use  of  man.  Far  down 
in  the  forests  of  Maine,  great  forest-trees  were  rotting  away,  because 
they   were   marked  with   the   King's   broad-arrow,  and   might   be 


28  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

wanted  one  day  for  his  navy.  Not  one  in  a  hundred  of  these  trees 
was  ever  so  used,  but  it  was  ^"ioo  fine  to  touch  one  of  them. 
Such  things  as  these  were  not  calculated  to  make  the  colonists 
think  that  Old  England  was  an  unmixed  blessing  to  New  England. 
But  in  1765  the  colonists  would  have  been  almost  as  frightened  at 
the  thought  of  throwing  off  the  Mother  Country,  as  a  schoolgirl  of 
those  days  would  have  been  at  the  thought  of  travelling  alone  on 
the  coach  from  London  to  Edinburgh. 

The  very  first  result  of  the  new  Budget  ought  to  have  shown 
England  that  in  trying  to  make  her  Colonies  pay  her  debts  she  was 
only  cutting  her  own  throat.  Hitherto  the  dearness  of  labour,  and 
the  comparative  cheapness  of  imported  goods,  had  prevented  the 
colonists  from  setting  up  manufactures  of  their  own.  Now  that  the 
new  duties  would  put  up  the  price  of  imports,  we  made  it  worth 
their  while  to  manufacture.  They  at  once  resolved  to  do  so,  and 
formed  "  Associations "  pledged  to  buy  of  us  nothing  which  they 
could  possibly  make  for  themselves.  Well  might  thoughtful  men 
recall  the  words  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  spoken  in  1739,  during  the 
war  with  Spain,  when  somebody  had  a  scheme  for  taxing  the 
Colonies :  "I  will  leave  that  for  some  of  my  successors,  who  may 
have  more  courage  than  I  have,  and  be  less  a  friend  to  commerce 
than  I  am." 

There  were  other  considerations  which  might  have  made  even  a 
more  "courageous"  Minister  than  Walpole  shrink  from  inflaming 
New  England.  The  New  Englanders  were  the  descendants  of 
men  who  had  gone  out  into  the  wilderness  to  escape  from 
oppression.  It  was  not  likely  they  would  tamely  submit  to  it  now 
that  they  had  made  the  desert  to  bloom  as  the  rose.  If  they  had 
refused  to  bend  the  knee  to  the  King  of  England,  when  they  were 
within  his  kingdom,  was  it  likely  they  would  fear  him  when  a 
thousand  leagues  of  ocean  flowed  between? 

The  case,  however,  as  it  appeared  to  the  British  Government,  was 
as  clear  as  daylight.  Had  not  Tacitus  said  that  there  is  no  peace 
without  arms,  no  arms  without  pay,  no  pay  without  tribute  ?  Was 
it  not  just  that  the  Colonies  which  had  profited  so  much  by  the  war, 
and  whose  interests  had  been  the  first  objects  of  the  Peace — who, 
moreover,  undoubtedly  could  pay  if  they  chose — should  contribute 
"  about  a  third  part  of  the  expense  necessary  for  their  own  defence  "  ? l 

1  An  indignant  Briton  asks  :  "  Is  the  interest  of  the  Mother  Country  become 
so  minute  a  consideration  in  the  British  Empire  that  that  interest  must  be  post- 
poned to  the  interests  of  the  meanest  branch  of  this  Empire  ?  .  .  .  A  people  of 
such  perverse  hearts  can  deserve  a  very  small  part  of  our  affection." — "  A  Dutiful 
Subject,"  New  Daily  Advertiser,  Feb.  18,  1766. 


THE  STAMP  ACT  29 

About  1  o,ooo  men  were  now  found  necessary  for  this — the  new 
provinces  must  be  defended,  and  a  new  expense  of  between 
,£300,000  and  £400,000  must  be  annually  incurred.  The  Stamp 
Act  was  planned  to  provide  for  this  most  reasonable  outlay.1 

It  made  matters  worse  that  the  colonists,  like  the  people  of 
England,  were  just  then  in  a  bad  humour.  A  great  misfortune 
had  happened  in  1763 — a  terrible  Indian  rising,  alleged  to  be  in- 
stigated by  the  French  trading  agents.  There  had  been  dreadful 
massacres  in  the  back  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia.  Several  British  garrisons  in  Canada  had  also  been  mas- 
sacred. Exasperated  by  this,  a  band  of  persons  unknown,  from 
some  of  the  frontier  townships,  fell  upon  and  murdered  in  cold 
blood  the  harmless  and  friendly  Indians  of  Lancaster  County.  It 
was  a  wicked  and  barbarous  deed  worthy  only  of  savages,  and  Dr. 
Benjamin  Franklin  wrote  a  noble  protest,  in  which  he  tried  to 
shame  these  white  murderers  by  relating  instances  of  the  Red  men's 
magnanimity  and  honour.  "  O  Pennsylvania ! "  he  says,  "  once 
renowned  for  kindness  to  strangers.  .  .  .  Those  whom  you  have 
disarmed  to  satisfy  groundless  suspicions,  will  you  leave  them  ex- 
posed to  the  armed  madmen  of  your  country  ?  Unmanly  men  ! 
who  are  not  ashamed  to  come  with  weapons  against  the  unarmed, 
to  use  the  sword  against  women,  and  the  bayonet  against  young 
children ! " 

Then  he  tells  how  the  Royal  Highlanders,  "  brave  men  and  true 
soldiers,  who  had  often  had  their  ranks  thinned  in  Indian  warfare," 
but  "  did  not  for  this  retain  a  brutal  undistinguishing  resentment 
against  all  Indians,"  had  protected  the  remnant,  and  offered  to 
escort  them  safely  to  New  York. 

No  one  can  read  Franklin's  words  about  this  affair  without 
feeling  that  the  choice  his  countrymen  were  so  soon  to  make  of 
him,  as  their  advocate  with  the  English  people,  reflects  as  much 
honour  on  them  as  on  himself.  Franklin  as  a  man  of  science,  and 
as  the  Philosopher  of  Common- sense,  was  long  since  known  and 
honoured  throughout  Europe.  He  had  already  done  enough  for 
Pennsylvania  to  earn  a  name  in  her  history.  He  had  been  head 
of  the  Provincial  Post  Office  since  1737,  and  since  1753  Joint 
Postmaster-General  for  America.  In  this  office  he  had  brought 
the  revenue  up  from  nothing  to  a  net  yearly  receipt  three  times  as 
large  as  that  from  the  Irish  Post  Office.  In  Philadelphia  he  had 
founded  a  volunteer  fire-company,  a  book-club  (the  beginning  of 
subscription  libraries  in  America),  a  paid  police,  a  hospital,  a 
Philosophical  Society,  an  Academy — afterwards  the  University  of 
1  It  was  expected  that  the  revenue  from  the  stamps  would  be  about  ;£  100,000. 


30  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Philadelphia — and  a  paper  currency.  He  got  the  streets  paved, 
cleaned,  and  lighted — he  designed  a  street-lamp  like  that  still  in 
use;  he  invented  a  hot  stove  for  sitting-rooms,  and  refused  to 
patent  it  because  he  had  benefited  so  much  by  the  inventions  of 
others.  He  also  invented  wall-papers.  He  was  new  neither  to 
great  public  affairs  nor  to  great  emergencies.  In  the  panic  after 
Braddock's  defeat,  Franklin — who  had  organised  Braddock's  trans- 
port and  commissariat  —  was  entrusted  with  the  defence  of  the 
North- West  frontier  against  the  Indians. 

Nothing  could  shake  Grenville's  belief  in  his  scheme.  Franklin 
presented  a  Resolution  of  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  denying 
the  right  of  the  British  Parliament  to  tax  them — in  matters  of  aid 
their  business  was  with  the  King,  and  they  would  think  it  their 
duty  to  grant  aid  to  the  Crown  according  to  their  abilities,  when- 
ever required  of  them  in  the  usual  constitutional  manner.  We 
thus  see  that  from  the  very  first  moment  the  American  Assemblies 
claimed  to  be  on  the  same  footing  as  the  British  Parliament.  It 
was  no  after-thought,  hypocritically  put  forward  on  the  verge  of 
armed  rebellion. 

Franklin  says  that  if  Grenville  had  listened  to  this  he  would 
have  got  more  money  voluntarily  than  he  could  ever  have  got 
from  the  stamps.  Grenville  stooped  to  the  meanness  of  tricking 
Franklin  into  naming  the  stamp  distributors,  by  professing  a  desire 
to  appoint  persons  as  little  offensive  as  possible  —  and  Samuel 
Smith  circulated  it  in  America  that  Dr.  Franklin  had  planned  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  was  trying  to  get  the  Test  Act  extended  to 
America !  Franklin  says  that  the  colonists  paid  in  taxes  full 
half  a  crown  in  the  pound.  They  would  once  have  been  pleased 
with  "a  consolidating  union"  by  means  of  "a  fair  and  equal 
representation  of  all  parts  of  this  empire  in  Parliament — the  only 
firm  basis  on  which  its  political  grandeur  and  prosperity  can  be 
founded."  But  the  time  has  passed.  "Now  they  are  indifferent 
about  it ;  and  if  it  is  much  longer  delayed,  they  will  refuse  it " — 
as  Ireland  did,  though  once  wishing  for  it !  He  adds,  "  Every  man 
in  England  seems  to  consider  himself  as  a  piece  of  a  sovereign  over 
America;  seems  to  jostle  himself  into  the  throne  with  the  King,  and 
talks  of  our  subjects  hi  the  colonies" 

The  year  of  consideration  passed.  The  colonists  did  not 
suggest  any  less  obnoxious  tax,  so  the  Stamp  Act  became  one  of 
the  55  Clauses  of  the  Bill  for  Taxing  the  Colonies,  which  passed 
the  Commons  on  the  6th  of  March,  1765,  and  received  the  Royal 
Assent  on  the  22  nd.  The  Assent  was  given  by  Commission, 
because  the  King  was  ill.     Never  was  a  fateful  measure  passed  with 


THE  STAMP  ACT  31 

less  observation.1  This  time  there  had  been  a  debate,  but  the 
only  speech  of  note  was  that  of  Colonel  Barre,  who  with  Conway 
was  dismissed  the  year  before  for  voting  against  General  Warrants. 
There  was  but  one  division  in  the  Commons ;  in  the  Lords,  there 
was  neither  debate,  division,  nor  protest. 

During  the  interval  between  the  passing  of  the  Bill  and  the 
Royal  Assent,  the  Colonial  agents  for  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island, 
Virginia  and  Carolina,  with  the  agent  for  the  Jamaica  traders,  had 
made  one  last  attempt  to  be  heard,  but  were  refused.  Nor  were 
the  resolutions  of  the  Assemblies  of  Virginia  and  Massachusetts 
Bay  laid  before  Parliament.  It  struck  no  one  as  ominous  that 
provinces  so  different  in  foundation,  history,  character,  climate, 
religion,  and  trade  interests,  as  Rhode  Island  and  Virginia,  should 
be  agreed.  But  what  could  Ministers  do?  The  ^10,000,000 
deficit  must  be  made  good  somehow,  and  the  British  people 
were  in  an  ugly  temper,  while  the  Colonies  were  growing  richer 
every  day.  ' 

The  whole  affair  is  a  typical  example  of  what  a  people  may 
expect  when  its  destinies  are  controlled  by  another  people  three 
thousand  miles  away. 

It  used  to  be  said  afterwards,  that  if  Ministers  had  not  granted 
that  year's  delay,  and  so  given  the  Colonies  time  to  think  about  it 
and  get  up  opposition,  but  had  simply  sprung  the  stamps  upon 
them,  they  would  have  submitted  quietly.  It  is  always  so.  When 
some  violent  measure  has  goaded  a  people  into  insurrection, 
there  are  always  found  persons  to  say  that  the  measure  failed  only 
because  it  was  not  violent  enough. 

The  stamps  were  sent  out,  and  no  ships  that  ever  sailed  carried 
a  more  fatal  cargo  than  those  flimsy  scraps  of  paper. 

1  "  Lord  Mansfield^  as  speaker,  and  the  Earls  Gower  and  Marchmont,  by 
virtue  of  a  Commission  from  his  majesty,  gave  the  royal  assent  to  the  following 
bills  ..."  A  list  of  Bills  follows,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  list,  "for  laying 
a  stamp  duty  in  the  British  colonies  in  America." — Gentlemarfs  Magazine, 
March  22,  1765. 


CHAPTER  V 
"  THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA" 

"  Resolved. — That  his  Majesty's  liege  people  of  this  his  most  antient  and  loyal 
colony  have,  without  interruption,  enjoyed  the  inestimable  right  of  being  governed 
by  such  laws,  respecting  their  internal  policy  and  taxation,  as  are  derived  from 
their  own  consent." — Resolutions  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  in  Virginia,  May  29, 
1765. 

"Resolved,  nem.  con. — That  it  is  the  interest,  birthright,  and  indubitable 
privilege  of  every  British  subject,  to  be  taxed  only  by  his  own  consent,  or  that  of 
his  legal  representatives." — Resolutions  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  in  Philadelphia, 
September  21,  1765. 

• '  The  colonies  are  indebted  to  the  merchants  of  Great  Britain  in  the  sum  of 
several  millions  sterling  .  .  .  but  declare  it  is  not  in  their  power,  at  present,  to 
make  good  their  engagements,  alleging  that  the  taxes  and  restrictions  laid  upon 
them  .  .  .  have  so  far  interrupted  the  usual  and  former  most  fruitful  branches  of 
their  commerce,  thrown  the  several  provinces  into  confusion,  and  brought  so 
great  a  number  of  actual  bankruptcies,  that  the  former  opportunities  and  means 
of  remittances  and  payments  are  utterly  lost  and  taken  from  them  :  and  that  the 
petitioners  are,  by  these  unhappy  events,  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  applying  to 
the  House,  in  order  to  secure  themselves  and  their  families  from  impending  ruin." 
— Petition  of  the  Merchants  of  London,  trading  to  North  America,  January  17, 
1766. 

"  Our  trade  is  in  a  most  deplorable  situation,  not  one-fifth  part  of  the  vessels 
now  employed  in  the  West  India  trade,  as  was  before  the  late  regulations.  Our 
cash  almost  gone  before  the  Stamp  and  Post  Office  Acts  are  to  operate ;  bank- 
ruptcies multiplied,  our  fears  increased,  and  the  friends  of  liberty  under  the 
greatest  despondency  ;  what  these  things  will  end  in,  time  only  can  discover  ! " — 
From  Boston,  June  6,  1765  {London  Chronicle,  July  11-13,  1765). 

Those  who  lamented  that  the  Stamp  Act  was  not  sprung  on 
America  without  warning,  had  this  much  ground  for  their  reproaches, 
that  Grenville's  delay  gave  the  colonists  time  to  realise  what  the  loss 
of  the  Spanish  trade  meant  to  them.  Spain  herself  was  not  sorry 
— these  jealous  old  mother  countries  were  a  good  deal  alike  in  those 
days,  and  thought  that  the  prosperity  of  a  colony  was  so  much  out 
of  their  own  pockets.  They  no  sooner  observed  it  than  they  began 
to  cast  about  how  to  divert  it  to  themselves.  But  this  time  Great 
Britain  had  cut  her  own  throat.  A  letter  from  Kingston,  in  Jamaica, 
written  in  January,  1765,  says  the  place  "is  become  a  desert,  since 


THE  OCCURRENCES   IN  NORTH  AMERICA     33 

we  were  so  wise  to  banish  our  best  friends  the  Spaniards  " — all  the 
trade  has  gone  to  the  French  and  Dutch.  From  Boston,  in  March, 
we  hear  :  "  Funerals  without  mourning,  or  the  giving  of  English 
gloves,  are  become  so  fashionable  that  there  has  been  but  one 
burial  for  many  months  past  in  the  old-fashioned  way." 1  And  the 
writer  adds  that  this  has  saved  the  town  ^10,000  during  that  one 
year.  "  It  is  a  pleasure  to  behold  what  other  savings  are  made  by 
laying  aside  a  multitude  of  superfluous  articles  of  British  manu- 
facture, and  British  produce."  All  this  was  the  result  of  the  laws 
restricting  inter-colonial  trade.  And  now  the  Stamp  Act  was  to  fall 
upon  them,  and  tax  afresh  such  business  as  we  left  them  !  As 
instances  of  the  effect  of  the  Stamp  Act,  a  writer  in  the  Gentle- 
man's Magazine  says  that  a  ream  of  printed  bail  bonds,  hitherto 
sold  for  about  15s.,  would  with  the  stamps  now  amount  to  nearly 
;£ioo.  A  ream  of  printed  policies  of  assurance,  now  costing  about 
^2,  would  with  the  stamps  come  to  ^190. 

When  the  news  came  that  the  Stamp  Act  had  received  the 
Royal  Assent,  the  ships  in  Boston  Harbour  hung  their  flags  at 
half-mast,  the  bells  rang  a  muffled  peal,  the  Act  was  printed  with  a 
death's-head  in  the  place  where  the  stamps  should  be,  and  those 
that  hawked  it  about  the  streets  cried,  "England's  Folly,  and 
America's  Ruin ! "  Presently,  a  new  paper,  the  Constitutional 
Courant,  came  out  with  a  head-piece  of  a  snake  cut  in  pieces,  on 
each  piece  the  initial  letters  of  one  of  the  thirteen  colonies,  and 
above  them,  Join  or  Die.  The  Act  was  publicly  burnt  in  many 
places,  and  with  it  the  effigies  of  those  persons  supposed  to  have 
had  a  hand  in  it ;  while  at  meetings  it  was  voted  that  thanks  should 
be  given  to  General  Conway  and  Colonel  Barre,  for  their  speeches 
in  the  British  Parliament ;  and  the  portraits  of  these  gentlemen  were 
voted  to  be  placed  in  the  "Town  Houses." 

These  things  were  known  in  England,  even  before  the  ships 
with  the  stamps  had  sailed,  and  some  captains  declined  to  risk  them- 
selves and  their  ships. 

They  showed  their  prudence,  for  most  of  those  who  took  the 
stamps  were  obliged  to  give  them  up  to  the  infuriated  mobs,  who 
swarmed  down  to  the  quays,  and  threatened  to  hang  any  captain 
then  and  there  who  did  not  surrender  all  the  stamps  he  had 
aboard.  And,  having  got  them,  the  mobs  burned  them,  as  they  had 
burnt  the  Act  itself. 

By  the  end  of  October,  news  began  to  reach  England  of  the 
way  in  which  the  Stamp  Act  had  been  received.     The  most  alarm- 
ing accounts  came  from  Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  but 
1  "  And  that  a  negro,"  says  the  letter  in  The  Chronicle. 
VOL.  I.— 3 


34  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

in  at  least  nine  of  the  thirteen  North  American  Provinces  a  spirit 
had  already  manifested  itself,  which  filled  with  apprehension  all 
prudent  observers,  both  here  and  in  America.1 

The  Americans  did  not  wait  for  the  stamps  to  arrive ;  as  soon 
as  they  knew  that  the  Bill  had  become  law,  they  began  to  show 
their  teeth.  But  everything  goes  to  prove  the  truth  of  their  subse- 
quent protestations,  that,  so  far  from  entertaining  any  long-standing 
intention  to  cast  off  the  authority  of  Great  Britain,  they  were  dis- 
posed to  put  up  with  a  great  deal  rather  than  do  so.  The  following 
extract  from  a  letter  printed  in  the  London  Chronicle — a  Tory  and 
Ministerial  paper,  be  it  remembered — puts  it  very  clearly  : — 

"We  are  freeholders,  yet  have  we  no  right  to  a  voice  in  the 
choice  of  those  who  claim  the  power  to  make  laws  for  us.  But 
even  to  this  might  we  submit  were  we  not  taught  and  forced  by 
severe  partial  laws,  to  consider  ourselves  distinct  from  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Great  Britain.  .  .  . 

"Heretofore,  we  have  been  used  to  speak  of  England  as  our 
mother  country,  children  have  been  taught  by  their  parents  to 
revere  and  love  its  constitution,  and  to  risk  everything  in 
defence  and  support  of  it;  the  restrictions  from  time  to  time 
imposed  were  submitted  to  .  .  .  but  when  those  impositions  are 
urged  as  arguments  for  laying  on  us  still  greater  ...  we  cannot 
be  silent. 

"That  the  Colonies  have  borne  a  great  deal  before  they 
complained  must  be  allowed.  ...  No  one  colony  can  supply 
another  with  wool,  or  any  woollen  goods  manufactured  in  it.  The 
number  of  hatters  must  be  retained  ...  the  iron  we  dig  from  our 
mountains,  we  have  just  the  liberty  to  make  into  bars,  but  farther 
we  must  not  go ;  we  must  neither  slit  it  nor  plane  it.2  Nor  must 
we  convert  it  to  steel,  though  'tis  a  truth  well  known,  that  we  cannot 
have  steel  from  England  fit  for  use.  Nay,  though  England  admits 
of  steel  being  imported  from  Germany,  she  will  not  suffer  it  to  be 
made  in  her  colonies  ...  in  some  instances  (as  in  the  wines 
imported  from  Lisbon)  we  are  obliged  to  carry  the  goods  to  Eng- 
land, there  unload  them,  and  then  re-ship  them  to  America  j  as  if  it 
were  not  enough  to  levy  a  tax,  without  doing  it  in  the  most 
expensive  manner. 

1  "The  Assembly  of  the  little  state  of  Rhode  Island  resolved  in  September, 
1765,  that  the  'first  adventurers'  of  that  colony  brought  with  them  and  trans- 
mitted to  their  posterity  all  privileges  and  immunities  enjoyed  by  the  people  of 
Great  Britain,  and  were  by  their  Charter  entitled  to  all  privileges  of  natural-born 
subjects.  They  have  been  governed  by  their  own  Assembly  in  the  article  of 
taxes  and  internal  police,  and  subjects  are  not  bound  to  yield  obedience  to  any 
other  law  or  ordinance."— Hist.  MSS.  Report  XIV,  App.  10,  p.  19. 

2  I  find  a  pamphlet,  dated  as  far  back  as  1718,  on  the  "reasons  for  making 
pigg  iron  but  notbarr  iron  in  America." 


THE  OCCURRENCES   IN  NORTH  AMERICA     35 

"The  paper  mills,  nursed  with  care  and  brought  to  so  great 
perfection  in  this  province,  must  now  fall;  at  the  same  time  the 
business  and  trade  of  the  printers  is  ruined.  ...  In  a  short  time 
all  the  hard  money  on  the  continent  will  not  suffice  to  pay  the 
taxes  laid  upon  us." 1 

It  has,  perhaps,  never  been  made  sufficiently  clear  that  Grenville's 
scheme  was  not  merely  an  enlarged  and  more  injurious  form  of 
custom-house  duties,  but  involved  the  new  principle  of  actual 
"  internal  taxation."  It  thus  differed  both  in  degree  and  in  kind 
from  our  former  policy,  and  the  colonists  bring  this  view  very 
prominently  forward  in  their  remonstrances.  For  a  century  and  a 
half  we  had  meddled  with  their  commerce,  but  also  for  a  century 
and  a  half  we  had  allowed  them  to  tax  themselves  by  their  provincial 
legislatures.  And  they  had  not  been  niggard — by  our  own  admis- 
sion they  had  contributed  largely  to  the  cost  of  the  French 
Wars. 

Could  we  but  have  been  content  to  let  well  alone  !  Instead  of 
that,  in  our  haste  to  make  more  out  of  them,  we  had  chosen  the 
same  moment  for  striking  such  a  blow  at  their  commerce  as  we 
had  never  ventured  on  before,  and  for  imposing  a  new  and  onerous 
system  of  taxation.  If  we  do  not  keep  this  fact  well  in  view,  we 
shall  not  understand  the  extraordinary  fierceness  of  their  indignation. 
The  Ministerial  party,  who  of  course  would  not  confess  that  their 
measures  could  have  justly  provoked  such  a  feeling,  represented  it 
as  the  work  of  a  few  agitators,  who  harboured  the  wicked  wish  to 
throw  off  the  British  connection.  But  if  we  reflect  that  in  passing 
the  Bill,  of  which  the  Stamp  Act  formed  a  part,  we  were  behaving 
like  a  landlord  who  should  deprive  his  tenant  of  half  his  customers, 
at  the  same  moment  that  he  doubles  his  rent,  we  shall  need  no 
explanation  of  the  colonists'  fury.  Fury  it  was,  and  New  England, 
Puritan  New  England,  and  Boston,  the  heart  of  New  England,  led 
the  way. 

When  day  dawned  on  the  14th  of  August,  an  effigy  was  dis- 
covered hanging  "ona  limb  of  the  great  trees,  so-called."  It  was 
understood  to  represent  Mr.  Oliver,  Governor  Bernard's  secretary, 
who  had  just  accepted  the  office  of  Stamp  Distributor.2  The  mob 
resisted  all  attempts  to  take  it  down,  and  the  Sheriff  reported  to  the 

1  Letter  from  a  Merchant  in  Philadelphia  to  his  Correspondent  in  London, 
dated  June  19,  1765.  Quoted  in  the  London  Chronicle  for  August  17-20, 
1766. 

2  There  was  also  "  a  jack-boot,  with  a  head  and  horns  peeping  out  of  the 
top."  A  jack-boot  was,  both  in  England  and  America,  the  emblem  of  Lord 
Bute. 


36  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Council  that  afternoon  that  his  men  could  not  remove  it  without 
imminent  risk  of  their  lives.  The  Council  was  divided — some  were 
for  treating  the  affair  as  a  rude  jest — better  to  take  no  notice  and 
let  the  excitement  die  down.  This  was  a  preconcerted  business ; 
but  as  the  greatest  part  of  the  town  was  certainly  engaged  in  it,  and 
there  was  no  force  to  oppose  it,  to  take  notice  of  it  would  inflame 
the  people  still  more.  But  after  dark,  the  mob  took  down  the 
effigy,  and  brought  it  past  the  Town  House,  where  they  knew 
the  Council  was  still  sitting.  As  they  passed  they  gave  three 
cheers,  and  went  on  to  a  new  building,  lately  erected  by  Oliver 
to  let  out  for  shops,  but  reported  to  be  intended  for  the  Stamp 
Office. 

"  This  they  pulled  down  to  the  ground  in  five  minutes,"  says  an 
informant  of  the  British  Government,  who  begs  that  his  name  may 
be  withheld ;  for  "  the  party,  by  their  tools,  give  out  that  if  they 
knew  the  man  that  would  so  far  assist  Great  Britain  as  to  inform 
against  any  man,  in  this  or  any  other  province,  he  should  not  live 
many  hours."  1  The  mob  next  went  to  Oliver's  house,  beheaded 
the  effigy  in  front  of  it,  and  broke  the  windows,  after  which  they 
burnt  the  effigy  on  Fort  Hill,  with  wood  taken  from  the  supposed 
stamp  office.  Oliver  had  sent  away  his  family,  but  himself  remained 
in  his  house,  with  a  few  friends — but  was  persuaded  to  retire,  when 
the  mob  returned,  and  broke  in,  calling  for  him  that  they  might 
kill  him.  Oliver  appears  to  have  been  only  saved  by  one  of  his 
friends  making  the  mob  believe  he  was  already  safe  in  the  Castle. 
The  Governor  and  the  Sheriff,  who  went  out  after  eleven  at  night 
to  "  persuade "  the  mob  to  disperse,  were  received  with  a  shower 
of  stones.  The  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  militia,  to  whom  a  written 
order  was  sent  to  beat  an  alarm,  declined,  saying  that  as  soon  as 
the  drum  was  heard  the  drummer  would  be  knocked  down  and  the 
drum  broken.  So  the  mob  were  left  to  disperse  when  and  how 
they  might  choose.  The  writer  says  he  could  see  the  bonfire  still 
burning  as  he  wrote.  Next  day,  Oliver  promised  to  resign,  several 
gentlemen  having  advised  him  to  do  so,  as  otherwise  his  life  would 
be  in  continual  danger. 

A  later  letter  from  the  same  person  says  that  no  one  could  express 
disapprobation  of  "  this  insurrection  "  without  being  in  immediate 
danger,  A  gentleman  who  had  only  said  he  expected  that  the 
soldiers  would  be  sent  into  Boston  had  to  make  a  public  apology  to 
save  himself  from  being  mobbed.  A  "  Church  of  England  clergy- 
man," who  in  a  sermon  "obliquely  condemned"  the  riot,  was 
threatened.  One  "congregational  minister"  had  prayed  for  the 
1  Letter  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  given  in  Hansard. 


THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA     37 

success  of  the  opposition,  but  the  writer  knows  others  who  disapprove, 
but  dare  not  say  so. 

From  this  time,  until  the  arrival  of  the  ship  with  the  stamps, 
the  mob  seem  to  have  had  pretty  much  their  own  way.  The 
authorities  had  been  obliged  to  look  on  and  see  Oliver's  house 
demolished;  the  chief  people  in  the  town  publicly  justified  the 
outrage,  the  mob  "became  elated,"  and  many  old  scores  were 
paid  off  against  persons  in  office.  When  a  mob  intended  to 
pull  down  a  house,  they  used  to  begin  by  crying  "Liberty  and 
Property!"  On  the  night  of  the  26th  of  August,  there  was 
another  serious  riot,  the  house  of  the  Deputy-Registrar  of  the 
Admiralty  was  destroyed,  and  all  the  Admiralty  records  were 
burned  in  a  bonfire.  The  same  night  they  destroyed  the  house 
of  Mr.  Hallowell,  Comptroller  of  the  Customs.  The  house  was 
new,  and  elegantly  furnished — everything  of  value  was  destroyed 
or  carried  off. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Hutchinson  had  been  warned  that  mischief 
was  intended  him,  but  inasmuch  as  he  had  nothing  to  do  with 
either  the  Stamp  Act  or  the  Customs,  he  felt  secure,  and  was  at 
supper  with  his  family  when  he  received  a  message  that  the  mob 
was  coming.  He  immediately  sent  away  his  children,  intending 
himself  to  remain — but  fortunately  for  him  his  eldest  daughter 
returned,  and  refused  to  go  unless  he  did.  The  mob  broke  in, 
and  searched  for  him,  and  finding  he  had  escaped,  "went  to 
work  with  a  rage  scarce  to  be  exemplified  by  the  most  savage 
people."  They  destroyed  "  in  the  most  minute  manner  "  everything 
movable,  except  such  articles  of  value  as  family  plate,  etc.,  and 
about  ;£iooo  in  specie — these  they  "carried  off."  This  destruction 
of  papers  was  a  national  loss.  Hutchinson  had  been  all  his  life 
gathering  together  a  large  and  valuable  collection  of  manuscripts 
and  documents,  relating  to  the  early  history  of  Massachusetts,  and 
those  who  possessed  such  things  had  given  them  to  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  "as  to  a  public  museum."  It  was  the  only  collection  of 
its  kind,  and  it  seems  astonishing  that  no  one  of  the  "chief  men" 
of  Boston  tried  to  save  these  archives.  As  for  the  house  itself, 
we  are  told  the  mob  was  a  long  while  resolved  to  level  it  to  the 
ground,  and  worked  for  three  hours  at  the  cupola — keeping  on  till 
daylight.  The  house  was  built  from  a  design  of  Inigo  Jones,  or 
his  successor.  The  walls  were  of  very  fine  brickwork — probably 
brought  over  from  Holland,  like  those  of  the  old  Province  House — 
and  adorned  with  "ionic  pilasters  worked  into  the  walls."  It 
resisted  all  the  efforts  of  this  mob  of  Vandals ;  but  in  the  morning 
the  streets  were  found  scattered  with  "  money,  plate,  gold  rings,  etc., 


38  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

dropped  in  carrying  off." J  The  writer,  with  great  moderation,  puts 
the  loss  at  ^3000  sterling.  Even  those  who  had  approved  the 
sacking  of  Mr.  Oliver's  house  were  now  frightened ;  but  "  great 
pains  are  taken  to  separate  the  two  riots."  What  was  done  against 
Oliver  was  called  "  a  necessary  declaration  of  their  resolution  not 
to  submit  to  the  Stamp  Act."  It  was  even  hinted  that  "  if  a  line 
was  not  drawn  between  the  first  riot  and  the  last,  the  civil  power 
would  not  be  supported  by  the  principal  people  of  the  town."  But 
even  for  the  last  riot,  though  several  persons  were  arrested,  no 
sufficient  evidence  was  forthcoming,  and  no  one  was  committed. 

Such  was  the  situation  on  September  n,  when  the  ship  with 
the  stamps  arrived.  By  the  advice  of  his  Council,  Governor  Bernard 
hurried  the  bales  into  the  Castle.  A  great  crowd  had  instantly 
assembled,  and  Mr.  Meserve,  who  came  over  as  distributor,  was 
surrounded,  and  warned  as  he  valued  his  life  not  to  attempt  to 
distribute  them,  and  not  to  go  into  New  Hampshire  unless  he 
first  resigned  his  office.  Oliver,  who  was  advanced  in  years,  was 
dragged  to  the  Liberty  Tree,  and  made  to  swear  not  to  distribute. 
Not  long  since  "  he  had  been  a  favourite."  On  a  report  that  the 
Governor  was  about  to  unpack  the  stamps,  the  mob  became  so 
threatening  that  Bernard  thought  it  prudent  to  declare  that  he  had 
no  order  and  no  authority  to  unpack  the  parcels,  nor  to  allow  anyone 
else  to  do  so,  and  had  only  taken  them  to  the  Castle  for  safety — 
since,  if  they  were  destroyed,  the  province  would  be  responsible  for 
their  full  value. 

The  Commissioners  and  Distributors  of  Stamps  in  the  other 
provinces  were  so  terrified  that  they  took  the  hint  given  to  Mr. 
Meserve,  and  to  a  man  resigned  their  appointments.  Governors  of 
provinces  hastened  to  prorogue  the  legislative  assemblies,  afraid  of 
what  resolutions  they  might  pass.  That  of  Virginia  had  resolved 
that  only  the  General  Assembly  of  their  State,  with  the  King  or  his 
substitute,  could  lay  taxes  and  impositions  on  the  province,  and 
that  every  attempt  to  vest  this  power  in  any  other  body  is  illegal, 
unconstitutional,  and  has  a  manifest  tendency  to  destroy  English  as 
well  as  American  liberty.  And  they  were  right.  For  liberty  cannot 
be  taken  away  from  one  people  by  another  people  without  undermin- 
ing the  foundation  of  all  liberty,  which  is  the  consent  of  the  governed. 

There  were  riots  in  many  other  places — in  New  York  the  mob 
took  Lieutenant-Governor  Colden's  coach  out  of  his  stable,  and 
carried  it  and  his  effigy  about  the  city,  finally  burning  the  effigy, 
together  with   one   of   the  devil.     The    house   of    Major  Jones, 

1  Next  morning,  as  Hutchinson's  robes  had  been  burnt,  he  sat  in  court  in  the 
undress  he  had  on  when  the  mob  came,  "  with  a  borrowed  greatcoat  over  it." 


THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA     39 

"  reported  a  friend  to  the  Stamp  Act,"  was  stripped,  and  everything 
burnt  in  a  bonfire.  At  Philadelphia,  as  soon  as  the  ships  with  the 
stamps  appeared  round  Gloucester  Point,  all  the  vessels  in  harbour 
hoisted  their  flags  half-mast  high,  the  bells  were  muffled,  and  tolled 
till  evening.  Somebody  spiked  the  guns  of  the  battery,  to  make 
all  safe ;  and  thousands  of  citizens  met  at  the  State-House,  and 
sent  a  deputation  to  Mr.  Hughes,  Stamp-master  for  Pennsylvania, 
demanding  his  resignation.  Hughes,  who  was  ill  in  bed,  promised 
that  no  act  of  his  should  assist  in  carrying  out  the  law,  until  it  was 
accepted  by  the  other  colonies,  but  refused  to  resign.  When  the 
delegates  returned  with  this  reply,  they  could  only  prevent  the 
assembly  from  instantly  marching  on  Hughes'  house  by  representing 
Hughes  as  dying. 

On  the  7th  October,  1765,  the  delegates  from  Massachusetts 
Bay,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  the 
Delaware  counties,  Maryland,  and  South  Carolina,  met  in  Congress 
at  New  York,  and  drew  up  resolutions  and  petitions  to  the  King,  to 
the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  to  the  honourable  the 
knights,  citizens,  and  burgesses  of  Great  Britain,  in  Parliament 
assembled.1 

All  these  addresses  were  couched  in  respectful  terms,  but  the 
gist  of  all  was  the  same — they  claimed  the  full  privileges  of 
Englishmen,  and,  above  all,  the  right  not  to  be  taxed  save  with  their 
own  consent. 

On  September  25,  Governor  Bernard  convened  the  General 
Assembly  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  made  a  speech,  in  which  he 
said  that  the  Parliament  of  Westminster  considered  it  had  an 
indisputable  right  to  makejaws  for  the  American  colonies.  The 
late  outrages  were  nof  the  way  to  get  the  Stamp  Act  repealed — 
better  submit  for  the  present,  and  try  to  persuade  Parliament  that 
the  Act  was  inexpedient  "  at  this  time."  Then  he  set  before  them 
the  consequences  of  refusal  to  use  the  stamps.  All  unstamped 
papers  would  be  null  and  void,  with  a  ^10  fine  for  each  act  of 
each  person  who  signed,  wrote,  or  engrossed  such  papers.  Public 
business  would  be  completely  stopped,  and  public  offices  must  be 
shut  up,  for  no  officer  would  incur  such  penalties  as  these — so  far 
exceeding  any  possible  gain.  No  man  could  sue  another  for  a  debt, 
or  an  injury.  No  ship  could  be  unladen — for  no  clearances  could 
be  given  for  the  cargo.  So  the  ports  must  be  shut.  And  what  will 
become  of  the  tradesmen,  the  fishermen,  the  seamen,  who  will  be 

1  When  the  Commissioners  from  Boston  waited  on  Lieutenant-Governor 
Colden,  he  told  them  that  "such  a  Congress  was  unconstitutional,  unprecedented, 
and  unlawful,  and  he  should  give  them  no  countenance." 


40  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

thrown  out  of  work  when  navigation  has  ceased?  And  do  you 
think  no  rivals  will  spring  up,  and  that  you  will  be  able  to  resume 
your  maritime  trade  when  you  please?  "Can  the  people  of  this 
province  subsist  without  navigation,  for  any  long  time  ?  This 
province  appears  to  me  to  be  upon  the  brink  of  a  precipice  ! " x 

The  Assembly  replied  that  the  Act  did  not  compel  them  to  use 
the  stamps,  but  only  to  pay  certain  monies  if  they  did  use  them  ; 
and  that  his  Excellency's  love  and  concern  for  them  led  him  to  fear 
more  for  them  than  they  did  for  themselves.  After  all,  papers  on 
matters  relating  to  the  Crown  were  exempt  from  stamp.  The  spirit 
which  his  Excellency  had  told  them  "attacks  reputations  and  pulls 
down  houses  "  would  yet  be  curbed  by  the  law.  But  they  declined 
his  Excellency's  invitation  to  vote  compensation  to  the  persons 
injured,  not  being  yet  convinced  that  this  would  not  encourage  future 
outrages — and  they  gave  a  broad  hint  that  some  of  those  persons 
did  not  deserve  compensation.  And  they  reminded  him  how,  at  the 
ratification  of  Magna  Charta,  in  the  37th  year  of  Henry  111,  sentence 
of  excommunication  was  pronounced  against  all  who  should  make 
statutes,  or  observe  them,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  Great 
Charter.  Bernard,  who  had  no  adequate  force  behind  him,  was 
obliged  to  hear  it  all.  A  Government  which  means  to  enforce  its 
laws  and  impose  its  taxes  on  a  people  at  the  other  side  of  the  world 
must  keep  a  large  standing  army  out  there,  ready  for  an  emergency. 
There  was  no  such  army  in  America. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whose  hand — whether  Bute's,  or 
Grenville's,  or  the  King's— guided  our  American  policy  at  this  crisis  ; 
who  was  responsible  for  the  manner  in  which  even  Governors  of 
provinces  and  Judges  were  pressed  into  the  service  of  the  new  Act, 
and  made  stamp-distributors.  But  perhaps  this  was  only  due  to  the 
extreme  unpopularity  of  the  stamps,  which,  by  making  all  ordinary 
officers  afraid  to  touch  them,  rendered  it  necessary  to  fall  back  upon 
the  higher  officials.  That  the  colonists  were  determined  could  be  seen 
from  the  first  moment.  They  allowed  no  possible  doubt  of  that ;  they 
instantly  fastened  upon  anyone,  no  matter  what  his  office,  who  in 
any  degree  allowed  himself  to  appear  as  a  "stamp-master,"  and  by 
remonstrance,  or,  if  that  failed,  by  threats  and  riotous  assemblages, 
they  compelled  him  to  resign  his  post,  if  he  had  already  accepted  it, 

1  Long  before  there  were  any  disorders,  Governor  Bernard  had  been  advising 
the  repeal  of  the  Charter.  "It  seems  to  me,"  he  had  said,  "that  the  affairs  of 
America  are  becoming  very  critical ;  that  common  expedients  would  soon  begin 
to  fail,  and  that  a  general   reformation   of  the   American   Governments  would 

become  not  only  a  desirable  but  a  necessary  measure. — Governor  Bernard  to , 

Esq.,  July  1 1,  1 764. 


THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA    41 

or  to  make  oath  that  he  would  never  accept  it  if  he  were  not  yet 
appointed.  From  Governor  Bernard  downward,  none  dared  persist  in 
the  attempt  to  distribute  the  stamps,  and  so  many  were  destroyed, 
that  by  November  1  (the  day  appointed  for  the  Act  to  become  law) 
not  a  sheet  of  stamped  paper  was  to  be  had  in  any  of  the  six  New 
England  provinces,  or  in  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
Virginia,  Maryland,  or  the  two  Carolinas — except  that  small  parcel 
which  Governor  Colden  had  entrusted  for  safety  to  the  Corporation 
of  New  York.  Most  of  the  would-be  distributors  had  fled.  Not  a 
stamp  was  used  for  any  purpose,  except  that  of  news-printing ;  and 
printers  in  Canada,  where  the  Act  was  received,  who  used  stamped 
paper,  could  find  no  sale  for  their  news. 

Amidst  these  commotions  came  the  news  of  the  fall  of  the 
Grenville  Ministry.  The  bells  were  rung,  and  the  effigies  of  the 
ex-Ministers  were  hanged  on  the  Boston  trees,  and  afterwards 
burnt  in  the  bonfires. 


CHAPTER   VI 
THE  FALL  OF  THE  GRENVILLE  CABINET 

"  His  Majesty,  offended  in  the  highest  degree  with  the  insolence  offered  him  by 
his  present  Ministers,  would  have  put  any  mortal  in  their  places,  that  could  have 
carried  on  business,  if  the  three  great  personages  above  mentioned  [the  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  Lord  Egmont]  could  have  suggested  to 
him  any  plan  for  that  purpose.  And  they  undoubtedly  would  have  done  it  if  they 
could  ;  as  there  is  no  animal  on  the  face  of  the  earth  that  the  Duke  has  a  more 
thorough  aversion  to  than  Grenville." — Stuart  MacKenzie  to  Mr.  Mitchell,  June 
4,  1765. 

The  King's  illness  was  described  by  the  Court  newsman  as  a  bad 
cold,  and  a  pain  in  his  chest.  It  was  many  years  before  the  public 
knew  that  this  was  the  first  visitation  of  a  terrible  mental  affliction, 
which  returned  more  than  once,  and  finally  plunged  in  gloom  the 
last  years  of  his  reign.  This  first  attack  was  brief,  and  in  his  Speech 
from  the  Throne  of  April  24,  he  alluded  to  it  as  "  not  attended  with 
danger."  But  it  was  the  occasion  of  the  Regency  Bill,  and  the 
Regency  Bill  caused  the  fall  of  Grenville's  Ministry.  In  the  event 
of  the  King's  demise  during  the  minority  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
who  should  be  Regent  of  the  Kingdom  ?  Not  the  Princess 
Dowager  !  "  The  old  stubble  of  the  Princess  Dowager  and  Bute  " 
was  set  fire  to  once  more.  As  the  Bill  was  first  drafted,  it  excluded 
the  King's  Mother  even  from  the  Council  of  Regency;  but 
when  it  came  down  to  the  Commons,  Bute's  friends  inserted  the 
Princess's  name,  in  spite  of  Ministers;  and  in  the  course  of  an 
angry  discussion  Grenville  bluntly  said  he  would  agree  to  the 
amendment,  "  but  he  had  supposed  the  omission  would  be  univers- 
ally acceptable."  From  this  time  the  King  resolved  to  get  rid  of 
him  at  whatever  cost. 

There  was  distress.  Trade  was  very  bad.  The  fact  was  that  already 
both  England  and  America  were  suffering  severely  from  the  measures 
which  the  promoters  had  declared  would  benefit  both.  In  America, 
commerce  was  at  a  standstill.     The   merchants  of  New   England 

held  British  goods  to  the  amount  of  several  millions  sterling,  but 

42 


THE  FALL  OF  THE  GRENVILLE  CABINET    43 

they  dared  not  sell,  and  their  customers  dared  not  buy.  And  the  new 
law  about  specie  made  it  utterly  impossible  for  the  Americans  to  pay 
their  British  creditors.  The  weavers  said  they  were  starving  because 
so  many  French  silks  were  worn  since  the  Peace ;  but  Opposition 
retorted  that  the  true  reason  was  the  loss  of  the  American  market. 
The  day  the  King  went  to  give  the  Royal  Assent  to  the  Regency 
Bill  "he  was  followed  by  an  incredible  number  of  Spitalfields 
weavers,  with  black  flags,  imploring  his  Majesty's  gracious  inter- 
position on  behalf  of  themselves  and  their  wretched  families."  Next 
day,  May  16,  they  assembled  in  Moorfields,  and  marched  to  St. 
James's.  They  had  already  insulted  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  the 
next  night  (after  surrounding  the  Houses  of  Parliament)  they  began 
to  pull  down  his  house  in  Bloomsbury  Square — shouting  that  the 
Duke  had  been  bribed  to  make  the  Treaty  of  Fontainebleau,  which 
brought  French  silks  and  poverty  into  the  land.  The  crisis  was 
very  alarming,  for  there  were  riots  in  many  places,  and  the  sailors  at 
Portsmouth  had  mutinied.  It  began  to  be  said  that  only  Mr.  Pitt 
could  set  things  straight.  On  the  16th,  when  Ministers  went  to 
take  his  Majesty's  commands  for  the  prorogation,  the  King  said  he 
would  only  have  Parliament  adjourned.  They  asked  if  he  intended 
to  make  any  change.  He  replied,  "  Certainly,  for  I  cannot  bear  it 
as  it  is." 

This  time  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  was  sent  to  Hayes,  to  offer 
Pitt  almost  anything  he  chose  to  ask.  Pitt  said  he  was  ready  to  go 
to  St.  James's  "if  he  could  carry  the  Constitution  along  with  him." 
The  first  thing  the  King  demanded  was  that  Northumberland  should 
be  First  Lord,  and  Pitt  replied  that  he  could  not  come  in  under 
Bute's  lieutenant.  So  Cumberland  advised  the  King  to  continue 
his  present  servants,  and  once  more  his  Majesty  was  obliged  to  tell 
Mr.  Greenville  he  must  go  on.  Grenville  thereupon  dictated  to  his 
Sovereign  the  terms  on  which  he  would  go  on — his  Majesty  must 
give  his  royal  word  never  more  to  consult  Lord  Bute,  and  must 
remove  his  lordship's  brother,  Mr.  Stuart  MacKenzie,  from  the  Privy 
Seal  of  Scotland,  and  the  administration  of  that  kingdom.  Moreover, 
the  Marquis  of  Granby  must  be  Captain-General  of  the  Forces. 
Almost  speechless  with  anger,  the  King  told  Grenville  to  come 
back  for  his  answer  at  ten  that  night.  But  before  that  hour,  he 
sent  Lord  Chancellor  Northington  to  say  he  would  remove 
MacKenzie — who  had  been  with  him  in  his  closet,  and  had  released 
his  Majesty  from  any  promises  made  to  him.  Next  morning 
Grenville  gave  up  Granby,  but  he  still  insisted  on  Bute,  and  gave 
the  King  a  fortnight  to  consider  of  it. 

Grenville  knew  from  Jenkinson  that  the  King  saw  Bute  con- 


44  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

stantly.1  Negotiations  with  Pitt  were  resumed,  and  again  fell 
through — it  has  never  been  known  why,  as  the  King  appears  at 
last  to  have  yielded  nearly  everything.  Somehow  or  other,  Temple 
was  the  cause  of  the  final  breakdown.  On  Saturday,  June  22, 
Pitt  wrote  to  Temple  that  "things  had  advanced  considerably," 
that  he  "augured  much  good."  On  Monday,  negotiations  were 
broken  off  by  Temple. 

It  was  manifestly  impossible  that  the  King's  "present  servants" 
could  "  continue."  The  Duke  of  Cumberland  made  another  attempt 
to  find  somebody  able  to  "  carry  on  business."  This  time  he  went  to 
Newcastle.  Newcastle  had  been  forty-five  years  in  the  Cabinet,  and 
for  thirty-two  years  had  held  high  office.  He  had  twice  been  Minister. 
When  he  resigned  to  make  way  for  Bute,  in  1762,  Newcastle  went 
out  poorer  than  he  came  in.  He  was  a  very  honest  man,  but  he 
was  never  very  wise,  and  in  his  old  age  his  blunders  and  absence  of 
mind  furnished  jests  for  the  town.  But  he  consented  to  join  a  new 
Ministry,  and  in  a  very  few  days  a  Cabinet  was  formed,  with  the 
Marquess  of  Rockingham  as  First  Lord,  General  Conway  and  the 
Duke  of  Grafton  Secretaries  of  State,  and  Newcastle  Lord  Privy  Seal. 

Charles  Watson  Wentworth,  second  Marquess  of  Rockingham, 
was  descended  from  the  sister  of  Thomas  Wentworth,  Earl  of 
Strafford,  whose  great  estates  this  branch  inherited.  Rockingham 
was  one  of  the  largest  landowners  in  the  kingdom.  In  politics  he 
was  a  sound  constitutional  Whig  of  sterling  honesty,  zealous  for  the 
House  of  Hanover.  He  was  perhaps  the  only  politician  of  his 
time  who  had  never  coquetted  with  Leicester  House,  or  corre- 
sponded with  the  party  of  prerogative.  He  was  a  man  of  good 
sense  and  firmness,  but  not  of  brilliant  talents  or  fluent  eloquence. 
He  has  been  called  a  "  speechless  Minister,"  from  the  rareness 
with  which  he  addressed  the  Lords.  But  when  he  did  address 
them,  it  was  always  to  the  purpose.  The  unimpeachable  integrity 
of  his  public  and  private  character  was  respected  even  by  his 
political  enemies — he  had  no  others.  He  differed  from  Pitt  as  to 
the  right  of  Parliament,  and  there  was,  unhappily,  a  want  of  cordiality 
between  them  for  which  Pitt  was  chiefly  to  blame.  Rockingham 
had  long  been  a  friend  and  patron  of  Edmund  Burke,  and  now 
made  him  his  private  secretary.  Burke's  cousin,  William,  was 
private  secretary  to  Conway. 

1  Jenkinson  wrote  to  Grenville  that  the  King  and  Bute  wrote  to  each  other 
constantly  :  "  The  King  sends  him  a  journal  of  all  that  passes  everyday,  as  minute 
as  if  your  boy  at  school  was  directed  by  you  to  write  his  journal  to  you." — Letter 
of  July,  1765. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  GREAT  DEBATE 

"  The  Opposition  are  for  taking  vigorous,  as  they  call  them,  but  I  call  them 
violent  measures  ;  not  less  than  dragonades,  and  to  have  the  tax  collected  by  the 
troops  we  have  there.  For  my  part,  I  never  saw  a  froward  child  mended  by 
whipping  ;  and  I  would  not  have  the  mother-country  become  a  step-mother.  Our 
trade  to  America  brings  in,  '  communibus  annis,'  two  millions  a  year,  and  the 
stamp  duty  is  estimated  at  but  one  hundred  thousand  a  year." — Lord  Chesterfield 
to  his  Son,  December,  1765. 

"As  it  is,  my  resolution  is  taken  ;  and  if  I  can  crawl,  or  be  carried,  I  will 
deliver  my  heart  and  mind  upon  the  state  of  America." — Pitt  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Nuthall,  Bath,  Jan.  9,  1766. 

"Ina  good  cause,  on  a  sound  bottom,  the  force  of  this  country  can  crush 
America  to  atoms.  .  .  .  But  on  this  ground,  on  the  Stamp  Act,  when  so  many 
here  will  think  it  a  crying  injustice,  I  am  one  who  will  lift  up  my  hands  against 
it.  In  such  a  cause,  your  success  would  be  hazardous.  America,  if  she  fell, 
would  fall  like  a  strong  man.  She  would  embrace  the  pillars  of  the  State,  and 
pull  down  the  constitution  along  with  her." — Speech  of  Mr.  Pitt  for  the  Repeal 
of  the  Stamp  Act,  Jan.  14,  1766. 

"  The  direful  effects  of  that  baneful  oration  will  be  but  too  visible  in  America. 
What  a  pity  it  is  that  the  old  gentleman  who  pronounced  it  had  not  been  then 
better  employed  solacing  his  distempered  joints  with  flannel,  and  cooling  his  over- 
heated blood  by  a  milk  and  water  gruel  diet." — "  Astrea,"  in  the  New  Daily 
Advertiser  of  Feb.  II,  1766. 

"That  one  man,  by  whom  we  have  been  led  captive  for  many  years,  at 
length  has  set  us  free.  ...  In  the  space  of  a  few  days,  and  even  of  a  speech  of 
two  hours,  has  he  brought  about  this  happy  revolution.  .  .  .  The  fall  he  has  met 
with  will,  I  trust,  be  a  caution  to  others  against  treading  in  the  same  steps.  .  .  . 
As  the  gentleman  is  now  reduced  to  be  but  man,  let  his  errors,  his  destructive 
errors,  be  forgotten,  and  let  him  be  like  a  dead  man,  out  of  mind.  I  congratulate 
my  country  on  this  greatest  victory  which  England  has  ever  obtained  :  because 
without  one  drop  of  blood,  or  a  single  guinea,  America  is  now  truly  ours. " — 
"A.  B.,"  in  the  New  Daily  Advertiser  of  Feb.  13,  1766. 

It  was  become  absolutely  necessary  to  do  something  about  America. 
Our  merchants  were  being  ruined  by  being  kept  out  of  their  money. 
The  Americans  said  they  could  not  pay,  and  our  merchants  con- 
fessed that  the  excuse  was  true.  There  was  nothing  between 
enforcing  the  Stamp  Act  by  fire  and  sword,  and  repealing  it. 
Repeal  was  violently  opposed,  a  war  of  pamphlets  was  going  on — 


46  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

those  who  were  for  repeal  maintaining  that  the  Stamp  Act  would 
ruin  Great  Britain,  while  the  other  side  declared  that  if  the  Colonies 
were  not  promptly  crushed,  they  would  invade  this  country,  and 
reduce  Englishmen  to  slavery  ! x 

It  was  not  till  the  ioth  of  January,  1766,  that  the  Lords  began 
to  consider  the  affairs  of  America.  The  King's  Speech  had  been 
almost  entirely  upon  America,  but  it  contained  nothing  to  allay  the 
fears  or  the  irritation  of  the  Colonies.  Orders  to  Governors  and 
Commanders  of  forces,  to  suppress  tumults;  an  appeal  to  both 
Houses  to  preserve  their  just  rights  and  authority ;  a  vague  hint  of 
"  alterations  in  the  commercial  economy  of  the  plantations,"  in  the 
mutual  interest  of  "  my  kingdoms  and  colonies  "  ;  and  a  concluding 
sentence  about  the  "assertion  of  legal  authority,"  did  not  promise 
as  much  conciliation  as  the  new  Ministry  succeeded  in  carrying 
out. 

Petitions  poured  in — almost  every  manufacturing  town  in  the 
kingdom  sent  one.  The  petitions  were  all  the  same :  decay  of 
trade,  owing  to  the  new  laws, — thousands  of  factory  hands,  seamen, 
and  labourers,  out  of  employment,  —  exports  less,  because  the 
rice,  indigo,  tobacco,  naval  stores,  oil,  whale-fins,  furs,  potash,  which 
we  used  to  receive  for  export,  do  not  come,  and,  our  factories  being 
at  a  standstill  for  raw  material,  we  cannot  manufacture  for  export. 
Even  the  agent  for  Jamaica  sent  up  a  petition,  setting  forth  the 
ill  consequences  that  had  attended  a  Stamp  Act  there — and  this 
American  Act  will  be  as  bad,  or  worse.  There  were  only  two 
petitions  from  America — from  the  agents  for  Virginia  and  Georgia, 
and  it  was  understood  that  this  was  because  the  rest  were  so 
disgusted  at  the  disregard  their  petitions  had  met  with  last  year. 

The  great  debate  took  place  that  same  day.  It  shows  us  the 
battle  joined,  and  the  two  principles  of  government-by-force  and 
government-by-consent  arrayed  against  one  another. 

1  fc  The  frequent  invectives  published  against  the  Americans,  to  provoke  the 
nation  to  embrue  its  hands  in  their  blood,  can  surely  be  of  no  advantage  to  this 
country.  .  .  .  And  can  it  be  thought  such  writings  (which  are  unfortunately 
reprinted  in  all  their  papers)  will  induce  them  to  bear  it  with  greater  patience  ?  .  .  . 
The  gentle  terms  of  republican  race,  mixed  rabble  of  Scotch,  Irish  and  foreign 
vagabonds,  descendants  of  convicts,  ungrateful  rebels,  etc.,  are  among  those  with 
which  our  colonists  have  of  late  been  treated." — Gentleman  s  Magazine,  1765. 

"  The  Americans  imbibe  Notions  of  Independance  and  Liberty  with  their  very 
Milk,  and  will  some  Time  or  other  shake  off  all  subjection.  If  we  yield  to  them 
by  repealing  the  Stamp  Act,  it  is  all  over :  they  will  from  that  moment  assert 
their  freedom.  Whereas  if  we  enforce  the  Act,  we  may  keep  them  in  Dependance 
for  some  Years  longer." — "  Anti-Sejanus,"  in  The  Public  Advertiser,  Feb.  12, 
1766. 


THE  GREAT  DEBATE  47 

The  debate  in  the  Lords  resolved  itself  into  a  duel  between 
Lord  Chancellor  Camden  and  Lord  Chief-Justice  Mansfield — once 
Mr.  Attorney-General  Murray,  so  long  the  object  of  Pitt's  invective. 
It  was  even  said  he  had  asked  for  the  Chief- Justiceship — so  sacri- 
ficing his  certain  expectation  of  the  Chancellorship — because  he  was 
in  such  haste  to  escape  the  terrible  words  and  looks  of  Mr.  Pitt, 
who  had  a  way  of  suddenly  turning  upon  the  Attorney-General 
and  fixing  him  with  that  eagle  eye,  while  he  dropped  scathing  hints 
about  the  days  when  Mr.  Murray  was  more  than  suspected  of  fetching 
and  carrying  for  the  King  over-the-water. 

The  debate  was  entirely  upon  the  First  Resolution  of  the  "  Report 
of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House,  relative  to  the  disturbances 
in  America."  This  Resolution  contained  the  famous  "Statutory 
Declaration  "  of  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to  make  laws  and  statutes 
for  America  "  in  all  cases  whatever  " — thus  striking  at  the  root  of 
the  distinction  between  external  and  internal  taxation,  and  placing 
the  provincial  Representative  Assemblies  under  the  authority  of  the 
British  Parliament. 

The  disbelievers  in  arbitrary  right  threw  Mr.  Locke,  the  Learned 
Selden,  Harrington  and  Puffendorff  at  their  opponents,  who  replied 
that  these  distinguished  persons  were  only  "  natural  lawyers,"  who 
knew  no  law,  or  cared  nothing  for  it  if  they  did.  Lord  Lyttelton 
said  there  could  not  be  two  rights  existing  at  the  same  time — a 
right  in  the  Government  to  make  laws,  and  a  right  in  the  people  to 
disobey  them.  Government  "  must  rest  somewhere,"  or  there  is  an 
end  of  all  government.  He  clearly  laid  down  the  principle  of 
"  inferior  legislatures,  with  restrained  powers,  subject  to  the  superior 
legislature,"  and  categorically  denied  the  contention  of  the  colonists 
that  the  King  alone  could  make  a  compact  with  them.  Are  the 
Colonies  a  part  of  the  dominions  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  or 
not  ?  If  not,  you  have  no  jurisdiction — but  then  you  make  them 
independent  communities.  If  they  are,  they  are  subjects  of  Great 
Britain,  and  if  you  allow  them  to  refuse  to  pay  taxes  we  shall  have 
Englishmen  refusing  next. 

Camden  denied  that  he  was  admitting  the  independence  of  the 
Colonies,  in  saying  there  are  things  which  a  supreme  legislature 
cannot  do — it  cannot  take  away  private  property  without  making 
compensation,  or  condemn  a  man  by  a  Bill  of  Attainder  without 
hearing  him.  The  English  clergy  once  denied  the  right  of  Parlia- 
ment to  tax  them,  and  claimed  the  right  to  tax  themselves.  They 
have  now  dropped  that  right,  but  then  they  now  elect  their  own 
representatives.  The  County  Palatine  of  Lancaster  taxed  itself — 
no  less  a  person  than  the  great  Lord  Chancellor  Hale  admitted  the 


48  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

right.  Guernsey,  Jersey  and  the  Isle  of  Man  tax  themselves.  So 
does  Ireland.  And,  my  lords,  even  supposing  the  Americans  have 
no  exclusive  right  to  tax  themselves,  I  maintain  it  would  be  good 
policy  to  give  it  them. 

Mansfield,  in  a  very  long  and  able  speech,  laid  it  down  that 
the  British  Legislature  "  represents  the  whole  British  empire,  and  has 
authority  to  bind  every  part  and  every  subject  without  the  least 
distinction";  also  that  the  colonists  "are  more  emphatically 
subjects  of  Great  Britain  than  those  within  the  realm."  Nor  need 
there  be  representation.  Representation  arose  "  by  the  favour 
of  the  Crown."  (Mansfield  forgot  how  the  Crown  was  persuaded 
to  grant  this  favour.)  The  great  Companies — the  Bank,  the  East 
India  and  the  South  Sea  Companies,  have  no  representatives.  He 
concluded  his  very  learned  speech  by  a  minute  description  of  the 
several  Colonial  Governments  of  North  America.1 

Ex-Chancellor  Northington's  speech  sums  up  the  chief  arguments 
used  by  his  side  throughout  the  dispute  with  America  :  "  Every 
government  can  arbitrarily  impose  laws  on  all  its  subjects."  He 
reminded  their  lordships  that  the  "Commonwealth  Parliament" 
(he  meant  the  Long  Parliament)  was  very  jealous  of  the  Colonies 
separating  themselves  from  us.  But  as  for  ancient  history,  I  am 
content  to  go  back  no  further  than  the  Revolution — King  William 
passed  an  Act  declaring  the  power  of  the  legislature  over  the 
Colonies.  Several  colonies  have  actually  fought  each  other  over 
differences — the  cessation  of  our  authority  will  result  in  endless 
feuds.  Are  you  going  to  tell  the  twelve  millions  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  that  you  prefer  the  colonists  "  who  are  got  rich  under 
their  protection  "  ?  They  are  as  much  represented  in  Parliament  as 
the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  England  are;  for  of  nine 
millions  of  Englishmen,  eight  millions  have  no  votes — but  then 
every  Member  of  Parliament  represents  not  only  his  own  borough, 
but  also  every  other  inhabitant  of  Great  Britain  and  of  the  Colonies 
and  Dominions  of  Great  Britain.  Taxation  would  be  far  heavier 
under  their  own  government  than  under  "  our  extreme  lenity."  My 
lords,  what  have  these  favourite  Americans  done  ?  They  have 
called  a  meeting  of  their  States,  and  have  passed  Resolutions,  by 
which,  in  my  opinion,  they  have  forfeited  all  their  charters.  My 
lords,  the  Colonies  are  become  too  big  to  be  governed  by  the  laws 
they  at  first  set  out  with — it  will  be  the  policy  of  this  country  to 
form  a  plan  of  laws  for  them.  If  they  withdraw  allegiance,  you 
must  withdraw  protection — and  then  "the  little  state  of  Genoa," 
or  Sweden,  may  soon  overrun  them  ! 

1  See  note  at  end  of  this  chapter. 


THE  GREAT  DEBATE  49 

In  the  Commons  it  was  a  duel  between  Pitt  and  Grenville — the 
brothers-in-law,  once  so  closely  knit  in  friendship,  now  at  open 
war.  Pitt's  speech  is  an  epitome  of  his  whole  political  career — it 
shows  us  the  man  in  his  weakness  and  his  strength,  his  glaring 
inconsistencies,  his  flashes  of  inspiration.  Since  the  British  Parlia- 
ment became  the  ruling  power,  three  great  magnetic  personalities 
have  dominated  the  politics  of  their  time — Thomas  Wentworth, 
William  Pitt,  and  William  Ewart  Gladstone.  Gladstone  will  be 
found  to  have  left  the  deepest  mark  on  our  policy,  but  for  the 
moment  Pitt's  influence  was  the  most  irresistible  of  all.  He  defied 
all  rules.  Deeply  as  he  was  concerned  in  party  politics,  he  was 
never  a  party  man.  We  shall  understand  him  better  if  we  realise 
that  his  political  creed  contained  but  two  dogmas — a  passionate 
care  for  the  greatness  of  England,  and  a  burning  hatred  of  despotic 
power.  Between  these  two  great  cardinal  principles,  he  oscillated 
reckless  of  inconsistency.  Even  the  masterful  arrogance  with  which 
his  enemies  justly  reproached  him  played  a  secondary  part, 
compared  with  those  two  supreme  considerations.  His  foibles, 
his  affectations,  his  amazing  changes  of  front,  just  as  they  were 
beginning  to  make  him  ridiculous,  were  suddenly  consumed  in  the 
fire  of  his  passion.  That  passion,  once  aroused,  swept  all  before 
it.  His  oratory  appalled  the  dilettante  soul  of  Horace  Walpole, 
and  silenced  his  adversaries,  if  it  could  not  convince  them.  It  has 
been  said  that  no  reports  of  Pitt's  speeches  convey  any  idea  of 
the  overwhelming  effect  they  produced  when  uttered.  But  even 
in  the  coldness  of  reported  speech,  some  sentences  still  seem  to 
palpitate  like  flames  of  fire. 

With  all  his  faults,  Pitt  remains  a  great  man,  a  great  statesman, 
a  great  Englishman,  whose  large  and  noble  schemes  soared  as  high 
above  the  petty  hand-to-mouth  policy  of  the  Whig  opportunists  as 
they  did  above  the  reactionary  schemes  of  Bute  and  the  King.  In 
those  four  years  of  his  "  great  administration,"  as  it  was  fondly  called, 
he  lifted  England  from  humiliation  and  weakness  to  victory  and 
empire.  The  glory  of  it  belonged  to  him,  for  he  it  was  who  planned 
the  expeditions  which  had  such  signal  success.  But  he  saw  the 
suicidal  folly  of  England's  attempting  to  make  herself  a  great 
military  power.  "  Our  natural  strength  is  a  maritime  strength,"  he 
said,  "as  trade  is  our  natural  employment."  Now,  in  the  great 
crisis  of  his  time,  his  voice  rang  out  like  a  trumpet-call  to  rally 
Englishmen  round  the  standard  of  Freedom. 

"As   he  always  began   very  low,   and   as   everybody   was  in 
agitation  at  his  first  rising,"  his  introduction  was  not  heard,  till  he 
asked  that  the  proposed  Address  might  be  read  a  second   time. 
vol.  1. — 4 


50  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

And  then  he  fell  upon  the  Grenvillites.  "  As  to  the  late  Ministry," 
— and  he  turned  to  George  Grenville,  who  sat  within  one  of  him — 
"  every  capital  measure  they  have  taken,  has  been  entirely  wrong  !  " 
He  damned  the  new  Ministry  with  faint  praise,  uttered  the  famous 
sentence  about  confidence  being  a  plant  of  slow  growth  in  an  aged 
breast,  and  hinted  that  they  were  under  "  an  over-ruling  influence  " 
— meaning  Bute's.  Then  he  vindicated  himself — still  glancing 
at  "  influence."  He  reminded  the  House  that  he  was  away  ill  when 
the  resolution  was  taken  to  tax  America — if  he  could  have  borne  to 
have  been  carried  in  his  bed,  he  would  have  got  some  kind  hand 
to  lay  him  down  on  the  floor  of  that  House,  that  he  might  testify 
against  the  tax.  The  only  question  of  greater  importance  than 
this,  was  "the  question  debated  a  hundred  years  ago,  whether 
you  yourselves  were  to  be  bound  or  free."  We  have  no  right  to 
tax  the  Colonies.  Taxes  are  a  voluntary  gift  of  the  Commons  alone.1 
The  distinction  between  legislation  and  taxation  is  essential  to 
liberty.  The  idea  of  "  virtual  representation  "  of  the  Colonies  does 
not  deserve  a  serious  refutation.  "  Is  an  American  represented  by 
any  representative  of  a  borough — which,  perhaps,  its  own  represent- 
ative never  saw?"  And  then,  with  one  of  his  flashes  of  clair- 
voyance, he  exclaimed,  "  This  is  what  is  called  '  the  rotten  part  of 
our  constitution.'  It  cannot  continue  the  century ;  if  it  does  not 
drop,  it  must  be  amputated." 

There  was  silence  when  he  ceased.  At  last,  Conway  got  up, 
and  said  a  few  words,  and  then  Grenville  rose.  He  censured  the 
Ministry  for  losing  time.  The  disturbances  in  America  began  in 
July — this  is  the  middle  of  January,  and  nothing  has  been  done. 
At  first,  they  were  only  "occurrences,"  now  they  are  grown  to 
disturbances  that  seem  to  border  on  open  rebellion ;  and  "  if  the 
doctrine  I  have  heard  this  day  be  confirmed,  will  soon  be  revolution." 
What  is  the  difference  between  external  and  internal  taxes  ?  It  is 
granted  that  this  kingdom  has  the  supreme  legislative  power  over 
America,  and  taxation  is  part  of  the  sovereign  power.  When  I 
proposed  the  tax,  I  asked  the  House  if  any  gentleman  would  object 
to  this  right — no  man  would  attempt  to  deny  it.  Great  Britain 
protects  America,  and  America  is  bound  to  yield  obedience.  The 
nation  has  run  itself  into  an  immense  debt  to  give  them  protection, 
and  they  refuse  to  contribute  a  small  share  of  the  expense.  But 
"the  seditious  spirit  of  the  colonies  owes  its  birth  to  the  factions  in 
the  House.  Gentlemen  are  careless  of  the  consequences  of  what 
they  say,  provided  it  answers  the  purposes  of  opposition.  .  .  .  Let 
us  only  hold  out  a  little,  they  will  say ;  our  friends  will  soon  be  in 

1In  the  days  of  our  Plantagenet  Kings  they  were  called  "  benevolences." 


THE  GREAT  DEBATE  51 

power.  Ungrateful  people  of  America  !  .  .  .  You  have  given 
bounties  on  their  lumber,  their  iron,  their  hemp  .  .  .  you  have 
relaxed  in  their  favour  the  Act  of  Navigation,  that  palladium  of 
British  commerce ;  and  yet  I  have  been  abused  in  all  the  public 
papers  as  an  enemy  to  the  trade  of  America  ! " 

When  Grenville  sat  down,  "Mr.  Pitt  seeming  to  rise,"  the 
House  insisted  on  hearing  him,  and  would  not  listen  to  Lord 
Strange's  point  of  order.  Pitt's  second  speech — he  said  it  was 
only  the  end  of  the  first — was  stronger  still.  "I  have  been 
charged,"  he  said,  "  with  giving  birth  to  sedition  in  America.  .  .  . 
Freedom  of  speech  has  become  their  crime.  Sorry  I  am  to  hear 
the  liberty  of  speech  in  this  House  imputed  as  a  crime,  but  it  is  a 
liberty  I  mean  to  exercise."  And  then  he  burst  out,  "The 
gentleman  tells  us,  America  is  obstinate;  America  is  almost  in 
open  rebellion.  I  rejoice  that  America  has  resisted.  Three 
millions  of  people,  so  dead  to  all  the  feelings  of  liberty,  as  volun- 
tarily to  submit  to  be  slaves,  would  have  been  fit  instruments  to 
make  slaves  of  the  rest."  He  said  there  were  not  wanting  some, 
when  he  had  the  honour  to  serve  his  Majesty,  to  propose  to  him 
to  burn  his  fingers  with  an  American  Stamp  Act.  And  then  he 
went  off  into  an  inconsistent  declaration  that  "our  legislative 
power  over  the  colonies  is  sovereign  and  supreme,"  except  in  the 
matter  of  taxation ;  forgetting  that  authority  ceases  to  be  supreme 
the  moment  a  people  acquires  the  right  to  tax  itself.  But  it  was  a 
great  speech  ;  its  echoes  lingered  long  in  the  people's  memory,  and 
England  will  cease  to  be  England  when  it  is  forgotten.  He  ended  : 
"  I  beg  leave  to  tell  the  House  what  is  really  my  opinion.  It  is 
that  the  Stamp  Act  be  repealed  absolutely,  totally,  and  immediately. 
Let  the  reason  assigned  be,  that  the  tax  was  founded  on  an 
erroneous  principle.  And  then,  insist  as  much  as  you  like  on 
your  sovereign  authority  over  the  colonies,  say  that  we  may  bind 
their  trade,  confine  their  manufactures,  exercise  any  power 
whatever,  except  that  of  taking  their  money  out  of  their  pockets 
without  their  consent." 

After  Pitt,  Nicholson  Calvert  rose.  He  said  he  had  changed 
his  mind — last  year  he  voted  for  the  Stamp  Act,  because  he 
then  thought  nothing  could  be  more  fair  than  that  America  should 
pay  for  the  force  which  was  to  protect  her.  But  since  then  Mr. 
Pitt's  arguments  had  sunk  deep  into  his  mind,  especially  as  to  the 
colonists  having  carried  with  them  to  America  all  the  rights  of 
Englishmen.  "I  saw  the  right  honourable  gentleman's  reasoning 
founded  on  the  broad  basis  of  liberty."  Two  principles  are  set 
before  us — the  one,  that  in  all  free  countries  no  one  can  be  taxed 


52  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

but  by  himself;  the  other,  that  in  all  countries  in  the  world,  there 
is  some  one  supreme  legislature.  This  House  has  resolved  that 
Great  Britain  has  this  supreme  power,  and  with  it  the  right  to  tax 
her  Colonies.  But  is  it  prudent  to  assert  that  right  at  this  moment  ? 
And  then  he  used  words  which  now  appear  prophetic.  "  Sir,  it  has 
always  been  my  opinion,  to  lay  any  taxes  upon  a  numerous  people, 
situated  as  the  Americans  are,  without  their  consent,  is  impossible. 
It  is  a  widely  different  thing,  sir,  the  quelling  a  paltry  riot  in 
Moorfields,  or  Bloomsbury  Square,1  to  that  of  making  two 
millions  of  people,  distributed  from  one  corner  of  the  American 
continent  to  the  other — all  unanimous  in  the  opinion  of  right 
being  on  their  side — submit  to  your  decisions.  It  matters  little 
to  the  question,  whether  they  are  in  the  right  or  not :  they  think 
themselves  so.  Can  this  be  done  by  force?  The  thought  of 
putting  it  to  the  trial,  sir,  strikes  me  with  horror !  Let  us  not,  sir, 
drive  them  to  despair;  the  despair  of  a  brave  people  always  turns  to 
courage" 

Note. — Mansfield  told  the  Lords  there  were  three  sorts  of  Colonies  in  America  : 
King's  Provinces,  Proprietary  Provinces,  and  Charter  Provinces.  The  King's 
Provinces  are  governed  by  instructions  sent  to  the  Governors,  who  after  some 
time  are  directed  to  call  Assemblies,  and  they  have  the  power  to  make  bye-laws 
for  interior  government,  etc.  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  are  Proprietary. 
Maryland  was  granted  to  Lord  Baltimore  to  be  held  as  the  County  of  Durham — 
which,  before  it  was  represented  in  Parliament,  had  by  Charter  a  subordinate 
power  to  make  laws,  so  as  the  same  were  not  contrary  to  those  of  England. 
Pennsylvania  was  granted  to  William  Penn,  and  the  Penns  are  ' '  Proprietary 
Kings,"  and  can  raise  money  and  make  laws.  "The  Pennsylvanians  are 
among  the  loudest  of  those  who  complain  of  the  Stamp  Act  .  .  .  they  use  the 
King  of  Great  Britain  as  they  do  their  own  Proprietary  King."  Virginia, 
Connecticut,  Rhode  Island  and  Massachusetts  are  Charter  Governments. 
"  These  are  all  on  the  same  footing  as  our  great  corporations  in  London."  And 
as  the  Charter  of  Massachusetts  was  "vacated  in  Chancery  in  Charles  n's 
time  for  their  abuse  of  it,"  Mansfield  held  that  it  was  impossible  to  suppose  the 
sole  power  of  laying  taxes  could  be  in  a  legislature  which  our  Courts  of  Chancery 
or  King's  Bench  could  destroy. — Speech  in  the  House  of  Lords,  Feb.  io,  1766. 


1  The  allusion  is  to  the  Weavers'  Demonstration,  the  day  the  Regency  Bill 
received  the  Royal  Assent. 


CHAPTER   VIII 
FRANKLIN 

"When  the  peace  came,  and  I  understood  that  we  had  got  all  America  for 
ourselves,  I  thought  it  would  be  a  grand  thing  for  old  England  ;  and  that  our 
fellow-subjects  in  that  part  of  the  world  would  trade  with  us  more  exclusively 
than  ever,  and  be  ready  to  contribute  more  to  the  payment  of  our  debts  and 
taxes.  .  .  .  When  I  heard  that  they  were  mobbing  the  King's  officers,  and 
declaring  openly  that  the  Parliament  of  England  had  no  right  to  tax  them,  I 
was  as  much  astonished  as  if  a  field  where  I  had  sown  barley  should  turn  up 
peas.  ...  It  is  a  great  encouragement  for  the  Americans  to  rebel,  when  some 
of  our  great  men  at  home  tell  them  they  are  in  the  right,  and  the  Parliament  in 
the  wrong.  .  .  .  These  are  rare  times,  indeed,  Mr.  Printer.  If  we  were  all 
of  one  mind,  which  common-sense  and  common  honesty  should  make  us  to  be, 
upon  such  an  occasion  as  this,  the  Americans  durst  not  rebel.  ...  In  my 
poor  opinion,  some  of  our  great  men  do  not  believe  in  a  future  judgment,  or 
else  they  would  never  act  such  a  wicked  part  in  this  world." — John  Ploughshare, 
in  the  London  Daily  Chronicle,  Feb.  18-20,  1766. 

"The  Americans  have  been  increasing  in  riches  these  thirty  years;  .  .  . 
they  are  become  at  our  expense,  and  for  which  we  are  starving,  proud,  lordly, 
and  ambitious.  .  .  .  When  once  they  become  independent,  they  will  trade 
where,  and  with  whom  they  please.  Where  then  will  be  your  trade  ?  And  how 
will  you  then  get  bread  ?  .  .  .  where  will  money  be  found  to  pay  our  taxes  and 
the  interest  of  our  debt  ?  .  .  .  Shall  those  who  have  so  lately  made  France  and 
Spain  tremble  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe  ...  be  afraid  of  chastising  an 
American  mob,  a  handful  of  rioters  stimulated  to  rebellion  by  their  lordly 
tyrants  ?  Forbid  it,  Heaven  !  Shall  we  be  eternally  taxed  even  to  the  utter- 
most farthing  for  others?  Would  ye  wish  the  Americans  should  lord 
it  over  you  like  the  Egyptian  task  -  masters  ? " — "A  Short  and  Friendly 
Caution  to  the  good  People  of  England,"  quoted  in  the  Chronicle  of  Feb. 
25-27,  1766. 

In  the  interval  between  the  14th  of  January  and  the  passing  of  the 

Bill  in  the  Commons,  petitions  for  repeal  had  been  pouring  in  from 

the  merchants  of  almost  every  great  town  in  the  Kingdom — London, 

Bristol,    Lancaster,    Liverpool,   Hull,    Glasgow,   York;    and    Dr. 

Franklin  had  been  examined  before  a   Committee   of  the  whole 

House.     His  examination  is  given  in  Hansard. 

Asked  if  he  did  not  know  that  the  stamp  money  was  to  be 

spent  in  America,  Franklin  replied  that  it  would  be  spent  "  in  the 

53 


54  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

conquered  colonies" — meaning  Louisiana  and  Florida1 — "where 
the  soldiers  are,  not  in  the  colonies  that  pay  it."  Asked  if  the 
balance  of  trade  would  not  bring  the  money  back  to  the  old 
colonies,  he  replied  that  very  little  would  come  back.  "  I  know  of 
no  trade  to  bring  it  back.  I  think  it  would  come  directly  to 
England."  He  put  the  numbers  of  Quakers  in  Pennsylvania  at 
about  a  third — out  of  a  total  white  population  of  about  160,000, 
and  the  Germans  at  another  third.  Many  of  these  Germans  had 
seen  service  as  soldiers,  both  in  Europe  and  America.  Asked  if 
they  were  as  much  dissatisfied  as  the  English,  he  replied,  "  More 
so,  as,  in  many  cases,  their  stamps  would  be  double."  He  gave 
the  male  white  population  of  North  America  at  300,000  from  16 
to  60  years  of  age.  He  showed  that  the  chief  trade  of  Pennsylvania 
was  with  the  West  Indies,  and  the  French,  Spaniards,  Danes,  and 
Dutch,  who  traded  in  turn  with  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Italy.  Asked 
if  it  was  not  right  that  America  should  pay  for  our  protection,  he 
denied  the  fact,  and  said  that  in  the  late  war  the  colonists 
raised,  clothed,  and  paid  25,000  men,  and  spent  as  many 
millions.  Asked  if  they  were  not  reimbursed  by  Parliament,  he 
said  that  only  a  very  small  part  of  the  expense  was  covered  by  the 
sum  voted. 

When  he  was  asked  whether  he  thought  the  colonists  would 
pay  a  moderated  stamp  duty,  he  replied,  "No,  never,  unless 
compelled  by  force  of  arms."  "  What  was  the  temper  of  America 
towards  Great  Britain  before  1763?" — "The  best  in  the  world. 
They  submitted  willingly — they  cost  you  nothing  in  forts,  citadels, 
garrisons,  or  armies,  to  keep  them  in  subjection.  They  were 
governed  by  this  country  at  the  expense  of  a  little  pen,  ink,  and 
paper.  They  were  led  by  a  thread.  They  had  not  only  a  respect, 
but  an  affection  for  Great  Britain  .  .  .  even  a  fondness  for  its 
fashions  ...  to  be  an  Old-England  man  .  .  .  gave  a  kind  of 
rank  among  us." 2 

"And  what  is  your  temper  now?" — "Oh,  very  much 
altered."  3 

"  In  what  light  did  the  people  of  America  use  to  consider  the 

1  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Florida  had  accepted  the  Stamp  Act.  "  In 
Nova  Scotia,  they  have  burnt  the  Stamp  Act,  but  use  the  Stamps." — Gentleman's 
Magazine. 

2  "  I  have  lived  many  years  in  different  provinces  of  North  America,  and 
never  knew  a  native  of  that  land  disloyal :  they  affectionately  doated  upon  their 
King,  and  prided  themselves  in  their  Country  and  home,  as  they  called  England." 
— "Pro  Patria,"  New  Daily  Advertiser,  Feb.  27,  1766. 

3"  National  grievances  are  eternally  liable  to  national  resentments." — 
"  Omega,"  in  the  New  Daily  Advertiser,  March  2,  1766. 


FRANKLIN  55 

Parliament  of  Great  Britain  ?  " — "  They  considered  the  Parliament 
as  the  great  bulwark  and  the  security  of  their  liberties  and 
privileges.  .  .  ." 

"  And  have  they  not  still  the  same  respect  for  Parliament  ?  " — 
"  No  ;  it  is  greatly  lessened." 

Asked  if  he  thought  the  colonists  would  submit  to  any  future 
tax,  imposed  on  the  same  principle  with  that  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
he  replied,  "They  would  not  pay  it." 

Asked  if  he  thought  they  could  possibly  do  without  cloth  from 
England,  he  said  he  believed,  before  their  own  clothes  were  worn 
out  they  would  have  new  ones  of  their  own  making. 

"  Can  they  possibly  find  wool  enough  in  North  America  ?  " — 
"  They  have  taken  steps  to  increase  the  wool.  They  entered  into 
a  general  combination  to  eat  no  more  lamb,  and  very  few  lambs 
were  killed  last  year.  This  course  will  soon  make  a  prodigious 
difference  in  the  quantity  of  wool." 

He  added  that  great  manufactories  like  those  in  England  were 
not  necessary — the  people  would  spin  for  themselves,  in  their  own 
houses. 

Franklin  further  said  that  he  thought  the  "  resolutions  of  right " 
would  give  the  colonists  very  little  concern,  if  they  were  never 
put  in  practice.  He  instanced  Ireland,  "  where  they  know  you 
claim  the  same  right,  but  you  never  exercise  it." 

Towards  the  end,  he  seems  to  have  made  a  speech.  He  told 
them  that  the  Colonies  would  never  yield,  that  they  considered  they 
had  always  shown  themselves  ready  to  contribute  even  above  their 
abilities,  and  England  had  showed  that  she  thought  so  too,  by 
voting  them  a  large  sum  in  compensation.1  He  enumerated  several 
expeditions  in  which  they  had  assisted  us — among  others,  that 
against  Carthagena,  in  1739.2  Nor  did  they  require  help  against 
the  Indians.  When  they  were  but  a  handful  they  had  defended 
themselves   successfully.      Now   they   were   much   stronger,   while 

1  "Resolved:  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  it  is  just  and 
reasonable  that  the  several  provinces  and  colonies  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  New 
Hampshire,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island,  be  reimbursed  the  expenses  they 
have  been  at  in  taking  and  securing  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  the  island  of 
Cape  Breton  and  its  dependencies." — Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
April  4,  1748. 

2  In  the  Seven  Years'  War,  9000  provincials  marched  from  the  northern 
districts  on  one  expedition.  Connecticut  had  5000  under  arms.  Massachusetts 
raised  7000  militia,  and  taxed  herself  13s.  4d.  in  the  £  of  personal  income. 
In  every  year  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  New  Jersey  spent  £1  a  head  for  each 
inhabitant.  Pennsylvania  alone  spent  about  ^"500,000,  and  the  whole  re- 
imbursements to  the  Colonies  did  not  exceed  ^"60,000. 


$6  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the   Indians   were   diminished.     "They  are  very  able   to   defend 
themselves." 

Lastly,  he  was  asked  whether,  if  the  Stamp  Act  were  repealed, 
the  colonists  would  erase  from  their  records  the  resolutions 
against  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to  tax  them  ?  And  would  they 
acknowledge  that  right  ?  To  which  he  replied,  "  No,  never  .  .  . 
they  will  never  do  it,  unless  compelled  by  force  of  arms." 


CHAPTER   IX 
THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  STAMP  ACT 

"An  event  that  caused  more  universal  joy  throughout  the  British  dominions 
than  perhaps  any  other  that  can  be  remembered." — Burke  in  the  "  Annual 
Register,"  1766. 

"  Happy,  indeed,  was  the  scene  of  this  glorious  morning  (for  at  past  one  we 
divided),  when  the  sun  of  liberty  shone  once  more  upon  a  country  too  long 
benighted." — Pitt  to  Lady  Chatham,  Feb.  22,  past  four,  1766. 

"Joy  to  you,  my  dear  love.  The  joy  of  thousands  is  yours,  under  Heaven, 
who  has  crowned  your  endeavours  with  such  happy  success." — Lady  Chatham  to 
Pitt,  Feb.  22,  1766. 

"The  whole  trading  interest  of  this  empire,  crammed  into  your  lobbies,  with 
a  trembling  and  anxious  expectation,  waited,  almost  to  a  winter's  return  of  light, 
their  fate  from  your  resolution.  When  at  length  you  had  determined  in  their 
favour,  and  your  doors  thrown  open  showed  them  the  figure  of  their  deliverer  .  .  . 
from  the  whole  of  that  grave  multitude  there  arose  an  involuntary  burst  of 
gratitude  and  transport.  They  jumped  upon  him  like  children  on  a  long  absent 
father.  .  .  .  All  England,  all  America,  joined  in  his  applause.  Nor  did  he 
seem  insensible  to  the  best  of  all  earthly  rewards,  the  love  and  admiration  of 
his  fellow-citizens.  I  stood  near  him  :  and  his  face,  to  use  the  expression  of  the 
Scripture  of  the  first  martyr,  '  his  face  was  as  if  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  angel.' " 
— Burke's  Speech  on  American  Taxation,  April  19,  1774. 

The  Bill  for  the  Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  was  moved  in  the  House 
of  Commons  on  Friday,  February  21,  by  General  Conway.  "Mr. 
Pitt,"  says  the  Gentleman 's  Magazine^  "went  to  the  House  upon 
crutches,  which  was  the  fullest  ever  known,  and  the  subject  before 
the  House  the  most  important."  And  the  Annual  Register 
notes  that  by  eight  in  the  morning,  members  began  to  take  their 
seats  "by  pinning  down  a  ticket  with  their  names."  There  were 
442  members  present. 

The  Lobby  was  full  of  American  merchants,  and  persons  whose 
interests  had  suffered  by  the  Stamp  Act. 

The  Bill  was  passed  after  one  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning,  by 

a  majority  of  275  to  161,  and  was  carried  up  to  the  Lords  "in  a 

sort  of  tumultuous  triumph  "  by  more  than  two  hundred  members. 

Then  they  came  out  into   the   shouting  streets.     The  great  news 

had  preceded  them.     When  Pitt  appeared,  "all  hats  were  in  the 

57 


58  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

air,"  and  a  crowd  accompanied  his  chair  to  his  own  door.  When 
Grenville  came  out,  he  was  greeted  with  a  storm  of  hisses  and 
curses.  He  lost  his  temper,  and  seized  one  man  by  the  throat — 
for  a  moment  it  seemed  as  though  there  might  be  bloodshed.  But 
the  captive  only  said,  "  If  I  may  not  hiss,  sir,  I  hope  I  may  laugh," 
and  laughed  in  the  Gentle  Shepherd's  face. 

As  the  news  spread — and  it  spread  like  wild-fire — the  bells  of 
the  city  churches  rang  a  joyful  peal,  and  kept  on  all  that  day,  the 
bells  of  St.  Michael-upon-Cornhill  finishing  up  at  near  midnight 
with  "forty-five  platoons."  Shops  and  coffee-houses  were  illuminated, 
the  King's  health  was  drunk,  and  the  American  traders  in  the  river 
got  out  the  American  colours,  ready  for  celebrating  the  great  day 
when  the  Bill  should  become  law. 

More  than  three  thousand  letters  with  the  joyful  news  were 
despatched  that  Saturday  night  ("  from  the  General  Post  Office  in 
Lombard  Street ")  by  merchants  to  their  correspondents  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland. 

It  was  the  same  in  Boston.  When  the  news  came,  the  bells 
were  set  ringing,  the  ships  in  the  harbour  displayed  their  colours, 
guns  were  fired  from  all  the  batteries,  and  in  the  evening  there  were 
bonfires.  A  day  of  general  rejoicing  was  appointed,  the  morning 
of  which  was  ushered  in  with  music,  ringing  of  bells,  and  discharge 
of  cannon.  Ships  and  houses  displayed  flags.  At  one  in  the  after- 
noon, "the  castle,  and  batteries,  and  train  of  artillery,  discharged 
their  ordnance,  and  at  night  the  whole  town  was  most  beautifully 
illuminated.  On  the  Common,  a  magnificent  pyramid  was  erected, 
with  280  lamps  (the  number  that  voted  for  repeal),1  the  four 
upper  rows  being  ornamented  with  the  figures  of  their  Majesties, 
and  fourteen  of  the  worthy  patriots  who  distinguished  themselves 
by  their  love  of  liberty." 

At  Philadelphia,  the  principal  inhabitants  gave  a  great  entertain- 
ment to  the  Governor ;  and  after  the  feast,  they  passed  a  resolution, 
that  "  to  demonstrate  our  zeal  to  Great  Britain,  and  our  gratitude 
for  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  each  of  us  will,  on  the  4th  of  June 
next,  being  the  birthday  of  our  Most  Gracious  Sovereign  George  in, 
dress  ourselves  in  a  new  suit  of  the  manufactures  of  England,  and 
give  what  homespun  we  have  to  the  poor."  And  South  Carolina 
sent  money  to  England  for  a  marble  statue  of  Mr.  Pitt. 

Meanwhile,  the   Tory  Press   poured  forth   its  venom,  fiercely 

denouncing  the  Bill,  representing  the  Colonies  as  grown  rich  and 

insolent,  and  dangerous  to  our  very  existence,  unless  we  kept  them 

well  down;  above  all,  abusing  Mr.  Pitt,  who  was  freely  called  a 

1  The  number  is  as  given. 


THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  STAMP  ACT         59 

traitor.  One  of  the  worst  of  these  "  monsters,"  as  someone  calls 
them  for  trying  to  inflame  the  public,  was  the  infamous  "Anti- 
Sejanus,"  James  Scott,  Lord  Sandwich's  chaplain,  who,  while  curry- 
ing favour  by  sham  attacks  on  "the  Thane," 1  cried  for  the  sword  to 
silence  American  complaints.2 

It  was  said  by  those  who  would  rather  not  have  seen  it  repealed 
at  all,  that,  if  the  Stamp  Act  must  be  repealed,  it  should  be  done  by 
a  new  Parliament,  that  the  foolish  spectacle  might  not  be  offered  to 
the  world  of  the  same  legislative  assembly  making  and  unmaking  a 
law  within  a  few  months.  But  time  pressed.  In  the  state  of  trade, 
and  of  the  people's  temper,  with  a  "  Favourite  "  working  in  the  dark 
on  a  young  King's  notions  of  "  high  prerogative,"  it  was  not  safe  to 
wait.  A  false  step  in  politics  can  seldom  be  wholly  retrieved,  and 
the  greater  the  error  the  more  difficult  and  hazardous  will  be  the 
reparation,  even  though  reparation  be  the  only  way  of  escape.  But 
the  Court  party  were  not  idle.  The  pamphleteers  were  at  their 
deadly  work,  inflaming  the  public  against  the  colonists.3 

His  Majesty  had  said  he  would  sooner  see  the  devil  come  into 
his  closet  than  Mr.  Grenville ;  but  a  very  few  days  after  the  great 
debate,  Bute  tried  to  bring  him  back.  Temple  angrily  refused  to 
see  Bute,  but  Bedford  and  Grenville  met  the  Favourite  at  Lord 
Eglington's.  Pitt  heard  of  the  meeting,  and  in  his  speech  on  the 
Third  Reading,  taxed  Grenville  with  it.  Grenville  replied  that  the 
conversation  was  only  how  to  prevent  repeal.  Next,  Rockingham 
was  told  that  the  King  was  against  it — Lord  Strange  went  about 
saying  so.  Rockingham  put  the  question  to  his  Majesty,  who 
denied,  though  he  refused  to  sign  an  opinion  in  favour  of  the  Bill. 

Rockingham  refused  to  leave  the  presence  until  the  King  dis- 
avowed Strange  in  writing.  Few  thought  that  Ministers  could  go 
on.4  On  nearly  the  last  day  of  February,  Rockingham  called  Mr. 
Nuthall  into  his  coach  in  Palace  Yard,  and  charged  him  with  a 

1  Bute. 

2  "  Had  this  Ministry  sent  a  couple  of  frigates  to  vapour  about  Boston,  and 
ordered  the  like  number  to  attend  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  with  directions 
to  threaten,  when  the  hired  tumults  began  to  show  their  airs,  the  Stamp  Act 
had  been  long  before  now  complied  with." — "  A  Real  Patriot,"  in  the  New  Daily 
Advertiser,  Feb.  14,  1766. 

8  "  That  seditious  spirit,  so  apparent  among  these  half  Indians,  must  either  be 
quelled  or  government  must  entirely  cease  in  the  disobedient  provinces.  That 
democratic  madness,  now  so  universal  here,  must  either  be  weeded  up,  or  we 
must  soon  expect  to  see  the  same  weapon  drawn  upon  Britain  within  this  island." 
— "Astrea,"  in  the  Gazetteer  and  New  Daily  Advertiser ;  Feb.  II,  1766. 

4  Rockingham  told  the  King  that  the  officers  of  the  Royal  Household  "acted 
like  a  corps." 


60  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

message  to  Pitt,  offering  to  meet  him.  Pitt  replied,  courteously 
declining  a  conference,  unless  his  Majesty  expressly  commanded 
him.  His  Majesty  was  said  to  have  put  a  stop  to  the  plan ;  but  it 
is  curious  that  at  this  particular  moment  a  rumour  should  have  got 
about  that  Pitt  would  go  into  the  House  of  Lords.  Meanwhile  it 
was  noticed  that  the  King  treated  with  extreme  coldness  all  who  had 
voted  for  repeal. 

The  detested  Cider  Tax  was  also  repealed,  and  the  duties  on 
houses  and  windows.  An  advantageous  peace  was  concluded  with 
Catherine  n,  the  affair  of  the  Canada  Bills  was  settled,  a  little  was 
even  done  towards  settling  the  Manilla  Ransom.  And  on  the 
23rd  of  April  the  House  resolved  "That  a  General  Warrant  to 
apprehend  the  author,  printer,  or  publisher  of  a  libel,  is  illegal ;  and 
if  executed  on  the  person  of  a  member  of  this  House,  is  also  a 
breach  of  the  privilege  of  this  House." 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  MUTINY  ACT 

"  If  we  look  back  into  the  history  of  this  country,  sir,  we  shall  find,  that  when- 
ever men  of  a  particular  cast  of  mind,  known  by  the  name  of  Tories,  get  any 
footing  in  the  Government,  violent  measures  ensue.  If  there  are  any  such  in 
the  present  Administration  ...  let  them  recollect  Sylla  precipitated  the 
Romans  into  liberty ;  Augustus,  who  best  knew  mankind,  gently  led  them  into 
slavery." — Speech  by  Mr.  Nicholson  Calvert,  in  the  Debate  on  the  dismission  of 
General  Conway,  March  4,  1765. 

"If  care  is  taken  that  none  shall  be  preferred  to  be  judges,  justices  of  the 
peace,  assembly  men,  or  even  attornies,  who  will  not  make  a  previous  solemn 
declaration  of  the  supreme  power  of  the  British  Parliament  in  America,  the  mis- 
chief-making monster  Sedition  will  be  banished  from  that  country  with  the  utmost 
expedition." — "Britannia,"  in  the  New  Daily  Advertiser,  March  5,  1766. 

"  In  the  first  place,  gentlemen,  you  are  to  consider  that  a  great  empire,  like  a 
great  cake,  is  most  easily  diminished  at  the  edges.  Turn  your  attention,  there- 
fore, first  to  your  remotest  provinces :  that,  as  you  get  rid  of  them,  the  rest 
may  follow  in  order.  .  .  .  Take  special  care  the  provinces  ...  do  not 
enjoy  the  same  common  rights,  the  same  privileges  in  commerce,  and  that  they 
are  governed  by  severer  laws,  all  your  making  .  .  .  you  are  to  suppose  them 
always  inclined  to  revolt,  and  trust  them  accordingly.  Quarter  troops 
among  them,  who  by  their  insolence  may  provoke  the  rising  of  mobs." — Rules  for 
reducing  a  Great  Empire  to  a  Small  one  (Franklin). 

If  there  was  never  such  joy  as  at  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  never 
was  joy  so  premature.  Repeal  removed  a  symptom,  but  left  the 
cause  of  the  mischief  untouched.  Pitt  appears  as  the  greatest 
statesman  of  his  time  in  nothing  more  than  his  far-seeing  com- 
prehension of  the  position  which  Colonies  must  hold,  if  they  are 
to  be  permanently  united  with  the  Mother  Country.  His  fierce 
opposition  to  the  "Declaratory  Act"  was  justified  by  the  event. 
But  even  most  of  the  repealers  clung  to  the  idea  of  a  "  supreme  " 
Parliament,  standing  between  the  King  and  a  number  of  little 
parliaments.  They  were  incensed  when  the  Colonial  Houses  of 
Representatives  put  themselves  on  an  equality  with  the  Parliament 
of  Westminster,  and  claimed  the  same  rights  and  privileges.  They 
could  not  understand  the  demands  of  the  colonists  to  be  considered 
as  so  many  English  counties,  which  happened  to  be  on  the  other 

61 


62  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

side  of  the  world,  and  their  representatives  as  on  the  same  footing 
as  the  representatives  of  Devon  or  Yorkshire.  The  contention 
that  the  Assemblies  were  sister  Parliaments  seemed  monstrous — 
the  distinction  they  drew  between  being  subject  to  the  King  or 
subject  to  the  Parliament  seemed  hypocritical.  The  British  Parlia- 
ment claimed  what  it  called  "  supremacy,"  and  insisted  on  its  right 
to  meddle  as  much  as  it  chose  in  the  affairs  of  people  who  were 
its  subjects.  Against  this  view  Pitt  thundered  in  vain.  It  was 
said  that  any  limitation  of  the  power  of  Parliament  was  humiliating, 
and  Opposition  tried  hard  to  make  repeal  conditional  on  the 
provincial  legislatures  erasing  the  resolutions  they  had  passed  against 
the  Stamp  Act.  A  large  party  in  the  Rockingham  Cabinet  was  in 
favour  of  the  "statutory  declaration,"  which  affirmed  the  absolute 
right  of  Parliament  over  the  Colonies.  On  the  3rd  of  January,  1766, 
the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  the  Colonies  was  carried  almost 
unanimously  in  spite  of  Pitt;  and  in  the  first  flush  of  relief  and 
thankfulness  the  colonists  themselves  took  little  note  of  it.  But  it 
was  there,  like  a  sting  left  in  a  wound,  ready  to  set  up  fresh 
irritation  on  the  first  occasion.  And  the  Mutiny  Bill  instantly 
furnished  the  occasion. 

The  Mutiny  Bill  was  ostensibly  an  Act  "  for  punishing  mutiny 
and  desertion,  and  for  the  better  payment  of  the  army  and  their 
quarters."  It  was  really  a  Billetting  Act,  and  was  renewed  yearly. 
Grenville,  in  passing  the  Stamp  Act,  was  so  well  aware  he  would 
offend  America,  that  the  Mutiny  Bill  of  1765  at  first  contained  a 
clause  for  the  quartering  of  soldiers  in  private  houses.  So  much 
pressure  was  put  on  Government  by  the  Colonial  Agents,  that  this 
clause  was  dropped ;  but  another  new  clause  was  retained,  which 
ordered  the  troops  to  be  provided  with  quarters,  firing,  bedding, 
candles,  small  beer  or  rum,  salt,  vinegar,  etc.  This  clause  was 
identical  in  principle  with  the  Stamp  Act,  and  was  introduced 
expressly  to  show  our  right  to  modify  internal  arrangements ;  but 
the  colonists  were  in  high  good-humour  at  repeal,  and  as  the 
Mutiny  Act  expired  and  was  renewed  every  year,  they  resolved  to 
obey  only  those  provisions  which  were  not  new,  and  thus  make 
compliance  appear  voluntary. 

Even  those  who  could  not  understand  the  opposition  to  the 
Stamp  Act,  might  have  realised  the  effect  likely  to  be  produced  by 
a  loosely  worded  demand  for  the  support  of  troops  not  even  limited 
as  to  number.1  But  no  sooner  had  the  Rockingham  Ministry 
repealed  the  Stamp  Act  than  it  renewed  the  Mutiny  Act,  with  the 
obnoxious   clauses.     Franklin   had   told   the  House  of  Commons 

1  It  was,  however,  understood  that  the  number  would  be  about  10,000. 


THE  MUTINY  ACT  63 

that  he  did  not  think  the  mere  Declaration  of  the  right  of  Parliament 
to  impose  internal  taxes  on  America  would  do  any  harm,  provided 
the  right  was  never  exercised.  The  Mutiny  Bill  did  exercise 
it ;  and  before  the  grateful  addresses  on  repeal  from  the  Colonies 
could  reach  England,  there  was  a  new  ferment — this  time,  in  New 
York. 

The  New  York  Assembly  refused  to  comply  with  the  new 
clauses,  and  justified  the  refusal  in  an  Address  to  the  Governor. 
The  Act  was  so  carelessly  drafted  that  the  form  of  requisition  was 
unconstitutional.  It  seemed  to  have  meant  originally  only  the 
furnishing  of  these  things  to  soldiers  on  the  march — now  it  was 
interpreted  to  mean  the  furnishing  them  for  the  whole  year.  More- 
over, the  number  of  troops  was  not  specified.  It  would  be  a  breach 
of  the  Assembly's  most  sacred  trust  if  it  loaded  the  people  with 
burdens  they  were  incapable  of  supporting — as  interpreted  by  the 
Governor,  the  Act  required  that  the  troops  should  be  quartered 
during  the  whole  year  in  a  very  unusual  and  expensive  manner. 
If,  however,  the  Assembly  received  "  a  proper  requisition  from  the 
Crown,"  it  was  ready  to  take  a  fair  share  with  the  other  colonies, 
and  find  barracks,  bedding,  kitchen  utensils,  etc.,  for  two  battalions 
of  five  hundred  men  each,  and  one  company  of  artillery,  for  one 
year — and  to  pay  for  this,  there  is  the  ^3900  which  General 
Amherst  left  in  the  Treasury,  to  be  returned  to  the  province.  It 
added  that  it  looked  on  this  Act  as  virtually  as  much  an  Act  for 
laying  taxes  on  America  as  the  Stamp  Act  itself. 

Governor  Moore  replied  that  he  was  much  concerned  to  find 
their  sentiments  so  much  differing  from  his  own;  and  should  send 
their  Address  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  be  laid  before  his 
Majesty. 

As  was  inevitable,  there  was  friction  between  the  people  and  the 
soldiers.  In  New  York  city  the  soldiers  took  to  cutting  down  the 
"  Liberty  tree "  on  the  Common,  and  as  often  as  they  did  so  the 
citizens  turned  out  and  set  up  another.  In  July,  1766,  Major- 
General  Gage1  wrote  that  the  28th  regiment,  sent  into  Duchess 
County  to  quell  "  some  dangerous  riots,"  had  been  fired  upon  by 
the  rioters.  There  had  also  been  "  skirmishes  "  in  Albany  County, 
a  few  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides,  and  a  good  many  prisoners 
taken.  A  captain  and  fifty  men  had  been  left  to  guard  the  gaols, 
and  the  rest  of  the  regiment  had  brought  the  ringleaders  into  New 
York.  About  the  same  time  that  this  letter  arrived  came  another 
from  Governor  Ward,  of  Rhode  Island,  full  of  joy  and  hope — "  this 

1  Gage  was  a  son  of  Lord  Gage.  He  fought  at  Culloden,  and  received  a 
medal  from  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.     He  was  with  Braddock. 


64  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

most  happy  occasion,"  "  wise,  upright,  and  benevolent  measures  "  of 
the  British  Parliament;  "joy,  tranquillity  and  happiness"  diffused 
thereby  throughout  the  Colonies. 

In  Boston,  the  new  Assembly  was  every  whit  as  unsubmissive 
as  the  old  one.  It  had  a  long  wrangle  with  Bernard  over  the 
Compensation  Bill.  It  charged  Bernard  with  having  interpreted 
his  Majesty's  recommendation  to  make  up  the  losses  in  the  riots, 
as  "a  requisition  peremptory  and  authoritative."  Compensation 
would  be  generosity,  not  justice, — it  could  only  be  made  with  the 
express  consent  of  the  constituents, — the  matter  must  therefore  be 
adjourned  to  the  next  sitting.  The  Governor  replied  that  his 
Majesty  seemed  to  be  graciously  pleased  to  throw  a  veil  over  the 
late  disturbances,  provided  the  Bostonians  were  all  very  good  boys 
for  the  future ;  but  the  King  and  Parliament  were  quite  determined 
the  sufferers  should  be  compensated — on  the  score  of  mere  justice 
and  humanity — and  he  talked  about  the  blessings  derived  from 
subjection  to  Great  Britain. 

The  Council  changed  the  word  to  relation  ;  and  the  Assembly, 
though  it  retained  "subjection,"  took  care  to  observe  that  "the 
connection  with  the  Mother  Country  is  founded  on  the  principles  of 
filial  obedience,  protection,  and  justice." 

The  Assembly  was  determined  that  compensation  should  appear 
as  a  voluntary  act,  but  the  British  Government  thought  this  was 
not  for  the  dignity  of  Great  Britain ;  so  when  application  was  made 
to  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  for  the  money  due  to  the  colony  by 
grant  of  Parliament,  for  services  during  the  war,  instead  of  making 
this  an  opportunity  for  renewing  the  old  goodwill,  their  lordships 
replied  that  they  meant  to  keep  back  the  money  till  compensation 
was  made  to  the  sufferers  in  the  late  dangerous  riots.  Bernard 
wrote  to  Shelburne  that  the  town  wanted  to  make  the  province 
pay  part  of  the  compensation,  but  Boston  ought  to  pay  all,  for  the 
riots  were  generally  abhorred  by  the  best  men  in  the  province,  and 
by  much  the  greater  part  of  the  common  people.  At  last,  on 
December  6,  the  Compensation  Bill  passed,  but  it  contained  an 
indemnity  clause  for  all  offences  committed  during  the  agitation. 
New  York  also  passed  a  Compensation  Bill,  but  it  described  the 
sum  as  intended  "for  charitable  purposes,"  and  did  not  include 
compensation  for  Colden's  chariot.1 

Conway  had  been  much  blamed  by  George  Grenville  for  the 
expression    "forgive   and   forget,"2    in    his   circular  letter  to   his 

1  Colden  claimed  ^195,  3s. 

2  "You  would  think  it  scarce  possible,  I  imagine,  that  the  paternal  care  of  his 
Majesty  for  his  colonies,  or  the  lenity  and  indulgence  of  the  parliament  should 


THE  MUTINY  ACT  65 

Majesty's  Governors  in  America.  Bernard,  however,  gave 
Massachusetts  no  chance  of  forgetting.  Even  in  congratulating 
the  Assembly  on  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  he  could  not  help 
sneering  at  "the  borrowed  mask  of  patriotic  zeal,"  and  lecturing 
them  on  "the  late  disgraceful  scenes."  And  as  soon  as  the 
Compensation  Bill  was  through,  he  got  into  other  wrangles,  and 
a  good  deal  of  nagging  went  on.  More  serious  questions  arose — 
the  Mutiny  Act,  and  the  question  of  the  Council.  Bernard  was 
determined  to  have  the  Lieutenant-Governor  on  the  Council ;  the 
Assembly,  incensed  at  Hutchinson's  support  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
were  equally  determined  not  to  have  him. 

Few  things  in  the  history  of  this  struggle  are  more  tragic  than 
the  fate  of  Thomas  Hutchinson.  In  any  other  times  he  would 
have  left  behind  him  one  of  the  most  respectable  names  in  the 
history  of  Massachusetts.  His  great  abilities,  his  tenacity  of 
purpose,  his  strong  common-sense,  only  served  to  blast  his  fame. 
As  we  read  the  diaries  in  which  he  opens  his  heart,  we  realise  that 
to  himself  he  appeared  an  honest  man  and  a  faithful  servant.  He 
was  a  man  of  education — even  of  culture,  and  his  History  of 
Massachusetts  is  a  monument  to  his  love  for  his  country.  Yet  he 
turned  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  from  him,  and  he  died  in 
exile,  broken-hearted,  believing  himself  a  victim  to  personal 
rancours  and  trivial  interests,  refusing  to  the  last  to  recognise 
the  great  principles  inspiring  the  contest  in  which  he  had  been 
worsted. 

Hutchinson  and  Oliver  were  now  two  of  the  most  unpopular 
men  in  Massachusetts.  Bernard  resolved  to  have  them  both  on 
the  Council.  On  the  4th  of  February,  a  Committee  of  Assembly 
waited  on  the  Governor  to  remonstrate  on  his  action  in  ordering 
provision  to  be  made  for  the  artillery  companies  at  the  Castle. 
The  originating,  granting,  and  disposing  of  taxes  was  by  the  Charter 
the  privilege  of  their  House.  His  Excellency,  by  his  order,  had 
put  it  out  of  their  power  to  testify,  by  an  act  of  their  own,  the 
cheerfulness  they  had  always  shown  in  granting  aids  to  his  Majesty. 
Why  was  the  matter  not  laid  before  them  last  session  ?  Bernard 
replied  that  they  passed  the  Compensation  Bill  with  only  six  days 
of  the  session  left,  and  then  asked  for  a  recess.  And  he  had 
ordered  an  account  to  be  made  out  of  the  expenses.  This  is  all 
of  what  you  call  a  breach  of  privilege. 

go  farther  than  I  have  already  mentioned ;  yet  so  full  of  magnanimity  are  the 
sentiments   of  both  .  .  .  that   they   seem   not   only  disposed   to  forgive  but  to 
forget.  .  .  ." — Mr.  Secretary  Conway's  Circular  Letter  to  his  Majesty's  Governors 
in  America,  March  31,  1766. 
VOL.  I.— 5 


66  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

On  the  1 6th,  by  a  large  majority,  the  Assembly  resolved  that 
the  Lieutenant-Governor,  not  being  elected  to  the  Council,  had  by 
the  Charter  no  right  to  a  seat  on  it,  whether  with  or  without  a  vote. 
They  also  sent  a  message  to  the  Governor  to  ask  whether  pro- 
vision had  been  made  at  the  expense  of  the  province  for  his 
Majesty's  troops  lately  arrived,  and  by  whom?  And  were  any 
more  expected?  Bernard  replied  that  provision  had  been  made 
by  a  minute  of  Council,  which  he  now  laid  before  them,  together 
with  the  account  of  the  expense.  He  had  received  no  advice  of 
more  troops — except  by  common  rumour,  to  which  he  gave  no 
credit. 

By  this  time  Bernard's  relations  with  his  legislature  had 
degenerated  into  perpetual  nagging.  His  messages  betray  the 
smothered  irritation  of  a  man  who  is  being  out-generalled,  but 
resolves  to  yield  with  as  bad  a  grace  as  possible. 

Francis  Bernard  came  of  a  good  old  Northamptonshire  stock. 
He  began  as  a  lawyer,  and  settled  in  Lincoln,  where  he  knew  the 
Pownalls.  His  wife  was  a  niece  of  Governor  Shute  of  Massachusetts. 
Bernard  had  a  large  family  to  provide  for,  and  when  in  1756  Lord 
Barrington  offered  him  a  Colonial  governorship,  he  accepted  it. 
He  succeeded  his  friend  Thomas  Pownall  as  Governor  of  New 
Jersey,  Pownall  going  to  Massachusetts.  In  New  Jersey  Bernard 
was  thought  a  good  governor,  particularly  kind  to  Quakers  and 
Indians.  In  1760  Pownall  went  to  South  Carolina,  and  Bernard 
became  Governor  of  Massachusetts.  He  went  very  cheerfully,  not 
knowing  that  his  good  days  were  over.  Pownall  had  inclined  to 
the  popular  side — and  had  left  the  people  in  a  good  temper. 
Bernard  wrote,  "  I  am  assured  I  may  depend  upon  a  quiet  and 
easy  administration.  I  shall  have  no  points  of  government  to 
dispute  about,  no  schemes  of  self-interest  to  pursue.  The  people 
are  well-disposed  to  live  upon  good  terms  with  the  Governor."  It 
was  a  sanguine  expectation.  The  history  of  Massachusetts  is  little 
more  than  the  history  of  the  quarrels  of  the  people  with  their 
governors.  Ellis  says  that  not  one  of  the  ten  Royal  Governors 
found  it  agreeable,  "not  one  had  a  wholly  placid  administration, 
or  escaped  being  complained  of  to  the  King,  and  probably  not  one 
ever  gave  it  up  without  regretting  he  ever  held  it."  But  though 
Bernard  early  offended  a  powerful  popular  lawyer — James  Otis — 
he  had  little  trouble  until  the  Stamp  Act  upset  his  peace  for  ever. 

After  this,  he  appears  to  have  lost  his  head.  It  is  piteous  to 
see  a  man,  not  criminal  in  intention,  apparently  bent  on  blowing 
up  a  flame  that  may  set  fire  to  a  whole  continent.  His  indiscretion 
was  appalling.     When  he  could  not  pack  his  Council  as  he  wished, 


THE  MUTINY  ACT  67 

he  openly  lamented  that  the  Crown  officers  had  "dropped  off" 
from  the  Council,  instead  of  remaining  ex  officio,  to  support  the 
Governor.  Hutchinson  was  one  of  the  most  able  men  in  New 
England.  His  great  abilities  as  a  financier  had  put  Massachusetts 
on  a  better  monetary  footing  than  any  other  province  of  North 
America.  But  he  was  now  more  unpopular  than  Bernard  himself. 
In  vain  did  Bernard  stoop  to  bargain  with  the  electors — let  in  so 
many  of  my  friends,  and  I  will  let  in  so  many  of  yours.  Certain 
of  a  majority,  they  refused  to  accept  his  candidates.  Bernard 
refused  to  accept  theirs,  and  wrote  to  tell  Shelburne  of  their  un- 
dutiful  behaviour. 

He  did  worse.  He  told  Shelburne  that  he  daily  expected  a 
rebellion,  and  that  a  fleet  and  army  ought  to  be  sent  to  take 
possession  of  Boston  and  New  York.  Such  was  the  state  of  things, 
when  news  came  that  the  King  had  disallowed  the  Compensation 
Bill,  and  that  a  new  scheme  was  to  be  laid  before  Parliament  for 
taxing  the  Colonies.  Also  that  "their  late  great  Patron  had 
deserted  their  cause." 1 

1  "  A  spirit  of  infatuation  has  taken  possession  of  New  York  :  their  disobedience 
to  the  mutiny  act  will  justly  create  a  great  ferment  here,  open  a  fair  field  to  the 
arraigners  of  America,  and  leave  no  room  to  any  to  say  a  word  in  their  defence." 
— Chatham  to  Shelburne  t  Bath,  Feb.  3,  1767. 


CHAPTER   XI 
THE  PATCHWORK  CABINET 

"He  made  an  administration  so  checkered  and  speckled,  he  put  together  a 
piece  of  joinery  so  crossly  indented  and  whimsically  dovetailed,  a  cabinet  so 
variously  inlaid,  such  a  piece  of  diversified  mosaic,  such  a  tessalated  pavement 
without  cement— here  a  bit  of  black  stone  and  there  a  bit  of  white,  patriots  and 
courtiers,  king's  friends  and  Republicans,  Whigs  and  Tories,  treacherous  friends 
and  open  enemies — that  it  was,  indeed,  a  very  curious  show,  but  utterly  unsafe  to 
touch  and  unsure  to  stand  on.  The  colleagues  whom  he  had  assorted  at  the  same 
boards,  stared  at  each  other,  and  were  obliged  to  ask  ;  *  Sir,  your  name  ? ' — 
'Sir,  you  have  the  advantage  of  me.' — 'Mr.  Such-a-one.' — 'I  beg  a  thousand 
pardons.'  I  venture  to  say,  it  did  so  happen  that  persons  had  a  single  office 
divided  between  them  who  had  never  spoke  to  each  other  in  their  lives,  until 
they  found  themselves,  they  knew  not  how,  pigging  together,  heads  and  points, 
in  the  same  truckle-bed."1 — Burke's  Speech  on  American  Taxation. 

The  Rockingham  Administration  lasted  one  year  and  twenty  days. 
It  was  a  remarkably  disinterested  Administration.  The  elevation  of 
Chief  Justice  Pratt  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Camden  was  almost  the 
only  promotion  it  made,  and  when  it  was  dismissed  it  did  not 
follow  the  usual  custom  of  asking  for  pensions  and  honours.  It 
asked  nothing,  and  received  nothing — for  in  that  sphere,  only  he 
that  asketh  receiveth.  It  was  thus  nobody's  business  to  praise  it ; 
but  a  little  after  its  fall,  Burke,  in  his  Short  Accowit  of  a  Short 
Administration,  thus  summed  up  what  it  did  for  the  country : — 

"  The  distractions  of  the  British  empire  were  composed,  by  The 
repeal  of  the  Stamp- act ; 

"  But  the  constitutional  superiority  of  Great  Britain  was  preserved, 
by  the  Act  for  securing  the  dependence  of  the  Colonies. 

"  Private  houses  were  relieved  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Excise, 
by  The  repeal  of  the  Cyder-tax. 

"The  personal  liberty  of  the  subject  was  confirmed,  by  The 
resolution  against  General  Warrants. 

"The  lawful  secrets  of  business  and  friendship  were  ren- 
dered inviolable,  by  The  resolution  concerning  the  seizure  of 
papers. 

1  Lord  North  and  Mr.  George  Cooke  were  Joint  Paymasters-General. 

68 


THE  PATCHWORK  CABINET  69 

"  The  trade  of  America  was  set  free  from  injudicious  and  ruinous 
impositions,  the  African  trade  was  preserved  and  extended,  and  an 
advantageous  commercial  treaty  was  made  with  Russia." 

The  King  was  deeply  displeased  at  the  Repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act.  The  Ministry  was  torn  by  dissensions.  Towards  the  end  of 
May,  the  Duke  of  Grafton  suddenly  resigned,  on  the  plea  that  he 
would  not  serve  in  any  administration  of  which  Mr.  Pitt  did  not 
form  a  part.  The  Quebec  Bill  was  the  last  straw.  Among  the 
exploits  of  the  Grenville  Cabinet  was  the  foolish  Act  which  swept 
away  the  old  French  laws  of  Canada,  and  brought  the  new 
province  to  the  verge  of  rebellion.  Rockingham  was  for  restoring 
the  old  laws,  which  the  people  understood.  Chancellor  Northington 
violently  opposed  this,  and  at  last  rudely  refused  to  attend  any  more 
Councils.1  He  even  went  to  the  King,  and  told  him  the  present 
Ministry  could  not  go  on. 

In  those  days,  the  King  could  dismiss  his  Ministers,  but  the 
usual  practice  was  to  make  them  so  uncomfortable  that  they 
entreated  his  Majesty's  permission  to  resign.  If,  however,  an 
obnoxious  Minister  showed  no  inclination  to  do  this,  his  Majesty 
began  privately  to  provide  himself  with  new  "  servants " ;  and  at 
such  junctures  he  always  became  particularly  gracious  to  his  old 
ones.  Rockingham  told  a  friend  that  the  King  never  showed  him 
such  distinguished  kindness  as  after  he  had  secretly  determined 
to  be  rid  of  him. 

At  the  beginning  of  July  it  was  known  that  the  King  had 
sent  for  Mr.  Pitt,  and  great  was  the  joy.  Pitt  was  very  ill,  and 
he  no  sooner  arrived  in  London  than  he  was  prostrated  by 
a  fever;  but  on  July  12  he  had  an  audience  of  the  King  at 
Richmond. 

Parliament  had  been  prorogued  once,  twice,  three  times. 
Everyone  knew  that  the  Cabinet  was  being  reconstructed.  Then 
came  the  great  surprise.  On  July  30,  1766,  the  whole  country 
was  electrified  by  the  news  that  Rockingham  was  dismissed,  the 
Duke  of  Grafton  was  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  and  Pitt — Pitt ! — 
had  accepted  a  peerage,  and  was  gazetted  as  Viscount  Pitt  of 
Burton  Pynsent,  and  Earl  of  Chatham ! 

No  political  event  ever  caused  more  astonishment,  and  few 
have  caused  more  dismay.  The  town  rang  with  it.  Pitt's  friends 
knew  not  what  to  think.  His  enemies  lampooned  him  in  prose 
and  verse,  and  cried  exultingly  that  now  he  would  do  no  more 
mischief.     He  had  lately  had  a  great  accession  of  fortune  in  the 

1  It  was  said  that,  hearing  the  Cabinet  had  met  without  him,  he  swore  it 
should  never  meet  again.     For  this  he  was  loaded  with  pensions  and  sinecures. 


70  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

bequest  of  Sir  William  Pynsent,  an  eccentric  Somersetshire  baronet, 
who  never  saw  Pitt  in  his  life,  but  left  him  his  estate  to  mark  his 
approval  of  Pitt's  political  conduct.  Now  a  parody  of  "William 
and  Helen  "  went  the  round  of  the  Press,  and  Pynsent's  ghost  was 
made  to  come  from  the  grave  to  denounce  the  renegade.  Pitt  was 
compared  to  the  other  "  Great  Commoner,"  who  committed  political 
suicide  by  becoming  Earl  of  Bath.  The  banquet  which  was  to 
have  celebrated  his  return  .to  office  was  countermanded  ;  the  lamps 
hung  on  the  Monument,  ready  for  the  illumination  of  the  City,  were 
taken  down.  Lord  Chesterfield  wrote  to  his  son  that  the  joke  here 
was  that  Mr.  Pitt  had  had  a  fall  up  stairs,  and  was  so  much  hurt  he 
would  never  get  over  it.  And  he  never  did.  The  Earl  of  Chatham 
was  as  bold  and  outspoken  as  Mr.  Pitt,  but  the  spell  was  broken, 
henceforth  he  waved  his  magic  wand  in  vain. 

This  great  misfortune  has  always  been  more  or  less  of  a  mystery 
— now  important  only  because  the  fate  of  America  was  bound  up 
with  the  fate  of  Pitt,  and  the  Cabinet  of  Pitt's  choosing  was  to 
deal  our  Colonial  empire  a  blow  more  fatal  than  the  Stamp  Act 
itself. 

Why  did  Pitt  refuse  to  form  a  Cabinet  in  1765  ?  Why  did  he 
consent  in  1766?  His  refusal  was  disastrous;  his  consent  was 
more  disastrous  still.  Why  did  he  refuse  to  unite  with  Rockingham, 
and  a  year  later  accept  the  men  he  did  ?  What  was  Temple's  part 
in  the  miserable  business?  What  was  Bute's?  What  was  the 
King's  ?  The  deeper  we  go  into  the  memoirs  and  correspondence 
of  the  time,  the  less  we  understand.  No  sooner  do  we  seem  to  find 
a  clue,  than  we  lose  it  again.  In  1765,  Pitt  had  refused  to  form  a 
Cabinet  unless  the  King  would  recall  the  great  Whig  families  to  his 
councils.  Why  did  he  depart  from  this  safe  policy  in  1766?  It 
sometimes  seems  as  though  Temple,  with  his  rancours  and  his  dark 
underground  ways,  were  the  fatal  influence  in  Pitt's  career;  but  the 
whole  story,  and  even  the  character  of  Temple,  is  a  mystery. 
Twice  Temple  appears  at  the  last  moment  as  the  evil  genius,  the 
diabolus  ex  machina.  It  is  possible  that  there  exist  letters  which 
could  supply  the  key  to  the  enigma.  Probably,  if  we  knew  with 
certainty  the  part  that  Temple  played,  the  rest  would  become 
tolerably  clear.  Chesterfield  wrote  of  the  negotiations  of  1765, 
"  Mr.  Pitt  would  have  accepted,  but  not  without  Lord  Temple's 
consent,  and  Lord  Temple  positively  refused.  There  was  evidently 
some  trick  in  this,  but  what,  is  past  my  conjecture."  Yet  Chester- 
field was  steeped  in  all  the  political  gossip  of  his  day.  That  was  a 
dark  intrigue  which  he  could  not  fathom.  It  is  said  that  as  they 
went  away  together  from  the  last  audience  with  the  King,  in  June, 


THE  PATCHWORK  CABINET  71 

1765,  Pitt  addressed  to  Temple  the  words  which  Virgil  puts  into 
the  mouth  of  Anna,  after  Dido's  suicide — 

"  Exstinxsti  me  teque,  soror,  populumque,  patresque 
Sidonios,  urbemque  tuam." 

In  that  same  June  of  1765  Burke  (who  did  not  love  Pitt)  wrote 
to  Henry  Flood :  "  You  may  be  assured  he  has  it  now  in  his  power 
to  come  into  the  service  of  his  country  upon  any  plan  of  politics  he 
may  choose  to  dictate,  with  great  and  honourable  terms  to  himself 
and  to  every  friend  he  has  in  the  world,  and  with  such  a  stretch  of 
power  as  will  be  equal  to  everything  but  absolute  despotism  over 
the  king  and  kingdom."  He  added  :  "  A  few  days  will  show.  .  .  . 
For  his  gout  is  worse  than  ever,  but  his  pride  may  disable  him 
worse  than  his  gout."  By  the  last  words,  Burke  meant  that  Pitt's 
pride  might  prevent  his  uniting  with  Rockingham. 

This  was  in  1765.  In  July,  1766,  the  negotiations  ended 
abruptly  in  a  sudden  and  furious  quarrel  between  Pitt  and  Temple. 
For  the  time  the  breach  was  complete.  Each  of  the  brothers-in- 
law  wrote  or  inspired  an  angry  pamphlet  against  the  other;  but 
though  an  extreme  rancour  is  evident,  the  position  of  neither  Pitt 
nor  Temple  can  be  extracted  with  any  clearness. 

Pitt's  acceptance  of  a  peerage  is  another  puzzle.  Neither  friend 
nor  foe  has  ever  explained  it.  He  had  the  example  of  Pulteney  to 
warn  him.  His  sphere  was  pre-eminently  the  House  of  Commons ; 
he  had  everything  to  lose  by  the  exchange  to  the  uncongenial 
atmosphere  of  the  Lords — "  the  hospital  for  incurables,"  as  Chester- 
field called  it.  Over  and  over  again  in  the  past  Pitt  had  shown  a 
disinterestedness  rare  in  any  age,  phenomenal  in  his  own  age.  He 
threw  up  the  great  prize  of  the  Paymastership  (out  of  which  Henry 
Fox  carved  a  fortune)  rather  than  be  Bute's  henchman.1  The 
pension  he  accepted  in  1761 — which  offended  many  of  his  friends — 
left  him  as  fierce  as  ever  in  opposition.  The  title  conferred  at  the 
same  time  upon  his  wife  enabled  him  to  hold  up  his  head  with  the 
Grenvilles,  had  the  wife  of  Pitt  required  any  other  distinction.  But 
the  one  thing  which  comes  out  clearly  from  the  family  letters  is  the 

1  "  When  Pitt  was  appointed  Paymaster,  in  1746,  it  was  customary  for  a  sum  of 
;£ioo,ooo  to  remain,  by  way  of  advance,  in  the  Paymaster's  hands.  This  money, 
in  the  time  of  his  predecessors,  was  usually  invested  in  government  securities, 
and  brought  a  considerable  annual  return,  which  was  appropriated  by  the  Pay- 
master to  his  private  use.  Aware  of  the  mischiefs  to  which  the  practice  had  a 
direct  tendency,  Mr.  Pitt  uniformly  deposited  his  balance  in  the  Bank  of 
England,  without  deriving  the  smallest  emolument  therefrom."—  Chatham 
Correspondence,  iii.  289,  note. 


72  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

affectionate  attachment  of  the  Grenville  brothers  to  Pitt — even  with 
George  this  feeling  survived  all  political  quarrels. 

But  it  is  most  probable  that  Pitt's  gout  was  more  fatal  than  his 
pride — was  the  ultimate  cause  of  his  showing  himself  so  impractic- 
able. He  had  been  a  martyr  to  this  painful  malady  ever  since  he 
was  sixteen.  At  the  end  of  1764  it  became  much  worse — for  a 
year  he  was  never  able  to  attend  the  House.  Then  came  the 
wonderful  rally,  when  he  was  the  soul  of  the  movement  for  repeal. 
But  immediately  afterwards  he  fell  ill  again,  and  with  great  difficulty 
obeyed  the  King's  summons  in  July.  All  we  know  of  his  temper 
at  that  crisis  points  to  the  uncontrollable  irritation  of  a  man 
suffering  from  gout  more  or  less  suppressed.  If  he  had  been 
himself,  he  would  never  have  consented  to  work  with  such  a 
Noah's  Ark  as  the  Grafton  Cabinet.  Even  the  peerage  is  partly 
accounted  for,  by  supposing  that  he  no  longer  felt  able  to  cope 
with  the  strenuous  conflicts  in  the  Commons. 

But  this  cannot  have  been  all.  There  was  another  cause,  and 
that  was  the  persistent  attempt  of  George  in  to  shift  power  from 
the  Commons  to  the  King  in  Council.  With  the  Ministry  reduced 
to  a  Council  *of  State,  appointed  by  the  King,  responsible  only  to 
the  King,  the  government  of  Great  Britain  would  have  resembled 
that  of  France  before  the  Great  Revolution.  The  King  told  Pitt 
he  wanted  to  get  rid  of  party  government — "connection,"  as  it  was 
then  called — and  choose  his  Ministers  irrespective  of  their  being 
Whig  or  Tory.  He  meant  that  he  wanted  to  do  away  with 
Opposition.  By  destroying  the  influence  of  the  great  Whig 
families,  he  could  ensure  a  Parliament  permanently  packed  in  the 
interest  of  the  Crown.  He  wanted  a  free  choice,  untrammelled 
by  the  claims  of  the  Whigs,  that  he  might  pack  his  Cabinet  with 
"  King's  friends."  Failing  in  this,  he  tried  to  govern  by  means  of 
the  "  double  Cabinet " — the  Cabinet  within  the  Cabinet,  the  little 
clique  of  "  King's  friends "  behind  the  Ministry.  Bute  got  the 
idea  of  this  from  Baty,  who  told  him  that  "  official  men  ought 
never  to  be  trusted  with  information  of  any  measure  till  it  was 
given  them  to  execute."  And  the  King  succeeded.  We  find  one 
Minister  after  another  complaining  that  he  has  not  his  Majesty's 
confidence,  and  none  more  loudly  than  Grenville,  once  Bute's  "  dear 
George."  The  "opaque  shadow"  of  Bute  falls  over  every  Cabinet 
of  the  first  ten  years  of  George  in.  In  those  ten  years,  there  were 
five  Administrations,  till  foreign  Powers  said  the  changes  were  so 
frequent,  that  they  no  longer  knew  with  whom  they  were  negotiating.1 

1<{Five  ministers  had  kept  in  for  just  14  months  each,  from  'kissing  in  to 
kicking  out.'" — Trevelyan. 


THE  PATCHWORK  CABINET  73 

At  last,  in  Lord  North,  the  King  found  a  Minister  after  his  own 
heart — a  pliant  tool,  with  no  policy  but  to  do  his  master's  will. 
The  North  Administration  lasted  twelve  years  ! 

Party  government  has  its  evils,  but  the  alternative  is  a  worse 
evil.  We  owe  our  liberties  to  the  constant  presence  of  a  watchful 
Opposition.  The  best  Government  in  the  world  will  not  long 
remain  good,  if  it  is  not  kept  up  to  the  mark  by  wholesome  fear 
of  Opposition  ;  a  bad  Government,  unrestrained  by  that  fear,  will  set 
no  limit  to  its  attacks  on  liberty.  It  is  nearly  always  the  case 
that  men  who  say  they  are  of  no  party  are  passively,  at  least,  in 
favour  of  the  party  which  is  against  the  party  of  the  people. 

It  is  certain  that  at  the  time  we  are  considering  Bute's  in- 
fluence was  secretly  very  active.  It  is  uncertain  when  that 
influence  ceased — after  the  death  of  the  Princess  Dowager  in  1772 
we  hear  very  little  of  it;  but  North  was  then  in  power,  and  the 
King  no  longer  needed  Bute  in  his  intrigues  against  recalcitrant 
Ministers.  It  is  certain  that  Bute  was  in  constant  communication 
with  the  King,  long  after  George  had  professed  he  "  never  saw 
Lord  Bute,"  and  Bute  that  he  "  had  not  seen  the  King  for  many 
years."  That  a  coldness  did  at  last  arise,  seems  to  be  proved  by 
the  King's  anger  with  that  indiscreet  person,  his  aunt,  Princess 
Amelia,  who  tried  to  bring  about  a  meeting  between  him  and 
Bute.  Meanwhile,  for  many  years  the  cry  of  "  influence  "  was  to 
be  used  with  fatal  effect,  tossed  from  one  side  to  the  other,  in- 
stilling a  feeling  of  universal  treachery,  casting  the  cold  shade  of 
doubt  even  over  honest  men.  It  was  the  stock  accusation.  No 
sooner  was  the  Rockingham  Ministry  in  power,  than  the  Grenvill- 
ites — many  of  whom  had  sat  in  Bute's  Cabinet — denounced  it  for 
having  come  to  terms  with  "the  Favourite."  And  though  the 
charge  was  preposterous,  the  long  delay  in  summoning  Parliament, 
at  a  time  when  every  ship  from  America  brought  worse  and  worse 
news,  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  some  secret 
influence  was  at  work  to  prevent  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 
But  it  matters  little  when  Bute  ceased  to  meddle.  The  mischief 
was  done,  the  lesson  learnt.  The  pupil  was  one  who  never  forgot. 
The  evil  genius  of  George  111  was  the  Earl  of  Bute ;  and,  with  all 
his  virtues,  George  111  was  the  political  evil  genius  of  his  generation. 

It  is  hard  to  forgive  Pitt  for  the  Patchwork  Cabinet.  To  have 
refused  so  obstinately  to  work  with  Rockingham,  and  then  to 
choose  that  grotesque  menagerie,  not  even  made  coherent  by 
loyalty  to  himself!  To  refuse  his  "confidence"  to  Rockingham, 
and  give  it  to  Townshend !  He  believed,  no  doubt,  that  he  could 
bend  them  all  to  his  will,  and  that  it  mattered  little  who  composed 


74  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  crew  as  long  as  he  steered  the  ship.  But  his  failing  hand  was 
soon  to  let  go  the  helm,  and  Townshend  was  to  snatch  it  and  steer 
the  ship  on  the  rocks. 

It  seemed  as  though  the  new  Cabinet  would  never  be  arranged. 
Chatham  was  in  a  strangely  overwrought  state.  It  was  said — 
probably  with  considerable  exaggeration — that  he  offered  the  great 
offices  as  a  man  would  fling  a  bone  to  a  dog.  Several  gentlemen 
declined  in  a  huff.  And  now,  at  last,  he  condescended  to  call  on 
Rockingham,  who,  with  unwonted  spirit,  sent  word  "he  was  out." 
It  must  have  required  considerably  more  courage  to  deny  him- 
self to  the  "  late  Great  Commoner "  than  to  repeal  the  Stamp 
Act. 

On  the  plea  that  his  health  would  not  allow  his  regular  attend- 
ance in  Parliament,  Chatham  took  the  Privy  Seal  himself,  and 
made  Grafton 1  the  nominal  head  of  the  Cabinet.  Grafton  is  chiefly 
remembered  for  what  Junius  said  about  him.  He  called  Grafton 
"a  young  nobleman  already  ruined  at  play,"  and  savagely  flung 
at  him  his  horse-racing,  his  divorced  duchess,  his  mistress,  Mrs. 
Nancy  Parsons — even  the  bar  sinister  on  his  escutcheon.  Grafton 
was,  however,  not  the  unmitigated  scoundrel  Junius  called  him — 
nor  was  he  a  fool.  He  was  an  enlightened  and  cultivated  man. 
But  he  was  vacillating,  and  no  doubt  his  devotion  to  Chatham  was 
his  recommendation.  He  voted  for  repeal,  and  was  a  strong 
Pittite — had  declared  he  would  never  form  part  of  any  administra- 
tion which  did  not  include  Pitt.  But  he  also  voted  for  the  fatal 
"declaratory  clause,"  and  his  resignation  had  been  the  first  sign 
of  the  approaching  dissolution  of  the  Rockingham  Cabinet. 
Chancellor  Northington — who  had  actually  brought  down  the 
House  on  Rockingham's  ears — was  President  of  the  Council. 
There  were  only  two  men  of  conspicuous  ability  in  Chatham's 
Cabinet — Charles  Townshend  and  Lord  North.  Townshend  had 
no  principles  at  all.  North,  an  amiable  and  worthy  man,  of  clear 
intellect  but  feeble  will,  was  already  drifting  towards  the  Tories, 
though  nature  had  made  him  a  Whig.  Charles  Townshend  was 
given  twenty-four  hours  to  make  up  his  mind  whether  he  would 
exchange  the  ^7000  a  year  (and  perquisites)  of  the  Paymastership 
for  the  beggarly  ^2500  paid  to  a  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 
Finally,  he  accepted,  and  the  fate  of  America  was  sealed.  North 
shared  the  Paymastership  with  Mr.  George  Cooke — "pigging  to- 
gether, heads  and  points,  in  the  same  truckle-bed."  So  was 
completed  the  famous  Patchwork  Cabinet,  of  which  Burke  said 
that  it  was  a  very  curious  show,  but  utterly  unsafe  to  touch — 
1  "He  became  minister  by  accident." — Junius,  Jan.  21,  1769. 


THE  PATCHWORK  CABINET  75 

"  patriots  and  courtiers,  king's  friends  and  Republicans,  Whigs  and 
Tories,  treacherous  friends  and  open  enemies." 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  King  hoped  to  make  a  tool 
of  Pitt,  and  that  as  long  as  he  saw  a  chance  of  this  he  flattered  and 
humoured  the  great  Minister  who  alone  could  make  "affairs  go 
on."  As  soon  as  he  found  that  Chatham  was  as  unmalleable  as 
Pitt  had  been,  he  hated  him.  Pitt  had  a  very  keen  eye  for  the 
machinations  of  Bute,  but  it  is  not  so  sure  that  he  saw  through  the 
King's  ultimate  design.  Consciously  or  unconsciously,  George  hi 
outwitted  him.  He  led  him  on  to  accept  a  position  which 
placed  him  at  a  fatal  disadvantage,  so  that,  like  Samson,  he 
became  weak  and  as  other  men.  He  broke  his  bonds,  indeed, 
but  to  little  avail — the  Philistines  feared  him  no  more. 

It  was  obvious  from  the  first  that  the  Patchwork  Cabinet  would 
not  work.  Before  the  month  of  August  was  over  cabals  were 
formed  against  Chatham.  Charles  Townshend,  coming  home  with 
Grafton  from  the  first  Council,  exclaimed,  "What  inferior  animals 
he  made  us  all  appear ! "  But  before  long  Charles  was  trying  to 
supplant  his  chief.  Chatham  was  taken  with  an  attack  of  gout  in 
the  night  of  the  24th  of  August,  and,  even  when  it  passed  off, 
dreadful  nights  of  fever  and  constant  pain  so  shook  his  nerves  that 
he  ceased  to  attend  Councils,  urgent  as  was  the  need  for  his 
presence. 

That  summer  of  1766  was  the  wettest  ever  known  in  England — 
from  March  to  August  not  two  fine  days  successively ;  a  May  so 
cold  and  unkind,  with  such  violent  storms  and  heavy  rain,  that  a 
most  promising  crop  turned  out  light  in  the  ear,  smutty,  much 
blighted,  and  terribly  choked  with  weeds.  Bread  went  up, 
provisions  were  dear.  Soon  there  were  bread  riots.  The  people 
seized  the  bags  of  wheat  in  the  market-places,  and  compelled  the 
farmers  to  sell  at  five  shillings  the  bushel.  Early  in  September, 
a  proclamation  was  issued  against  "  forestalled,  regrators  and 
engrossers  of  corn";  and  the  price  of  wheat  still  rising — being 
caused  by  a  real  scarcity  in  other  countries  as  well  as  our  own — 
on  the  26th  another  proclamation  totally  prohibited  the  exportation 
of  grain,  and  brewers  were  forbidden  to  use  wheat  in  distilling. 
From  this  time  forth  we  hear  no  more  about  the  great  prosperity 
of  the  country. 

The  "Embargo"  was  the  work  of  Chatham  and  the  King. 
Chatham  was  too  ill  to  attend  the  Council  which  decided  on  it, 
and  immediately  afterwards  he  left  town  for  Bath,  where  it  was 
two  or  three  weeks  before  he  could  take  a  pen  in  his  hand  to 
sketch  out  the  King's  Speech.     The  Cabinet  he  left  behind  fell  at 


76  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

once  into  chaos.  There  was  a  great  stir  over  the  Embargo — not 
that  anybody  denied  the  necessity  of  the  measure,  but  that  it  was 
done  without  consent  of  Parliament.  The  law  required  that  corn 
must  reach  a  certain  price  before  there  could  be  an  embargo,  and 
even  then  there  must  be  a  special  Act.  It  was  said  that  the  King 
had  set  a  precedent  for  dispensing  with  the  laws,  and  that  to  destroy 
this  precedent  there  must  be  an  Act  to  indemnify  those  who  had 
carried  the  Embargo  into  execution. 

Parliament  met  on  the  nth  of  November,  and  both  Houses 
began  at  once  on  the  Embargo.  The  curious  thing  was  that  now 
the  parts  were  reversed — it  was  Lord  Chatham  who  said  that  the 
greatness  of  the  emergency  justified  a  stretch  of  the  Constitution ; 
while  the  party  which  was  soon  to  suspend  the  Assembly  of  New 
York  for  insisting  on  its  consent  to  a  certain  measure  being  asked 
before  it  would  submit  to  that  measure,  were  all  up  in  arms  at  the 
idea  of  a  Dispensing  Prerogative ;  and  contended  that  Parliament 
ought  to  have  been  called  together  on  the  16th  of  September,1  for 
one  day, — then  the  Embargo  could  have  been  legally  enacted, 
instead  of  illegally,  at  a  Privy  Council,  ten  days  later.  These  gentle- 
men were  greatly  incensed  at  two  unfortunate  remarks,  one  made  in 
each  House.  In  the  Commons,  Alderman  Beckford,  in  his  haste 
to  defend  Lord  Chatham,  said,  "  Whenever  the  public  is  in  danger, 
the  King  has  a  dispensing  power."  These  words  were  ordered  to 
be  taken  down,  after  which  the  "wild  Alderman"  was  formally 
admitted  to  explain  himself,  and  the  House  at  last  declared  itself 
satisfied.  Lord  Camden,  in  the  Lords,  made  a  still  worse  blunder, 
he  said  "  it  was  but  forty  days'  tyranny  at  the  outside."  Never  did 
Chancellor  receive  such  a  wigging.  Lest  the  dressing  he  got  in  the 
House  should  not  be  enough,  the  arguments  used  against  him  were 
thrown  together  in  a  long  pseudo-speech,  which  everybody  read. 

Chatham's  first  speech  in  the  House  of  Lords  was  made  on 
November  n.  After  a  few  words  about  his  own  feelings,  on 
speaking  for  the  first  time  in  an  unaccustomed  place,  "  before  the 
most  knowing  in  the  laws,  in  the  presence  of  the  hereditary 
legislators  of  the  realm,"  and  remembering  that  the  throne  had  just 
been  "  filled  by  majesty,"  he  began  to  justify  the  proclamation  of 
the  Embargo  during  the  recess  of  Parliament;  but  the  best  he 
could  do  was  to  ridicule  the  idea  of  summoning  Parliament  for  one 
day — putting  members  to  the  great  inconvenience  of  being  obliged 
to  get  on  their  horses  and  ride  post  to  London,  when  their  presence 
on  their  estates  was  urgently  needed  to  keep  order ;  and  he  quoted 
Mr.  Locke  to  show  that  a  thing  may  be  right,  though  not  strictly 
1  The  day  to  which  it  had  been  prorogued. 


THE  PATCHWORK  CABINET  77 

legal.     It  was  clever  and  adroit,  but  it  was  a  great  descent  from  the 
speeches  for  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 

The  next  untoward  incident  was  freely  attributed  to  Chatham's 
desire  for  an  Administration  of  nonentities,  wherein  he  could  reign 
supreme.  Lord  Edgcumbe,  a  respectable  elderly  nobleman,  who 
had  steadily  supported  the  Whigs  for  the  last  four  years,  was 
requested  to  resign  his  office  of  Treasurer  to  the  Household,  that 
it  might  be  given  to  Sir  John  Shelley,  a  relation  of  Newcastle's. 
The  reason  was  no  doubt  to  propitiate  the  Newcastle  faction,  and 
strengthen  administration.  Conway  remonstrated  in  vain,  imploring 
his  great  chief  not  to  put  this  affront  on  a  man  of  Edgcumbe's 
character.  Chatham,  at  a  stormy  interview,  told  Edgcumbe  that  he 
"despised  his  parliamentary  interest,  and  did  not  want  his 
assistance,  and  dare  look  in  the  face  the  proudest  connections  of 
this  country  ! "  So  they  parted ;  the  King  commanded  Edgcumbe 
to  resign,  and  next  day  the  Duke  of  Portland,  the  Earls  of 
Besborough  and  Scarborough,  all  holding  places  in  the  Household, 
Lord  Monson,  one  of  the  Chief  Justices  in  Eyre,  and  Sir  Charles 
Saunders,  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  resigned  too,  and  a  few 
days  later,  Admiral  Keppel  and  Sir  William  Meredith,  two  Junior 
Lords,  followed  their  example. 

There  was  the  utmost  difficulty  in  filling  up  these  gaps.  A 
negotiation  with  Bedford  failed.  Chesterfield  wrote :  "  No  mortal 
can  comprehend  the  present  state  of  affairs.  .  .  .  People  wait  to 
see  who  Lord  Chatham  will  take  in,  for  some  he  must  have ;  even 
he  cannot  be  alone,  contra  mundum.  Such  a  state  of  affairs,  to  be 
sure,  was  never  seen  before,  in  this  or  any  other  country.  When 
this  ministry  shall  be  settled,  it  will  be  the  sixth  in  six  years  time." 
(Letter  of  December  9.)  At  last  it  was  settled — Chatham  "took 
in  "  some  of  Newcastle's  friends,  and  some  of  Bute's — among  these 
latter  was  Jenkinson.  To  a  number  of  implacable  personal 
enmities,  Chatham  now  added  a  serious  increase  of  unpopularity. 
The  caricaturists  hastened  to  depict  him  as  Bute's  creature — we 
see  Bute's  hand  pulling  the  wires  which  move  the  puppets  of  the 
Cabinet — and  Chatham  is  there  among  them.  Or  they  are 
enclosed  in  Bute's  plaid  waistcoat,  while  the  Favourite  himself  stands 
by,  brandishing  a  birch-rod  over  their  heads ;  or  Bute  is  Samson, 
pulling  down  the  house  of  the  Constitution;  or  he  bestrides  the 
way  as  the  Colossus  of  Rhodes,  while  Chatham,  propped  on  his 
crutch,  looks  up  with  hands  raised  in  adoration.  And  it  was 
reported  that  Bute  had  said  Chatham  was  a  fool,  for  he  had  done 
enough  to  lose  the  people,  but  not  enough  to  gain  the  Court. 

On  the  10th  of  December,  when  the  Indemnity  Bill  came  up 


78  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

from  the  Commons,  there  was  another  long  and  stubborn  debate. 
Chatham  repeated  the  words  he  had  said  to  Edgcumbe,  declaring 
that  he  meant  to  "destroy  faction,  and  that  he  could  look  the 
proudest  connection  in  the  face."  And  the  Duke  of  Richmond 
showed  that  he  could  look  the  proudest  of  English  Ministers  in  the 
face,  for  he  entreated  the  Lords  not  to  let  the  aristocracy  be  brow- 
beaten by  an  insolent  Minister.  To  this  had  Chatham  come  by 
that  fall  upstairs ! 

The  Indemnity  Bill  received  the  Royal  Assent  on  the  16th  of 
December,  and  Parliament  was  prorogued  the  same  day.  It  was 
virtually  the  end  of  Chatham's  Ministry.  He  returned  to  Bath — 
having  put  his  enemies  in  power,  he  left  them  to  their  own  devices. 
As  soon  as  he  was  gone,  there  was  once  more  chaos  in  the  Cabinet. 
Once,  at  least,  a  Council  "broke  up  in  confusion."  Charles 
Townshend  began  to  take  the  airs  of  a  Prime  Minister.  Grafton 
and  Shelburne  wrote  imploring  Chatham  to  come  back.  It  was 
no  time  to  withdraw  himself — there  was  fresh  trouble  in  America, 
and  there  were  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company  to  be  looked 
into.  On  both  these  great  questions  every  principle  of  Chatham's 
policy  was  presently  to  be  reversed. 

But  he  was  now  too  ill  to  travel.  Early  in  January  he  had  so 
severe  a  fit  of  the  gout  that  his  life  was  in  danger.  Nor  till  the 
end  of  the  month  was  he  able  to  use  a  pen,  and  then  he  could  only 
urge  his  supporters  to  put  off  the  Company's  affairs,  if  but  for  a 
fortnight. 


CHAPTER   XII 
THE  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY 

"  He  said  the  Company  were  not  proper  to  have  it,  nor  the  Crown,  for  such 
a  revenue  would  endanger  our  liberties." — Air.  Walsh  to  Lord  Clive,  giving  an 
account  of  his  interview  with  Mr.  Pitt,  in  1759. 

"Believe  the  word  of  a  Director,  that  the  Company  must  have  many  lacs, 
before  they  can  increase  the  dividend.  Consider,  my  lord,  what  a  vast  sum 
of  their  capital  has  been  locked  up  without  interest  in  Mahommed  Ali's  debt, 
the  vast  fortifications,  the  fatal  Manilla  expedition,  and  the  sums  locked  up  in 
the  support  of  French  prisoners,  for  which  no  instalments  are  yet  settled ;  all 
form  prodigious  reductions,  which  a  year's  revenue  of  the  whole  province 
of  Bengal  will  barely  replace;  not  to  mention  the  dreadful  breach  in  the 
Company's  capital  before  the  battle  of  Plassey." — The  Duke  of  Grafton  to  Lord 
Clive,  May  17,  1766. 

"There  is  good  reason  to  believe  the  treaties  concluded  in  Bengal  by  Lord 
Clive,  will  be  productive  of  a  clear  yearly  revenue  of  two  millions  sterling. 
An  object  of  this  importance  would,  in  a  few  years,  ease  this  country  of  the 
burden  it  labours  under ;  and  therefore  our  whole  wills  should  be  set  to 
make  this  revenue  as  durable  as  possible.  All  other  speculations  should  give 
way  to  this  consideration  of  permanency ;  even  the  existence  of  the  India 
Company." — The  Hon.  Thomas  Walpole  to  the  Earl  of  Chatham ,  Sept.  9, 
1766. 

A  new  factor  was  now  to  be  introduced — destined  to  bring  about 
the  final  catastrophe  in  the  Colonies. 

Our  chief  gains  by  the  Seven  Years'  War  were  undoubtedly 
Canada  and  Bengal.  But  ever  since  the  troubles  in  America  had 
begun,  the  supporters  of  the  Stamp  Act  had  been  saying  that  the 
conquest  of  Canada  had  done  the  mischief,  by  leaving  the  colonists 
no  enemy  to  fear.  Hence  their  insolence !  And  now  it  seemed 
as  though  we  were  to  pay  for  our  cake  in  Bengal. 

The  East  India  Company's  Charter  would  expire  in  1780, 
and  circumstances  had  drawn  the  attention  of  Government  to 
the  Company  in  a  way  which  boded  ill  for  its  renewal.  As  long 
ago  as  1759,  Clive  had  told  Pitt  that  so  large  a  sovereignty  was 
too  extensive  for  a  mercantile  company.  None  knew  better  than 
Clive  how  extensive  that  sovereignty  was,  and  into  what  extra- 
ordinary situations  it  had  already  brought  the  Company.     When, 

79 


80  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  day  after  Plassey,  Surajah  Dowla  was  deposed,  and  Mir  Jaffier 
set  up  in  his  master's  room,  the  first  of  those  transactions  took 
place  which  the  Council  at  Calcutta  came  to  love  so  much — the 
selling  the  Subahdarship — or,  as  they  called  it,  the  Nabobship — to 
a  new  Nabob.  The  Company  demanded  10,000,000  rupees  as 
compensation  for  losses  in  the  war,  to  be  divided  among  the 
English,  native,  and  Armenian  inhabitants  of  Calcutta.  Of  this  Give 
was  to  have  280,000  rupees  as  a  member  of  the  Select  Committee, 
200,000  rupees  as  Commander-in-Chief,  and  1,600,000  rupees  as  a 
"  private  donation."  The  whole  sum  claimed — including  gratifi- 
cations to  the  fleet  and  army — amounted  to  ^2,697,750  sterling; 
but  this  was  too  much,  even  for  India;  the  hungry  got  only  the 
half  of  what  was  promised  them,  and  one-third  of  that  had  to 
be  taken  out  in  plate  and  jewels — for  there  was  no  coin  or  bullion 
left  in  Bengal.  At  the  same  time,  the  landowners'  right  over  the 
Twenty-four  Parganas  was  granted  to  the  Company,  whereby  it 
acquired  the  Zemindari,  or  right  to  collect  the  rents.  But  in 
1759,  the  Emperor  of  Delhi — nominal  suzerain  of  the  Subahdar 
of  Bengal — granted  the  overlordship  (the  Dewanee,  or  right  to 
the  land-tax)  to  Colonel  Clive,  who  thus  became  the  landlord 
of  his  own  masters  !  Moreover,  he  was  enrolled  among  the 
Moghul  nobles,  and  received  a  large  allotment  of  land  near 
Calcutta,  which  for  many  years  to  come  appears  in  the  Company's 
records  as  "  Lord  Clive's  jaghir."  His  claim  to  be  the  Company's 
feudal  suzerain  was  tried  in  England  in  1764,  with  the  result  that 
the  jaghir  was  confirmed  to  him  for  ten  years — then  to  revert  to 
the  Company  for  ever. 

Clive  was  kept  at  home  in  1764  to  fight  the  Company's 
battles  in  England — or  rather,  the  battles  of  the  Directors,  for 
the  Proprietors  were  growing  troublesome.  He  exercised  enormous 
influence  over  elections  from  1760  to  1765,  but  though  he  bought 
many  Members  of  Parliament  for  the  Company,  he  refrained  from 
buying  an  English  peerage  for  himself,  liking  to  think  that  his 
distinctions  had  been  freely  bestowed  on  him.  But  he  was 
wanted  in  Bengal.  Very  soon  after  he  left,  Mir  Jaffier  had  been 
cast  down  by  the  Company's  servants,  and  his  son-in-law,  Mir 
Kasim,  set  up ;  and  this  time  the  Company  got  the  three  districts 
of  Bardwan,  Midnapur,  and  Chittagong,  with  a  net  revenue  of 
half  a  million  sterling — besides  more  "private  donations."  Pres- 
ently Mir  Kasim  began  to  show  a  will  of  his  own,  insisting  on 
his  treaty  right  to  exact  equal  dues  from  all  traders,  English  and 
Indian  alike.  Mr.  Vansittart,  Governor  of  Bengal,  could  not 
deny   the  right;    but    the    "English    Factory"   at    Calcutta    was 


THE  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY  81 

furious,  and  the  Council  (some  of  whom  were  heads  of  factories) 
disowned  the  Governor  and  his  treaty,  and  as  Mir  Kasim  was 
obstinate,  they  proclaimed  Mir  Jaffier  once  more,  and  sent  an 
army  against  Kasim. 

The  campaign  was  short.  In  four  months  Major  Adams 
had  conquered  Bengal,  and  Kasim  was  a  fugitive,  his  courage 
and  capacity  forgotten  in  the  horror  of  the  massacre  of  Patna. 
The  flames  spread.  Surajah  Dowla,  Nabob  of  Oudh,  took  the 
field,  the  son  of  the  Mogul  Emperor  joined  him,  and,  notwith- 
standing Munro's  victory  at  Buxar,  things  began  to  look  very 
black  for  the  Company.  Clive  was  the  only  man  who  could 
save  it,  here  or  there;  on  April  10,  1765,  he  reached  Madras, 
and  a  week  later  wrote  home  to  the  Directors  that  to-morrow  the 
whole  Mogul  Empire  might  be  theirs. 

Now,  at  the  beginning  of  1767,  the  situation  was  this.  Clive 
was  on  his  voyage  home,  having  saved  the  Company  from  utter 
ruin,  defeated  a  dangerous  conspiracy  among  the  officers  of  its 
own  army,  and  to  some  extent  cleansed  the  Augean  stable  of 
its  Civil  Service,  by  abolishing  those  "private  donations"  which 
he  himself  had  found  so  profitable.  He  was  being  fiercely 
attacked  by  Mr.  Johnstone,  a  very  able  and  unscrupulous  ex-civil- 
servant,  who,  with  other  malcontents,  had  bought  East  India 
Stock  the  better  to  wreak  their  vengeance  on  the  man  who  had 
spoiled  their  game.  Behind  Johnstone  was  a  strong  party  of 
Directors,  led  by  Lawrence  Sulivan,  a  former  Chairman,  who 
for  several  years  had  ruled  the  Company  absolutely ;  and  behind 
all,  the  great  body  of  the  Proprietors,  who  were  simply  Stock- 
holders, and  for  the  most  part  neither  knew  nor  cared  about  any- 
thing East  Indian,  except  the  East  India  Dividend.  They  were 
demanding  a  thorough  overhauling  of  the  Charter,  and  they  were 
against  these  conquests,  which  they  said  rather  diminished  trade 
than  otherwise,  and  absorbed  money  which  had  much  better  go 
to  increase  the  Dividend.  On  the  other  side  was  Boulton,  the 
present,  and  Rous,1  a  former  Chairman,  with  the  bulk  of  the  Court 
of  Directors,  and  all  the  influence  Clive  could  bring  to  bear  in  Parlia- 
ment. Their  object  was  to  get  their  Charter  renewed,  before  their 
new  Empire  was  snatched  from  them.  For  this  they  knew  they  must 
pay,  but  they  were  doing  all  they  could  to  pay  as  little  as  possible. 

1  "Indeed,  Rous,  though  a  very  honest  man,  is  the  most  unfit  of  all  living 
men  to  preside  and  govern  a  Court  of  Directors.  I  am  now  convinced  a  man 
of  lighter  principles,  with  more  abilities,  and  a  certain  degree  of  resolution, 
will  manage  both  private  and  public  concerns  to  more  advantage  than  Mr.  Rous." 
— Lord  Clive  to  Mr.  Fowke,  September  25,  1766. 
VOL.  I. — 6 


82  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

The  public  at  large  took  no  active  interest  in  East  India 
affairs,  till  the  Company  and  the  Proprietors  began  to  quarrel 
over  the  spoils  of  the  new  Empire.  The  holders  of  Stock 
were  determined  to  have  their  share  of  the  booty,  in  the  shape 
of  a  higher  dividend — perhaps  also  in  the  shape  of  a  division 
of  surplus.  They  were  getting  tired  of  seeing  the  Company's 
servants  come  home  as  Nabobs,  while  the  poor  Proprie- 
tors of  India  Stock  got  only  a  beggarly  six  per  cent.  The 
Directors  explained  that  they  must  pay  their  debts  first,  and 
talked  of  the  awful  warning  of  the  South  Sea  Bubble.  The 
Proprietors  indignantly  replied  that  the  South  Sea  affair  never 
was  anything  but  a  bubble,  whereas  the  East  India  Company's 
money-bags  were  bursting  with  the  riches  of  Bengal.  In  a  style 
worthy  of  a  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  they  said  that,  of  course, 
there  were  debts — debts  must  always  be — but  what  of  that? 
A  debt  was  a  very  good  thing — the  Company's  creditors  dreaded 
nothing  so  much  as  being  paid  off,  and  so  losing  a  capital  invest- 
ment. Was  not  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  paying  twenty 
per  cent.,  though  its  revenues  were  not  to  be  compared  with  those 
of  the  British?  The  quarrel  ran  high,  and  got  into  the  papers, 
and  pamphlets  were  written  on  both  sides,  till  everybody  knew 
all  the  Company's  business — its  Charters,  its  wars,  its  intrigues 
with  the  Princes  of  India,  the  "  revolutions  "  it  got  up,  and  the 
kingdoms  it  sold;  its  quarrels  with  its  servants,  and  their  gigantic 
peculations,  and  the  snug  arrangements  that  went  on  at  its  Select 
Committees,  and  the  dissensions  in  the  Council  of  Calcutta. 
Above  all,  everybody  knew  its  enormous  revenues — ^2,000,000 
a  year  clear,  owned  to,  when  the  whole  revenue  of  Great  Britain 
was  less  than  nine  !  East  India  Stock  quoted  at  254,  and  still 
going  up !  Everybody  also  knew  its  debts  and  embarrassments, 
its  unpaid  contracts — ,£2,728,552  spent  on  fortifications  alone — 
and  its  mal-administration  in  Bengal.1 

It  began  to  be  rumoured  that  Government  intended  to  interfere, 
to  preserve  the  revenues  of  the  Company  for  the  benefit  of  this 
country,  and   the  Company  itself  from   ruin.     Both  reasons  were 

1  The  Company  had  its  own  army  in  India,  and  its  own  crimps  in 
England,  who  inveigled  young  men  into  enlisting,  sometimes  on  pretence  of 
engaging  servants.  See  a  story  of  a  man  throwing  himself  out  of  one  of 
their  "lock-up-houses"  in  Chancery  Lane,  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1767, 
pp.  91  and  93.  The  same  volume  contains  an  extraordinary  proposal  to  exchange 
the  East  Indies  for  the  West,  with  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  a  meridian 
drawn  through  the  Solomon  Islands  to  divide  East  from  West.  The  reason 
given  is  that  the  East  India  Company  drains  this  country  of  ^800,000  a  year 
in  specie. 


THE  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY  83 

alleged,  and  both  were  true — the  Government  and  the  country 
alternately  hoped  to  live  henceforth  in  good  old  Roman  fashion 
on  the  tribute  of  the  conquered  province — and  feared  being  ruined 
by  it. 

The  Directors  called  a  General  Court  in  a  great  hurry;  but 
before  it  could  meet,  they  received  notice  from  the  First  Lord  of  the 
Treasury  to  get  their  papers  ready  to  lay  before  Parliament. 
Government  saw  in  the  misfortunes  of  the  Company  an  opportunity 
to  get  hold  of  the  Company's  conquests.  At  the  worst,  they  must 
be  made  to  pay  well  for  a  new  Charter. 

The  Directors,  in  a  terrible  fright,  began  to  explain  that  though 
they  might  be  very  rich  in  Bengal,  they  were  very  poor  in  England. 
Their  remittances  were  stopped  to  pay  the  expenses  of  administra- 
tion. They  pleaded  their  poverty,  their  debts,  and  their  expensive 
wars  so  effectually  that  India  Stock  fell,  and  the  infuriated  Pro- 
prietors cried  that  the  Directors  were  running  down  Stock  for  their 
own  interests,  regardless  of  those  of  the  poor  Proprietors,  whose 
riches  were  "  very  inconsiderable  " — it  was  only  the  servants  of  the 
Company  who  made  the  enormous  fortunes  ! 

As  soon  as  the  dreadful  suggestion  was  made  that  perhaps  the 
revenues  of  Bengal  belonged  of  right  to  the  Crown,  and  the  Company 
was  incapable  of  territorial  rights,  the  gentlemen  of  England  saw  a 
chance  of  being  rid  for  ever  of  the  abhorred  land-tax.  Chatham 
was  clear  that  the  Company  had  no  territorial  rights,  and  another 
member  of  the  Cabinet  was  even  keener  than  Chatham — Charles 
Townshend,  brilliant,  rollicking,  irresponsible  Charles,  the  spoiled 
child  of  the  House,  "the  weathercock,"  whom  caricaturists  drew 
with  a  whirligig  in  his  hand,  or  as  a  Jack-o'-both-sides  on  a  see-saw. 
This  charming  and  dangerous  man  would  plunge  every  now  and 
then  into  a  serious  study,  and  get  up  a  prodigious  mass  of  details 
on  trade.  He  had  even  been  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  A 
man  of  family,  he  had  many  of  the  qualities  of  an  adventurer. 
Well  had  it  been  for  his  country  if  he  had  been  content  to  make 
"  champagne  "  speeches,  to  poke  fun  at  friends  and  foes  alike,  and 
protest  he  had  always  been  against  the  measure  he  had  just  carried. 
But,  unfortunately,  underneath  his  buffoonery  there  were  a  settled 
ambition  and  magnificent  schemes.  He  had  ideas — ideas  as  rash 
and  wild  as  the  sallies  of  his  wit,  which  set  the  House  in  a  roar ; 
but  his  ideas  seemed  to  offer  a  solution  of  the  nation's  financial 
puzzle.  He  saw  that  here  was  a  great  opportunity.  How  to  raise 
a  revenue  without  fresh  taxation  ? — that  was  the  question.  Chatham 
was  for  depriving  the  Company  of  its  territorial  rights,  and  reducing 
it  again  to  a  trading  corporation.     Townshend  thought  he  saw  a 


84  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

better  way.  Why  not  confirm  them  in  those  rights,  at  the  price  of 
a  yearly  ransom  large  enough  to  deliver  all  future  Chancellors  of 
the  Exchequer  from 

"That  eternal  want  of  pence 
Which  vexes  public  men  "  ? 

George  Grenville  had  sought  to  make  the  rustic  wealth  of  America 
fill  up  the  gaping  void  of  our  public  debt.  Charles  Townshend 
had  a  bolder  and  more  dazzling  scheme.  Let  us  shake  the  pagoda- 
tree  ! 

Besides  his  Indian  plan,  he  had  another  brilliant  idea  for  getting 
a  revenue  without  burdening  the  British  tax-payer.  His  glowing 
allusions  to  the  riches  of  the  East  alternated  with  mysterious  hints 
about  a  new  Board  of  Customs  to  be  established  in  North  America, 
which,  by  a  fresh  regulation  of  the  tea-duty  here,  should  produce  a 
revenue  on  imports  there. 

America  and  Bengal,  like  two  planets  drawn  out  of  their  orbits 
by  a  comet,  were  approaching  each  other — great  would  be  the 
kosmic  disturbance  if  they  came  into  collision. 


CHAPTER   XIII 
CHARLES  TOWNSHEND 

"  He  would  be  a  really  great  man,  if  he  had  any  consistency,  if  you  could 
believe  his  assertions,  or  trust  his  promises." — Smollett,  Humphry  Clinker. 

"  He  had  almost  every  great  talent,  and  almost  every  little  quality.  ...  I 
never  felt  so  little  as  when  he  opened  his  mouth.  Yet  such  alloy  did  he  bear 
about  those  marvellous  parts,  that  children  and  women  had  more  discretion  and 
fewer  weaknesses.  .  .  .  Ready  as  Burke's  wit  was,  it  appeared  artificial  when 
set  by  that  of  Charles  Townshend,  which  was  so  abundant,  that  in  him  it  seemed 
a  loss  of  time  to  think.  He  had  but  to  speak,  and  all  he  said  was  new,  natural, 
and  yet  original." — Horace  Walpole. 

"He  harangued  most  inimitably  on  both  sides  of  the  question,  and  in  turns 
was  cheered  by  every  party  in  the  House. " — Ibid. 

"  As  to  Charles,  there  was  a  good  ridiculous  paragraph  in  the  newspapers,  two 
or  three  days  ago.  '  We  hear  that  the  Right  Honourable  Charles  Townshend  is 
indisposed,  at  his  house  in  Oxfordshire,  of  a  pain  in  his  side ;  but  it  is  not  said 
in  which  side.'" — Lord  Chesterfield  to  his  Son,  in  Ij66. 

Charles  began  at  once.  On  the  ist  of  January,  1767,  he  wrote 
to  Chatham  that  the  General  Court  of  the  day  before  had  passed  a 
motion  empowering  the  Directors  to  treat  with  Administration. 
Chatham  replied  next  day,  "  I  need  not  tell  you  how  entirely  this 
transcendent  object,  India,  possesses  my  heart  and  fixes  my 
thoughts." 

Charles  had  already  announced  his  own  opinion — he  was  for 
recognising  the  Company's  territorial  rights,  but  making  it  pay  for 
them.  He  saw  a  magnificent  opportunity — such  as  never  occurred 
to  a  Chancellor  before.  He  dropped  hints  of  a  splendid  revenue 
to  be  obtained  by  lenient  dealing  with  the  Company.  He  was 
against  an  enquiry — was  convinced  the  Company  meant  to  amend 
its  ways.  Chatham,  who  was  convinced  that  both  right  and 
expediency  forbade  a  Company's  erecting  itself  into  a  sovereign 
state,  tried  to  take  the  matter  out  of  Charles's  hands  by  putting  up 
Alderman  Beckford  to  move  that  the  Company's  papers  be  laid 
before  the  House.  The  Company,  in  a  terrible  fright,  sent  "  their 
Chairman  and  Deputy  "  to  wait  on  the  Duke  of  Grafton ;  and  when 
on  the  20th,  "the  wild  Alderman"  moved  for  the  papers,  Charles 

85 


86  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

entreated  him  to  defer  his  motion  for  a  few  days — everything  was 
on  the  eve  of  settlement.  And  he  talked  so  well  about  the  rights 
of  the  Company,  and  the  enormous  profits  to  accrue  to  the  nation 
from  the  bargain  about  to  be  made,  that  next  morning  India  Stock 
went  up  six  per  cent. 

Leave  having  been  given  to  defer  the  Motion  for  the  Company's 
papers,  the  House  went  into  Committee  of  Supply  on  the  Army 
Estimates.  By  the  26th  of  January  it  had  got  as  far  as  the  main- 
tenance of  the  troops  in  the  North  American  Plantations,  when  a 
memorable  debate  took  place — in  its  consequence  scarcely  less 
momentous  than  those  on  the  Stamp  Act. 

George  Grenville  proposed  to  make  the  colonists  pay  for  the 
troops  employed  in  America.1  He  quoted  Acts  of  Parliament  and 
Journals.  As  usual,  he  harked  back  to  the  Stamp  Act.  He  loved 
that  Act  as  his  own  child,  and  was  persuaded  in  his  stubborn  mind 
that,  with  proper  firmness  on  our  part,  it  could  have  been  enforced. 
He  protested  that  if  it  were  to  be  done  again,  he  would  do  it.  We 
must  relieve  Great  Britain  from  the  burdens  which  the  Colonies 
ought  to  bear — burdens  amounting  to  nearly  ^"400,000  a  year, 
which  he  reminded  gentlemen  was  near  what  was  produced  by  one 
shilling  in  the  pound  land-tax.  Let  America,  like  Ireland,  support 
her  own  establishment.  He  moved  to  charge  the  Colonies  with 
^400,000  annually,  for  the  support  of  the  regiments  stationed 
there. 

Townshend  rose.  Administration,  he  said,  had  already  given 
its  attention  to  this  matter.  He  should  bring  into  the  House  some 
propositions  which  he  hoped  might  tend  in  time  to  relieve  the 
people  of  England,  and  yet  not  be  heavy  on  the  Colonies.  "  I 
know  the  mode  by  which  a  revenue  may  be  drawn  from  America 
without  offence."  The  House  shook  with  applause.  "  Hear  him  ! 
hear  him  ! "  came  from  both  sides.  "  I  am  still  for  the  Stamp  Act," 
he  cried,  excited  by  this  applause.  "  It  was  only  the  heats  that 
made  it  improper  at  the  time.  I  laugh  at  the  distinction  between 
internal  and  external  taxation ! "  Then  looking  up  to  where  the 
Colonial  Agents  used  to  sit,  he  continued  :  "  I  speak  this  aloud, 
that  you  who  are  in  the  galleries  may  hear  me ;  and  after  this,  I  do 
not  expect  to  have  my  statue  erected  in  America ! "    Then,  as  he 

1  "Grenville  proposed  saddling  America  with  ^"400,000  per  annum,  for  the 
support  of  the  troops,  but  was  so  miserably  mistaken  in  law  and  policy,  that  he 
was  little  listened  to.  He  was  indeed  very  spirity  in  his  abuse  of  your  Lordship, 
and  your  friend  W.  B." — Beckford  to  Lord  Chatham,  January  27,  1767. 

Before  the  Seven  Years'  War,  the  American  establishment  cost  ^70, 000  a 
year.     In  1764  the  estimates  were  ^350, 000. 


CHARLES  TOWNSHEND  87 

sat  down,  he  added,  laying  his  hand  on  the  table  in  front  of  him, 
"  England  is  undone  if  this  taxation  of  America  is  given  up  !  " 1 

But  Grenville  was  not  appeased.  He  told  the  House  that 
trade  was  depressed ;  then,  suddenly  stopping,  and  turning  to  the 
Treasury  Bench :  "  You  are  cowards — you  are  afraid  of  the 
Americans!  You  dare  not  tax  America!"  "Cowards?"  cried 
Townshend  from  his  seat.  "Dare  not  tax  America?  I  dare  tax 
America ! "  For  a  moment  Grenville  was  silent.  Then  he  said, 
"  Dare  you  tax  America  ?  I  wish  to  God  I  could  see  it !  "  "I  will ! 
I  will ! "  cried  Townshend,  and  again  he  pledged  himself  to  find  a 
revenue  in  America.2 

Early  in  February  arrived  letters  from  Governor  Moore,  with 
news  that  the  New  York  Assembly  had  refused  to  obey  the  Mutiny 
Act.  Chatham  was  very  angry ;  the  best  friends  of  the  colonists 
almost  gave  them  up.     Was  this  their  gratitude  ? 

Next,  the  Company  made  the  modest  proposal  that  its  term 
should  be  renewed  for  fifty  years,  the  profits  of  its  trade  to  be 
blended  with  its  revenues.  It  also  demanded  that  Government 
should  interpose  with  France  to  get  payment  of  the  sums  owed 
the  Company  for  the  maintenance  of  the  French  prisoners, — 
nearly  ^700,000, — and  with  Spain  for  the  settlement  of  the  Manilla 
Ransom.3  There  were  other  conditions,  one  being  the  regulation  of 
the  Company's  army,  and  another  that  of  the  Company's  navy. 

1  In  spite  of  the  applause,  however,  in  the  division  on  Grenville's  motion  only 
thirty-three  voted  with  the  mover. 

2  "During  this  interval  of  Lord  Chatham's  absence  from  the  cabinet,  the 
King  contrived  to  have  the  question  of  taxing  the  American  Colonies  again 
brought  forward.  By  playing  man  against  man,  and  faction  against  faction,  he 
at  length  obtained  his  wishes,  and  the  American  Colonies  found  themselves 
reduced  to  the  alternative  of  unconditional  submission,  or  explicit  and  avowed 
resistance." — Nicholls,  i.  388-89. 

3  Near  the  close  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  Spain  made  a  secret  treaty  with 
France,  known  as  the  Family  Compact — an  agreement  to  consider  as  a  common 
enemy  any  Power  which  might  become  the  enemy  of  either.  Pitt  received 
information  of  this  Compact,  and  resigned  because  the  King  would  not  immedi- 
ately declare  war  with  Spain.  Both  sides  were  equally  eager  to  fight,  but  Spain 
delayed  because  her  annual  Plate  Fleet  was  due.  As  soon  as  the  ships  were 
safe  in  Cadiz,  Mr.  Wall,  an  Irishman,  who  was  then  chief  Minister  of  Spain,  told 
Lord  Bristol  (our  Ambassador)  he  might  leave  Madrid  when  he  liked.  (December, 
1 76 1.)  Next  September,  Sir  William  Draper  took  Manilla  with  a  force  chiefly 
"furnished  by  the  gentlemen  at  Madras,"  consisting  of  Lascars  and  Sepoys,  with 
a  company  of  "Caffres,"  and  one  of  "Topazes."  The  Archbishop  Captain- 
General  made  a  valiant  defence,  but  he  was  unprepared — he  did  not  even  know 
the  countries  were  at  war.  Draper,  who  piqued  himself  on  his  scholarship,  drew 
up  the  agreement  in  Latin.  For  a  million  sterling  the  English  Commanders 
promised  to   preserve   the  city  from   plunder.     Of  this  sum,   the   East   India 


88  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Grafton  was  still  imploring  Chatham  to  return,  and,  alarmed  at  the 
accounts  he  received  of  Charles's  conduct,  Chatham  actually  started, 
but  his  illness  increased,  and  he  was  unable  to  get  farther  than 
Marlborough.  He  remained  there  at  the  inn  for  about  a  fortnight, 
astonishing  the  town  by  his  strange,  excited  behaviour.  It  was 
reported  in  London  that  he  was  out  of  his  mind,  and  there  was 
some  excuse  for  the  rumour. 

"  Lord  Chatham  is  daily  expected,  and  till  he  arrives,  nothing 
worth  informing  you  of  is  likely  to  happen  ...  no  member  of  the 
opposition  speaks  without  directly  abusing  Lord  Chatham,  and  no 
friend  ever  rises  to  take  his  part.  .  .  .  Never  was  known  such  dis- 
union, such  a  want  of  concert,  as  visibly  appears  on  both  sides : 
how  it  will  end  heaven  only  knows  !  Charles  Townshend  appears 
rather  out  of  humour,  but  his  discontents  are  of  no  great  moment." 
So  wrote  Lord  Charlemont  to  Mr.  Flood  on  February  19,  1767; 
and  proceeded  to  give  his  friend  some  account  of  the  debate  the 
day  before  upon  American  Extraordinaries — "  an  excellent  debate." 
Grenville  moved  for  an  Address,  and  that  the  enormous  expenses 
in  America  be  lessened,  and  the  troops  withdrawn  from  the  frontiers 
and  forts  to  the  internal  part  of  the  provinces.  "  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  good  speaking."  Conway  spoke  often  and  well;  George 
Grenville  "very  little  in  two  hours;  Charles  Townshend  .  .  . 
excelled  himself  ...  he  harangued  inimitably  on  both  sides  of  the 
question,  and  by  turns  was  cheered  by  every  party  in  the  House." 

That  day  Townshend  had  unfolded  his  budget  more  at  large — 
still  dropping  sumptuous  hints  about  the  bargain  he  was  driving 
with  the  East  India  Company.  There  was  considerable  commotion 
among  the  country  gentlemen  when  he  said  the  land-tax  was  to 
remain  at  4s.  in  the  pound.  In  times  of  peace  it  used  to  be  only 
2s.,  but  the  Seven  Years'  War  and  the  increase  of  the  Debt  had 
doubled  it.  Grenville,  when  he  was  Minister,  had  let  the  country 
gentlemen  know  he  meant  to  reduce  it  to  3s.  He  had  even  thrown 
out  hopes  of  dropping  it  altogether,  "  if  better  methods  of  taxation 
were  hit  on."  They  were  now,  therefore,  much  disappointed.  In  vain 
did  Townshend  assure  them  that  a  4s.  land-tax,  with  some  other 
savings,  and  what  would  be  obtained  from  the  Company,  would  be 

Company  demanded  one-third  ;  and  a  fourth  part  of  the  million  being  paid  soon 
after,  the  Company  received  one-third  of  ^250,  000.  The  remaining  ^"750,000  is 
the  "  Manilla  Ransom  " — the  Spaniards  declined  to  pay  the  balance. 

The  Company  had  almost  the  importance  of  an  independent  state.  In  177 1, 
it  explained  that  it  claimed  no  part  of  the  Manilla  Ransom — that  being  a  matter 
for  the  captors  only.  "The  Company's  claim  has  a  more  solid  basis,  and  is 
founded  on  a  promise  made  by  Government  to  reimburse  the  Company  the 
expenses  incurred  by  assisting  in  the  expedition." — Annual  Register,  1772. 


CHARLES  TOWNSHEND  89 

enough  to  pay  off  the  Four  per  Cents.  In  vain  he  promised,  if  he 
were  Chancellor  another  year,  to  take  off  a  shilling.  In  vain  he 
told  them  the  4s.  tax  was  "  necessary  for  one  year  longer,  to  give 
room  for  the  most  brilliant  operation  of  finance  which  this  country 
ever  saw,  to  ensure  us  dignity  abroad,  stability  at  home,  and  enable 
us  to  enter  with  advantage  into  any  future  war."  He  had 
reckoned  without  Grenville  and  Dowdeswell.  Grenville  was  savage 
because  his  pet  Stamp  Act  had  been  repealed,  and  Dowdeswell, 
Charles's  fellow-student  at  Leyden,  was  smarting  at  having  been 
turned  out  that  Charles  might  be  Chancellor.  Dowdeswell  moved, 
and  Sir  Edward  Isham  seconded,  that  the  land-tax  be  3s.  in  the 
pound  sterling ;  and  when  Charles  asked  where  he  was  to  make  up  the 
deficiency,  Grenville  said  he  would  not  answer  Mr.  Townshend  with 

the  end  of  an  old  song — "  Tell  me,  Gentle  Shepherd,  where " 

a  quotation  that  had  been  much  applauded;  but  it  always  was 
Lord  Chatham's  style  to  spend  money  and  leave  others  to  raise  it. 

Ministers  were  taken  by  surprise,  and  the  Amendment  was 
carried  by  206  to  168.  It  was  the  first  time  since  the  Revolution 
that  a  Government  had  been  defeated  on  a  money-bill,  and 
etiquette  demanded  that  the  Chancellor  should  resign.  But,  though 
whenever  Opposition  worried  him,  Charles  used  to  call  himself  a  mere 
"  passenger  in  Administration,"  he  now  only  began  to  contrive  how 
by  additional  taxes  in  America  he  could  recover  the  ^400,000 
which  he  had  lost  by  the  shilling  knocked  off  the  land-tax. 

At  last,  on  March  2nd,  Chatham  reached  London,  but  only  to 
shut  himself  up  in  his  own  house,  and  it  was  not  till  the  12  th  that 
he  saw  the  King.  His  malady  increased  on  him  to  such  a  degree 
that  he  went  to  North  End,  Hampstead,  and  would  see  no  one. 
Yet  even  the  knowledge  that  he  was  in  town  acted  as  a  check  on 
Charles,  and  comforted  the  King,  who  was  excessively  disturbed  at 
the  Ministerial  defeat. 

It  was  at  a  Cabinet  Council,  held  on  March  12th,  that  the 
interests  of  America  and  those  of  the  East  India  Company  actually 
touched  each  other.  At  that  Council  Charles  took  a  tone  so 
arrogant  that  Grafton  wrote  to  Chatham,  "  His  behaviour,  on  the 
whole,  was  such  as  no  Cabinet  will,  I  am  confident,  submit  to."  He 
refused  to  move  the  "  Extraordinaries  of  America  "  in  the  House, 
unless  the  whole  state  of  the  Colonies  was  taken  into  consideration 
— the  forts,  the  Indian  trade,  and  the  disposition  of  the  troops, 
which  must  be  drawn  nearer  the  great  towns.  He  threatened  to 
resign  if  this  were  not  done.  He  had  already  formed  his  plan  for 
working  off  the  Company's  surplus  teas  on  the  colonists.  There 
was  also  the  New  York  Assembly  to  punish  for  refusing  to  comply 


90  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

with  the  Billetting  Act,  and  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  to  punish 
for  its  insolence  in  putting  an  indemnity  clause  in  the  Bill  to  com- 
pensate sufferers  "in  the  late  times."  Governor  Moore,  surrounded 
by  a  number  of  "  outed "  stamp-masters  as  angry  as  himself,  was 
writing  home  inflammatory  letters,  describing  America  in  general 
as  on  the  point  of  rebellion,  until  France  and  Spain  began  to  send 
out  agents  to  see  how  things  really  stood.  For  if  there  was  going 
to  be  a  rebellion,  these  two  Powers  thought  they  saw  their  way  to 
recovering  some  of  their  losses  in  the  Seven  Years'  War. 

The  earnest  desire  of  the  gentlemen  of  England  to  be  relieved 
from  the  land-tax  played  at  first  the  largest  part  in  the  persistent 
determination  to  tax  the  American  Colonies.  We  shall  wholly  mis- 
understand the  situation  if  we  explain  it  by  what  may  be  called 
sentimental  motives.  The  desire  for  supremacy  is  seldom  a  purely 
intellectual  passion,  and  it  never  would  have  produced  the 
tremendous  consequences  it  has,  if  it  had  not  allied  itself  with  the 
grosser  passions  of  greed  and  luxury.  The  conqueror  always  gets  hold 
of  the  money-bags,  and  this  fact  makes  his  adherents  terribly  sincere 
in  their  devotion.  Let  Empire  become  a  visible  impoverisher, 
and  men  will  soon  think  they  may  pay  too  dear  for  supremacy. 
The  abstract  theory  that  Britain  has  been  appointed  by  Heaven  to 
rule  all  the  waves  and  a  good  many  of  the  furrows  of  this  planet, 
has  been  appreciably  fortified  by  the  concrete  persuasion  that  in 
ruling  them  Britain  grows  rich.  In  1767  there  was  no  attempt  to 
disguise  the  part  the  British  pocket  was  playing  in  animating 
British  pride. 


CHAPTER   XIV 
THE  SUSPENSION  BILL 

"And  yet  there  remains  among  that  people  so  much  respect,  veneration,  and 
affection  for  Britain,  that,  if  cultivated  prudently,  with  a  kind  usage  and  tender- 
ness for  their  privileges,  they  might  be  easily  governed  still  for  ages,  without 
force  or  any  considerable  expense." — Franklin  to  Lord  Karnes,  April  II,  1767.1 

"  Don't  fancy  that  you]can  divide  the  people  upon  this  point,  and  that  you  need 
only  divide  to  govern  ;  you  will  by  this  conduct  only  unite  them  the  more  insepar- 
ably ;  you  will  make  the  cause  of  New  York  a  common  cause.  .  .  .  It  is  a  fact 
which  the  House  ought  to  be  apprised  of  in  all  its  extent,  that  the  people  of 
America,  universally,  unitedly,  and  unalterably,  are  resolved  not  to  submit  to  any 
internal  tax  imposed  upon  them  by  any  legislature,  in  which  they  have  not  a  share 
by  representatives  of  their  own  election.  This  claim  must  not  be  understood  as 
though  it  were  only  the  pretences  of  party  leaders  and  demagogues  ...  it  is 
the  cool,  deliberate,  principled  maxim  of  every  man  of  business  in  America." — 
Governor  Pownalfs  Speech  against  the  Bill  for  Suspending  the  Assembly  of  New 
York,  May  15,  1767. 

The  time  we  are  considering  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  important 
as  to  the  foreign  and  Colonial  policy  of  the  British  Empire,  it  was 
also  a  period  of  very  great  importance  for  our  domestic  policy,  and 
that  slow-growing  plant,  British  Liberty,  now  took  a  new  start.  Its 
growth  had  been  arrested  ever  since  1702 — that  is,  ever  since  the 
one  absorbing  business  of  English  statesmen  was  to  keep  out  the 
Stuarts,  or  to  wriggle  them  back  to  the  throne  of  these  kingdoms. 
The  affairs  of  the  Company,  and  the  dazzling  visions  of  the  tribute  to 
be  got  out  of  Bengal,  diverted  attention  from  a  very  curious  question 
which  had  dragged  on  for  ten  years,  from  court  to  court,  till  at  last 
it  reached  the  House  of  Lords.  This  was  the  Cause  between  the 
City  of  London  and  the  Dissenters,  and  it  was  certainly  one  of  the 
oddest  illustrations  of  religious  liberty  ever  furnished  by  any 
country. 

Ever  since  the  13th2  of  Charles  11,  when  the  Corporation  Act 

1  This  letter  was  probably  intercepted — Kames  did  not  receive  it ;  but  two 
years  after,  Franklin,  who  had  kept  a  copy,  sent  it  to  him. 

2  1662.     The  reign  of  Charles  11  is  reckoned  on  the  Statute  Book  to  begin  in 

1649. 

91 


92  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

was  passed,  no  one  could  be  elected  into  any  corporation  office  who 
had  not  received  the  Sacrament  of  the  Church  of  England  within 
twelve  months  before  his  election.  This  was,  of  course,  intended  to 
shut  out  both  Papists  and  Dissenters,  and  the  Dissenters  submitted 
— having  a  great  desire  to  prove  that  they  were  no  longer  dangerous. 
But  in  1748  the  Corporation  were  in  want  of  money.  Up  to  1739 
the  Lord  Mayor  had  to  live  in  his  own  house  during  his  term  of 
office,  or  to  borrow  the  Hall  of  his  Company.  In  that  year,  the 
Corporation  began  to  build  the  Mansion-House.1  It  cost  ^71,000 
before  it  was  done;  and  in  1748  the  Corporation  bethought  them 
of  a  scheme  worthy  of  Charles  Townshend  himself.  It  was  very 
simple — they  only  passed  a  bye-law,  that  any  person  nominated  for 
Sheriff  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  and  refusing  to  stand  the  election  of  the 
Common  Hall,  should  be  fined  .£400  and  twenty  marks ;  and  any 
person  who,  being  elected,  refused  to  serve,  should  pay  a  fine  of 
jQ6oo.  They  then  proceeded  to  nominate  and  elect  Dissenters  as 
fast  as  they  could.  The  motive  was  too  patent.  They  had  set 
forth  as  the  motive  of  the  bye-law  their  great  desire  that  only  fit  and 
proper  persons  should  fill  the  office  of  Sheriff;  but  one  of  their 
Dissenters  was  blind,  and  another  was  bed-ridden — not  that  this 
made  any  difference  to  the  fine.  By  this  ingenious  device  the 
Corporation  got  about  ,£15,000  out  of  the  Dissenters,  and  expended 
it  on  the  Mansion  House.  This  went  on  for  several  years,  but  at 
last  the  Dissenters  turned  restive.  Some  refused  to  pay,  and  Allen 
Evans  was  proceeded  against  in  the  Sheriffs'  Court.  Evans  ap- 
pealed to  the  Court  of  Hustings,  then  to  the  Court  of  St.  Martin, 
which  unanimously  reversed  the  findings  of  the  City  courts.  But 
the  City  would  not  yield — it  appealed  in  its  turn  to  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  the  case  was  not  finally  decided  till  1771. 

In  February,  the  Directors  laid  their  first  set  of  proposals  before 
Ministers.  They  demanded  exclusive  trade  and  their  territorial 
rights  for  fifty  years ;  Government  to  support  the  Company's  civil 
and  military  establishments ;  the  Company  to  blend  the  profits  of 
its  whole  revenues  and  trade,  and  divide  the  next  surplus  between 
the  public  and  the  Company — to  each  a  moiety;  and  to  pay 
£5  00, 000  a  year  to  the  Treasury.2 

Encouraged  by  Townshend's  defence  of  their  territorial  rights, 

1  Lord  Burlington  sent  in  a  design  by  Palladio,  but  on  a  Common  Councilman 
asking  whether  Palladio  was  "a  Freeman,  and  whether  he  was  not  a  Roman 
Catholic,  the  commission  was  given  to  the  City  surveyor. 

2  Beckford  wrote  to  Chatham  that  if  these  terms  were  accepted,  India 
Stock  would  go  up  to  500,  and  "be  blown  up"  more  than  the  South  Sea 
Bubble. 


THE  SUSPENSION  BILL  93 

the  Directors  had  raised  the  East  India  Dividend  from  six  to  ten 
per  cent. — whereupon  Stock  rose  to  263.  They  were  obliged 
to  send  Mr.  James  to  the  House  with  the  Account  of  their 
expenses  for  their  Factories  and  Settlements,  the  "sundry 
expenses"  incurred  in  their  wars  since  1754,  and  the  sums 
"received  from  the  Nabobs";  but  they  devoutly  hoped  that  these 
need  never  be  printed. 

Townshend's  behaviour  had  now  become  outrageous.  He 
observed  no  decency;  he  went  about  telling  everybody  that  he 
upheld  the  Company,  because  his  wife — Argyle's  widowed  daughter 
— had  become,  by  the  death  of  the  Duchess,  a  large  owner  of  Stock. 
This  was  not  true ;  but  Townshend  himself  held  East  India  Stock, 
and  it  was  alleged  that  every  time  his  speeches  sent  Stock  up,  he 
sold  out.  He  lost  no  opportunity  of  "  talking  at "  Lord  Chatham. 
He  found  fault  with  measures,  disclaimed  any  share  in  the  govern- 
ment, and  complained  that  Ministers  had  settled  nothing — the 
affairs  of  America  and  India,  and  even  the  Manilla  Ransom,  were 
just  where  they  were !  He  was  always  threatening  to  resign,  when 
he  was  not  hinting  that  he  ought  to  be  the  leader — or,  as  it  was  then 
called,  "manager"  of  the  House,  an  office  now  discharged  by 
Conway.  Chatham,  though  now  in  town,  took  even  less  part  in 
public  affairs  than  when  he  was  at  Bath.  All  through  the  critical 
months  of  March,  April,  and  May,  he  shut  himself  up  at  North 
End,  declining  to  see  Grafton  even  for  five  minutes,  declining  to  see 
the  King's  physician,  taking  Dr.  Addington's  kill-or-cure  remedies ; 
and  unable  to  answer,  and  sometimes  not  allowed  even  to  read,  his 
letters.  They  were  not  good  reading  for  a  patient  racked  with  gout. 
Shelburne  was  writing  that  it  appeared  to  him  quite  impossible  Mr. 
Townshend  could  mean  to  go  on  in  the  King's  service.  Grafton 
wrote,  "His  behaviour,  on  the  whole,  is  such  as  no  cabinet  can 
submit  to."  The  Earl  of  Bristol  wrote  still  more  piteously  about 
"the  mutiny  in  our  garrison,  the  shyness  of  half  friends,  the  back- 
wardness of  the  irresolute,  the  shameful  desertion  of  those  who 
voluntarily  enlisted."  Charlemont  was  writing  to  Flood,  "Charles 
Townshend  is  at  open  war." 

On  February  16,  Lord  Clare,  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  Trade 
and  Plantations,  came  down  to  the  House  at  his  Majesty's  command, 
to  lay  before  it  a  Petition  from  240  merchants  of  New  York. 

This  petition  sets  forth  so  clearly  the  workings  of  Colonial  com- 
merce, that  an  abstract  of  it  will  explain  the  commercial  situation 
more  intelligibly  than  any  general  statement  can  do. 

The  Colonies,  say  the  petitioners,  require  vast  quantities  of 
the  manufactures  of  Great  Britain,  and  do  not  themselves  produce 


94  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

much  which  Great  Britain  requires  in  return.  They  are  thus  driven 
to  seek  a  market  where  they  can  sell,  in  order  to  pay  for  what  they 
want  to  buy.  They  therefore  trade  with  the  islands,  bartering  their 
own  produce  for  rum,  sugar,  molasses,  cotton,  and  indigo.  The 
sugar,  cotton,  and  indigo  serve  as  remittances  to  Great  Britain ;  but 
the  molasses  and  rum  are  essential  branches  of  Colonial  commerce 
— they  are  bartered  for  fish  and  rice,  and  thus  a  valuable  trade  is 
kept  up  with  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Italy,  which  countries  pay  chiefly 
in  money  or  bills  of  exchange.  This  qualifies  the  petitioners  for 
adventures  in  Africa,  where  they  have  the  advantage  of  putting  off 
great  quantities  of  British  manufactures,  and  of  receiving  in  exchange 
gold,  ivory,  and  slaves,  ivhich  last,  disposed  of  in  the  West  India 
Islands,  command  money  or  bills.  Rum  is  indispensable  in  their  Indian 
trade,  and,  with  British  manufactures,  procures  furs  and  skins,  which 
serve  for  considerable  returns  to  Great  Britain.  Then  there  is  the 
trade  to  the  Bay  of  Honduras,  where  for  small  cargoes  of  provisions, 
rum,  and  British  manufactures,  they  obtain  logwood  to  send  to  the 
different  ports  of  Europe.  Thus  sugar,  rum,  molasses,  logwood, 
cotton,  and  indigo  are  the  essentials  of  their  return  cargoes,  and 
the  chief  sources  of  their  credit  with  Britain. 

The  petitioners  then  speak  of  the  rapid  increase  of  the  Colonies 
— "their  inhabitants  already  exceeding  two  millions";  "the  vast 
accession  of  subjects  by  the  late  conquests";  the  innumerable 
tribes  of  Indians  in  the  countries  annexed  to  the  British  Crown; 
and  the  utter  incapacity  of  their  own  islands  to  supply  this  demand 
— surely,  then,  sound  policy  demands  that  these  Colonies  shall  be 
indulged  in  a  free  and  unrestrained  exportation  of  all  the  lumber 
and  produce  they  raise  and  can  spare.  If  not,  they  cannot  pay 
their  debts  to  Britain,  and  will  be  compelled  to  take  to  manu- 
facturing for  themselves, — which  will  be  attended  with  consequences 
very  detrimental  to  Great  Britain.  The  petitioners  then  proceed  to 
point  out  the  grievances  under  the  two  Acts. 

First,  there  are  "the  heavy  embarrassments  which  attend  the 
article  of  sugar."  Sugar  is  often  the  only  means  of  procuring 
a  sufficient  return  cargo;  5s.  sterling  per  hundred  is  so  exces- 
sive a  duty  that  "the  fair  trader  has  been  induced  to  decline 
that  branch  of  business";  at  the  same  time  it  is  an  irresistible 
incentive  to  smuggling,  to  people  less  scrupulous.  The  duty  is 
little  profit  to  Britain,  since  it  cannot  be  duly  collected,  and  it  cuts 
off  "  one  grand  spring  "  of  Colonial  traffic.  The  officers  themselves 
will  testify  to  the  impracticability  of  collecting  this  duty,  and 
merchants  have  sometimes  brought  their  very  plate  into  the  Custom 
House  to  discharge  it.    The  petitioners  ask,  therefore,  for  a  moderate 


THE  SUSPENSION  BILL  95 

duty  to  be  laid  on  foreign  sugars ;  this  will  both  increase  the  revenue 
and  benefit  the  Colonies. 

Another  grievance  is  the  compelling  merchants  to  land  and 
store  foreign  sugars  in  Great  Britain,  before  they  can  be  exported  to 
other  parts  of  Europe.  This  most  expensive  and  dilatory  regulation 
is  of  no  material  advantage  to  Britain,  and  effectually  puts  it  out  of 
the  power  of  the  petitioners  to  meet  foreigners  at  market  upon 
an  equal  footing;  it  is  a  heavy  burden  in  time  of  peace, 
and  in  time  of  war  a  hazard  and  peril,  and  must  wholly 
extinguish  this  useful  branch  of  remittance.  Plantation  sugar  from 
North  America,  on  being  landed  in  England,  has  to  be  declared 
French,  and  is  thus  exposed  to  the  foreign  duty  in  Great  Britain ; 
while  the  West  India  merchants  are  left  free  to  export  such  sugars 
as  what  they  are.  A  moderate  duty  on  foreign  rum  (except  French) 
would  enable  them  to  bring  back  the  full  value  of  their  cargoes, 
especially  from  the  Danish  Islands,  where  they  can  only  receive 
half  the  value  in  sugar  and  cotton.  Then  the  low  price  of  logwood, 
its  bulk,  and  the  duty,  will  destroy  that  branch  of  Colonial  trade,  if 
it  must  be  landed  in  England  on  its  way  to  Continental  ports.  It 
is  the  same  with  lumber  and  potash — even  when  intended  for 
Ireland,  "  where  they  are  so  necessary  for  the  progress  of  their  linen 
manufacture."  Nor  is  flax-seed  exempt,  though  the  existence  of 
the  linen  manufacture  immediately  depends  on  it ;  and  without  the 
delay  thus  created  it  could  arrive  in  time  for  sowing.  And  all  these 
articles  can  be  imported  into  Ireland  directly  from  the  Baltic,  and 
have  to  be  paid  for  to  foreigners  with  money,  instead  of  to  British 
subjects  with  British  i?ia?iufactures.  Then  there  are  the  wines  from 
the  islands — these  could  be  exchanged  against  wheat,  flour,  fish, 
and  lumber,  if  the  American  duty  were  withdrawn.  The  North 
American  fishery  is  an  object  of  the  highest  importance — besides 
all  else,  it  is  a  nursery  for  seamen,  and  is  clearly  so  advantageous 
for  remittance,  that  the  petitioners  hope  the  House  will  cherish  it. 
Another  very  grievous  grievance  is  the  enlarging  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Admiralty  (by  the  Statute  of  4th  Geo.  m).  The  property  of  the 
trader  is  now  open  to  every  informer,  and  the  means  of  justice  so 
remote  as  to  be  scarce  attainable.  The  petitioners  are  very  grateful 
for  the  opening  of  free  ports  at  Jamaica  and  Dominica,  but  lament 
that  they  are  in  no  condition  to  reap  the  benefits  expected  from  so 
wise  a  policy.  The  free  ports  would  be  of  the  greatest  use,  if  the 
Colonial  traders  were  at  liberty  to  bring  back  the  produce  of 
Martinico,  Guadaloupe,  etc.,  in  return  for  their  lumber  and 
provisions;  but  they  are  now  prohibited  from  taking  anything 
except  molasses,  and  there  cannot  be  enough  of  that  for  any  con- 


96  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

siderable  trade.1  The  petitioners,  therefore,  pray  for  liberty  to 
import  into  the  Colonies  all  West  India  productions,  in  exchange 
for  their  own  commodities. 

Finally,  they  say  that,  although  at  the  last  session  the  necessity 
for  relieving  the  trade  of  the  Colonies  seems  to  have  been  universally 
admitted,  "  and  the  tender  regard  of  Parliament  for  their  happiness 
highly  distinguished,"  yet  the  commercial  regulations  then  enacted 
have  increased,  rather  than  remedied,  the  heavy  burden  under  which 
it  already  laboured. 

This  petition  was  read,  and  ordered  to  "lie  upon  the  table," 
and  no  further  notice  seems  to  have  been  taken  of  it — unless  the 
Revenue  Act  is  to  be  considered  as  a  reply.  Even  Chatham,  though 
he  said  the  petition  ought  to  be  laid  before  the  House,  "and  not 
be  smothered  in  the  hands  of  the  King's  servants,"  thought  it 
"highly  improper;  in  point  of  time,  most  absurd;  in  the  extent 
of  their  pretensions,  most  excessive,"  and  fallacious  and  offensive 
in  the  reasoning.  Shelburne  wrote  that  the  merchants  "here" 
(London)  disavow  it,  and  say  that  a  Mr.  Kelly  is  the  sole  author  of 
it,  and  "  the  demon  who  has  kindled  the  fire."  2 

On  the  7  th  of  April,  Mr.  Secretary  Conway  laid  before  the 
House  the  papers  from  America  —  the  Journal  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  New  York,  from  the  10th  of  November  to  the  19th  of 
December,  1766,  with  extracts  and  copies  of  letters  from  Bernard 
and  Gage  to  Shelburne ;  and  copies  of  Messages  between  Bernard 
and  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

It  was  much  to  have  got  a  Compensation  Bill  at  all  out  of  the 
Massachusetts  Assembly,  convinced  as  it  was  that  the  victims  of  the 
riots  had  suffered  for  conniving  at  an  illegal  attempt  to  deprive  the 
province  of  immemorial  rights.  The  colonists  had  contented  them- 
selves with  quietly  ignoring  the  "Statutory  Declaration,"  and  it 
would  have  been  well  if  the  "  high  prerogative  people  "  had  imitated 
them,  and  taken  no  notice  of  the  "Act  of  free  and  general  Pardon, 
Indemnity,  and  Oblivion,"  without  which  the  Assembly  had 
resolutely  refused  to  pass  a  Compensation  Bill. 

But  the  prerogative  people — and,  at  that  moment,  the  vast  majority 
of  Englishmen — were  not  of  this  opinion.  They  thought  that  British 
self-respect  demanded  that  the  New  Englanders  should  eat  humble- 

1  George  Johnstone,  then  Governor  of  West  Floilda,  writing  on  May  4, 
1765,  to  John  Pownall,  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  says,  on  considering  the 
various  productions  of  his  Majesty's  other  Colonies,  "he  despairs  of  seeing  this 
settlement  flourishing  unless  Spanish  commerce  is  permitted.  Cannot  conceive 
why  it  is  stopped." — Hist.  MSS.  Report  XIV,  App.  10  (American  Papers), 
p.  14. 

2  Shelburne  to  Chatham,  February  6,  1767. 


THE  SUSPENSION  BILL  97 

pie.  So  the  Commissioners  of  Trade  and  Plantations  informed  his 
Majesty  that  his  Attorney  and  Solicitor-General,  having  been  con- 
sulted, were  of  opinion  that  the  Assembly  had  no  power  to  pass 
such  an  Act,  and  on  May  9,  the  King  in  Council  disallowed  and 
nullified  the  whole  Compensation  Bill,  and  ordered  Bernard  to 
require  the  Assembly  to  pass  another,  unmixed  with  any  other 
matter  whatever. 

The  resolutions  of  the  New  York  Assembly  caused  great  indigna- 
tion at  the  ingratitude  of  the  colonists.  Grenville  said  this  was 
what  we  had  got  by  yielding  to  rioters.  Chatham  was  much  dis- 
pleased, though  he  still  insisted  that  this  was  what  we  had  got  by 
our  folly  in  trying  to  force  the  Stamp  Act  upon  the  colonists.  He 
wrote  to  Shelburne,  "  It  is  a  literal  truth  to  say  that  the  Stamp  Act, 
of  most  unhappy  memory,  has  frightened  those  irritable  and  um- 
brageous people  quite  out  of  their  senses."  All  parties  united  in 
calling  the  resistance  of  New  York  rebellion;  while  the  Massa- 
chusetts Compensation  Bill  was  represented  as  an  impudent  usurpa- 
tion of  the  Royal  Prerogative  of  Pardon. 

At  last,  on  April  15,  1767,  Charles  Townshend  fairly  "opened 
his  budget."  There  is  no  report  of  the  debate — we  gather  frag- 
mentary accounts  of  it  from  private  letters.  Charlemont  says  that 
Charles  Townshend  "  spoke  amazingly  well."  Somehow  or  other, 
notwithstanding  the  loss  of  that  shilling  on  the  land-tax,  he  had 
"  fourteen  hundred  thousand  pounds  "  to  pay  off  the  Four  per  Cents. 
But  the  most  important  parts  of  his  Budget  were  the  proposals  for  a 
revenue  from  America,  which  should  offend  nobody.  The  duties 
he  now  proposed  constituted  the  fatal  "Revenue  Act,"  which 
finished  what  the  Stamp  Act  had  begun,  and  the  Mutiny  Bill  was 
continuing.  The  new  duties  were  laid  on  all  glass  (crown,  plate, 
flint,  white,  and  green) ;  on  paper  and  pasteboards,  painters'  colours, 
red  and  white  lead;  threepence  a  pound  on  tea  exported  into  the 
British  Colonies  and  Plantations  in  North  America ;  and  the  duty  of 
a  shilling  in  the  pound  on  all  teas  consumed  in  Great  Britain  was 
taken  off.  Townshend  himself  did  not  pretend  that  these  duties 
would  bring  in  more  than  from  .£35,000  to  £40,000  a  year.  The 
real  object  now  was  to  punish  the  colonists,  and  assert  our 
sovereign  right.     Charles  was  proving  that  he  dare  tax  America. 

But  Grenville  was  not  satisfied.  When  Townshend  had  gone 
through  his  list,  Grenville  rose.  He  ridiculed  the  new  duties  as 
"trifles."  "  I  will  tell  the  honourable  gentleman  of  a  revenue  that 
will  produce  something  valuable  in  America — make  paper  money 
for  the  colonies,  issue  it  upon  loan  there,  take  the  interest,  and 
apply  it  as  you  think  proper."  The  House  seemed  to  like  this  idea 
vol.  1. — 7 


98  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

— whereupon  Charles  declared  it  had  been  an  idea  of  his  own,  but 
it  had  quite  slipped  his  memory — and  now  he  supposed  the  honour- 
able gentleman  opposite  would  take  the  credit  for  it ! 

There  was  no  lack  of  warnings.  Charles's  cousin,  "Tommy" 
Townshend,  said  to  him,  "  Take  the  tax ;  but  let  it  have  the  appear- 
ance of  a  port-duty." x  Franklin  says  that  most  of  the  Cabinet  dis- 
liked it.  The  first  sketch  of  it  had  made  Shelburne  uneasy.  It  was, 
indeed,  a  wanton  provocation,  so  unprofitable  as  to  have  all  the 
appearance  of  petty  revenge.  For  a  paltry  sum  of  from  ,£35,000  to 
£40,000  a  year,  Townshend  was  going  to  interfere  with  the  trade 
of  Thirteen  Colonies,  already  sore  and  suspicious,  already  complain- 
ing of  the  restrictions  on  their  trade.  But  he  got  his  way  once 
more  by  threatening  to  resign — if  his  colleagues  feared  him  as  a 
friend,  how  much  more  as  an  enemy ! 

There  seemed  no  limit  to  his  folly.  In  June,  1766,  while  he  was 
still  a  member  of  Rockingham's  Cabinet,  he  had  proclaimed  his 
opinion  that  America  ought  to  be  deprived  of  "  her  militating  and 
contradictory  charters,"  and  that  her  Royal  Governors,  Judges,  and 
Attorneys  ought  to  be  rendered  independent  of  the  people,  by 
receiving  their  salaries  direct  from  Great  Britain.  As  though  he  had 
not  done  enough  by  the  Revenue  Act,  he  now  harked  back  to  this 
proposal.  In  an  inflammatory  speech,  so  much  in  earnest  that 
he  forgot  to  be  witty,  he  told  the  House  that  the  Privy  Council 
had  advised  his  Majesty  to  annul  the  whole  Compensation  Bill, 
and  added  that  he  hoped  Governors  and  Judges  would  in  future  be 
made  quite  independent  of  the  people — New  York,  he  said,  was  the 
worst,  and  he  went  on  to  urge  the  Suspension  Bill.  Then  he  talked 
about  the  tax  on  paper  currency,  till  Grenville's  "  narrow  heart "  was 
delighted.  So  pleased  was  Charles  with  his  Budget  and  himself, 
that  he  published  it  in  pamphlet-form — the  first  time  such  a  thing 
had  been  done. 

On  May  15  came  on  the  Bill  for  Suspending  the  Assembly  of 
New  York  until  it  provided  the  troops  with  everything  ordered  by  the 
Mutiny  Act.  There  were  many  debates.  Governor  Pownall  made 
a  long  and  earnest  speech,  imploring  the  House  at  least  to  amend 

1  Franklin  had  been  asked  whether  there  was  any  kind  of  difference  between 
a  duty  on  the  importation  of  goods  and  an  excise  on  their  consumption  ?  He 
answered  :  "Yes  ;  a  very  material  one  ;  an  excise,  for  the  reasons  I  have  just 
mentioned,  they  think  you  can  have  no  right  to  lay  within  their  country.  But 
the  sea  is  yours ;  you  maintain,  by  your  fleets,  the  safety  of  navigation  in  it,  and 
keep  it  clear  of  pirates  ;  you  may  have  therefore  a  natural  and  equitable  right  to 
some  toll  or  duty  on  merchandises  carried  through  that  part  of  your  dominions." 
— Examination  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin  at  the  Bar  of  the  House,  Jan.  and 
Feb.,  1766. 


THE  SUSPENSION  BILL  99 

the  Act,  and  make  its  meaning  clear,  before  determining  to  enforce 
it.  He  also  urged  Ministers  to  consider  whether  their  officers  in 
America  had  the  means  of  enforcing,  if  the  colonists  chose  to  resist. 
Grenville  stubbornly  supported  the  Act  as  it  stood.  In  one  of 
many  speeches,  he  stopped  short,  looked  up  to  the  Gallery,  and  said, 
"I  hope  there  are  no  American  agents  present;  I  must  hold 
language  I  would  not  have  them  hear."  The  Speaker  said  he  had 
ordered  their  exclusion.  But  Johnson,  Agent  for  Connecticut,  had 
contrived  to  get  in  that  night — braving  the  danger  of  arrest  if  he 
were  "spied" — and  he  heard  what  the  Agents  were  not  to  hear. 
Grenville  was  proposing  to  give  Colonial  Governors  power  to  draw 
on  Colonial  Treasurers  for  the  needs  of  the  troops,  and  a  treasurer 
who  refused  to  honour  the  draft  was  to  be  judged  guilty  of  a  capital 
crime,  and  to  be  tried  and  punished  in  England.  He  also  proposed 
a  political  test,  affirming  the  unlimited  sovereignty  of  Great  Britain, 
which  every  American  must  sign  before  taking  office.  He  carried 
a  motion  for  an  address  of  sympathy  with  Hutchinson,  Oliver, 
Ingersoll,  and  others  who  had  made  themselves  the  most  obnoxious 
to  the  colonists  during  what  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  had 
politely  called  "the  late  times." 

The  Suspension  Bill  passed  on  the  15th  of  June.  The  Annual 
Register,  in  noting  the  fact,  observes,  "  this  will  teach  the  provincial 
assemblies  their  inferiority  to  the  supreme  legislature."  Except  for 
this  Bill,  America  was  a  good  deal  neglected  at  this  time.  A  writer 
in  the  Political  Register  says  that  the  American  Secretary  wrote  only 
two  letters  to  the  Colonies  between  July,  1766,  and  the  middle  of 
May,  1767 — one  to  Governor  Moore  at  New  York,  on  August  9, 
1766,  the  other  to  Bernard,  on  September  12. 

The  great  business  of  that  session  was  the  settlement  with  the 
East  India  Company.  Mr.  James  continued  to  bring  papers,  and 
to  pray  that  they  might  not  be  printed  (and  so  the  proceedings  of 
the  Select  Committee  of  Bengal  become  publicly  known).  The 
Chairman  and  Deputy  waited  on  Grafton.  Committees  of  the  Whole 
House  sat  on  the  papers,  and  discussed  them  in  debates,  of  which 
only  the  most  meagre  accounts  have  transpired.  East  India  Stock 
fluctuated  with  every  speech  of  Mr.  Townshend's,1  and  the  "  passenger 
proprietors  "  aired  their  wrongs  in  frequent  and  copious  pamphlets. 

1  "  The  Duke  of  Grafton  gave  a  dinner  to  several  of  the  principal  men  in  the 
City  to  settle  the  loan.  Mr.  Townshend  came  in  in  his  nightgown,  and  after 
dinner,  when  the  terms  were  settled,  and  everyone  present  wished  to  introduce 
some  friend  on  the  list  of  subscribers,  he  pretended  to  cast  up  the  sums  already 
subscribed,  said  the  loan  was  full,  huddled  up  his  papers,  got  into  a  chair,  and 
returned  home,  reserving  to  himself  by  this  manoeuvre  a  large  share  in  the  loan." 
— Sir  George  Colebrooke,  cited  by  Walpole,  Mem.  of  George  in,  iii.  ioo. 


ioo  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

And  at  length — so  difficult  did  the  matter  appear  on  a  nearer  view, 
and  so  vast  the  consequences  involved — nothing  less  than  an  empire 
at  stake — that  a  temporary  settlement  was  resolved  upon — to  be  for 
two  years,  from  February  i,  1767.  Almost  all  the  demands  which 
had  seemed  so  preposterous  to  Chatham  were  granted — the  Com- 
pany was  to  pay  into  the  Treasury  ^400,000  a  year,  in  half-yearly 
instalments,  and  in  return  its  territorial  rights  were  to  be  admitted. 

As  soon  as  the  terms  of  the  settlement  leaked  out,  the  proprietors 
of  India  Stock  made  a  demand,  at  the  General  Court  of  May  6, 
for  a  larger  dividend,  on  the  ground  that  the  Company  had  acquired 
so  much  new  territory  in  1764-5,  and  had  now  made  so  advantage- 
ous a  bargain  with  Government,  that  all  shareholders  ought  to  par- 
ticipate at  once  in  the  benefit.  The  Directors,  who  had  to  find  the 
first  instalment  of  the  ,£400,000,  admitted  they  had  made  a  good 
bargain,  but  they  had  vast  expenses  in  India,  owing  to  the  un- 
exampled extent  and  duration  of  their  late  military  operations. 
Moreover,  their  profits  were  sometimes  remote  and  precarious,  while 
their  debts  must  be  met  immediately.1  Better  pay  our  debts  before 
we  raise  our  dividend.  But  the  proprietors  were  determined  to 
share  the  spoils,  and  they  carried  their  motion  for  a  dividend  of 
12  J  per  cent. 

This  temporary  Agreement  was  concluded  on  the  20th  of  May, 
and  the  same  day  the  Company  petitioned  Parliament  to  "  alter " 
the  duties  on  tea,  "  in  order  to  prevent  the  pernicious  practice  of 
smuggling,  and  encourage  the  consumption  of  that  commodity,"  by 
granting  a  "  drawback  "  on  all  teas  exported  to  Ireland,  or  to  any  of 
his  Majesty's  colonies.  They  also  asked  for  an  alteration  in  the 
duties  on  calicoes,  muslins,  and  raw  silk.  The  Company  undertook 
to  indemnify  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  for  any  loss  to  the 
revenue,  if  the  reduction  of  the  duty  was  not  made  up  in  increased 
consumption.  It  was  on  this  clause  that  the  fate  of  America  was 
finally  to  turn.  No  sooner  was  the  Settlement  made,  than  Charles 
Townshend  began  to  disown  his  work.  He  had  boasted  that  this 
two-years'  respite  was  what  he  had  always  insisted  upon.  As  soon 
as  it  had  become  law,  it  was  no  advice  of  his — his  opinion  was  not 
with  it ! 

A  few  days  after  the  settlement  was  signed,  Ministers  resolved  to 
interpose  with  regard  to  this  enormous  dividend.  In  their  turn, 
they  talked  about  the  South  Sea  Bubble,  and  declared  that  if  some 
restriction  was  not  placed  on  the  Company,  share-and-stock  jobbing 
would  soon  reach  a  greater  height  than  even  in  the  days  of  the 

1  They  had  not  sold  their  teas  in  March,  as  usual,  that  they  might  not  appear 
to  be  in  cash.     See  the  Duke  of  Richmond's  speech  on  June  25. 


THE  SUSPENSION  BILL  101 

Bubble.  There  was  a  violent  opposition.  Such  an  interference 
was  called  an  infringement  of  private  rights,  hitherto  unheard  of  in 
England.  Ministers  replied  that  the  power  and  position  of  the 
Company  was  also  hitherto  unheard  of.  Chatham  did  nothing  to 
help — he  was  still  at  North  End — now  sometimes  to  be  met  riding 
on  the  heath,  but  speaking  to  no  one,  and  casting  terrifying  lookc 
at  any  who  ventured  to  approach  too  near.  He  ,was  .  reported  •  to 
be  actually  insane.  Townshend  was  intriguing,  aor/e  knew  hbvr 
deeply,  with  Bute;  Conway,  sick  of  the  false  position  in  which 
Chatham's  supporters  were  placed  by  his  absence,  was  talking  of 
resigning.  Grafton  had  to  fight  the  battle  almost  alone ;  but  after  a 
fierce  struggle,  and  long  and  angry  debates  in  both  Houses,  and 
a  Protest  by  nineteen  peers,  the  East  India  Company's  Dividend 
Bill  passed,  and  received  the  Royal  Assent  on  June  26,  and  on 
July  2  Parliament  was  prorogued. 

The  "East  India  Restraining  Bill"  fixed  the  dividend  at  a 
maximum  of  10  per  cent,  till  Parliament  should  reassemble.  It 
also  made  changes  in  the  voting  regulations  of  the  Company,  in 
order  to  shut  out  the  votes  of  the  small  proprietors.  There  were 
not  wanting  those  who  remarked  on  the  fact  that  more  than  sixty 
members  of  Parliament  were  known  to  be  engaged  in  jobbing  in 
India  Stock,  and  yet  sat  in  judgment  on  the  Company's  affairs. 

It  was  a  propos  of  the  Company's  business  that  on  the  8th  of 
May,  Charles  Townshend  made  the  extraordinary  exhibition  of  him- 
self known  as  his  "  champagne  speech."  Horace  Walpole  has  left 
an  account,  written  the  same  day.  Charles  came  down  to  the  House 
that  morning  with  a  black  shade  over  his  eye — he  said  he  had  had 
a  fall,  but  Walpole  says  it  was  an  epileptic  fit,  brought  on  by  a 
debauch  the  night  before.  He  made  a  calm  and  sensible  speech, 
though  he  complained  much  of  Lord  Chatham ;  and  at  four  o'clock 
he  went  away  to  dine,  taking  with  him  Sir  George  Colebrooke  and 
Sir  George  Young.  Colebrooke  positively  asserted  afterwards  that 
they  had  but  one  bottle  of  champagne  among  the  three  of  them. 
Dyson  was  making  an  important  motion  on  the  India  Bill — 
Townshend's  presence  was  absolutely  necessary,  and  Conway  sent 
for  him.  About  eight  he  returned,  while  Grenville  was  speaking. 
As  soon  as  Grenville  had  done,  Charles  rose,  half-drunk,  and  made 
the  most  astonishing  speech  ever  heard  in  that  House.  Of  it 
Walpole  says  that  nobody  but  he  could  have  made  it,  and  nobody 
but  he  would  have  made  it  if  they  could.  He  began  by  calling  God 
to  witness  that  he  had  never  been  consulted  on  the  present  motion. 
There  were  fourteen  men  sitting  round  him  who  had  helped  him 
draw  it  that  very  morning  !     He  complained  that  he  was  not  taken 


io2  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

seriously.  What  he  said  was  "all  d  propos  to  nothing,  and  yet 
about  everything — about  ministries,  past,  present,  and  to  come." 
So  far  as  anything  could  be  gathered  from  this  astounding  rhodo- 
montade,  it  was  a  proposal  for  a  Rockingham  Administration,  with 
Charles  Townshend  at  the  head  of  it.  Charles  spoke  of  the  Grafton 
Cabinet  as  though  it  were  already  a  thing  of  the  past.  "The 
speech,  showed  him  capable  of  being,  and  unfit  to  be  first  minister." 
The  House  listened  in  a  roar  of  rapture,  clapping  like  an  audience 
at  a  theatre.  His  friend  Colebrooke  thought  it  was  a  piece  of  acting 
— there  was  method  in  many  of  Charles's  eccentricities,  and  Cole- 
brooke suspected  him  of  wishing  to  sound  the  feeling  of  the  House 
towards  a  Townshend  Administration. 


CHAPTER   XV 
LORD  NORTH 

"  A  leading  Minister  repeatedly  called  down  for  absolute  ignorance,  ridiculous 
motions  ridiculously  withdrawn,  deliberate  plans  disconcerted,  and  a  week's  pre- 
paration of  graceful  oratory  lost  in  a  moment,  give  us  some,  though  not  adequate 
ideas  of  Lord  North's  parliamentary  abilities  and  influence.  Yet  before  he  had 
the  misfortune  of  being  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  he  was  neither  an  object 
of  derision  to  his  enemies,  nor  of  melancholy  pity  to  his  friends." — Junius. 

"  While  we  are  at  peace  with  other  nations,  our  military  force  may,  perhaps, 
be  spared  to  support  the  Earl  of  Hillsborough's  measures  in  America.  .  .  . 
Drawing  lots  would  be  a  prudent  and  reasonable  method  of  appointing  the 
officers  of  state  compared  to  a  late  disposition  of  the  Secretary's  office." — Ibid. 

"  Since  the  accession  of  our  most  gracious  Sovereign  to  the  throne,  we  have 
seen  a  system  of  government  which  may  well  be  called  a  reign  of  experiments." — 
Junius  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  July  8,  1769. 

The  Patchwork  Cabinet  was  a  coalition,  and  a  coalition  can  never 
be  more  than  a  temporary  makeshift,  adopted  to  gain  time  for  dis- 
covering where  the  chief  strength  lies.  In  such  a  partnership  there 
can  be  no  enthusiasm.  The  less  scrupulous  invariably  drag  the 
more  scrupulous  into  measures  of  which  they  disapprove.  Finally, 
the  more  scrupulous  see  no  escape  but  a  secession  which  comes 
too  late  to  save  either  their  self-respect  or  their  credit  with  the 
country.  It  was  so  with  the  Rockinghamites  whom  Chatham 
persuaded  to  remain  in  1766.  They  were  dragged  along  by 
Townshend,  and  when  they  grew  alarmed  and  resigned,  they 
took  with  them  nothing  but  a  reputation  for  feebleness. 

The  Patchwork  Cabinet  was  unworkable.  On  June  2,  the 
King  wrote  to  Chatham  that  Northington  and  Conway  meant  to 
resign,  and  that  Grafton  declined  to  form  a  new  temporary  Ad- 
ministration— unless  Lord  Chatham  could  fill  up  the  vacancies 
the  present  one  would  infallibly  fall  to  pieces  in  less  than  ten 
days.  Townshend,  too,  would  go,  "unless  additional  strength 
and  ability  be  acquired."  Chatham  replied  by  the  hand  of  Lady 
Chatham,  that  he  was  totally  incapacitated.  He  humbly  declined 
to  see  Sir  Clement  Wintringham,  his  Majesty's  physician,  and 
implored   permission   to  follow   the  directions  of  Dr.  Addington, 

103 


104  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

who  gave  him  good  hopes  of  recovery.  The  King  wished  above 
all  things  to  prevent  Chatham  from  resigning — it  would  be  terrible 
if  he  recovered  and  went  into  Opposition  !  There  was  only  one 
thing  his  Majesty  dreaded  more,  and  that  was  being  obliged  to 
take  back  George  Grenville.  The  country  was  practically  with- 
out a  Government.  In  July,  Northington  bluntly  declared  in  the 
King's  closet  that  he  could  bear  it  no  longer — and  he  went  out 
of  town.  Grafton  told  the  King  he  could  not  go  on  like  this. 
Townshend  said  he  would  stay,  if  "stability"  could  be  obtained 
— not  if  Administration  was  to  be  merely  "  patched."  Meanwhile 
it  was  reported  that  Chatham  had  a  violent  fit  of  influenza,  had 
been  in  danger,  and  made  Addington  sit  up  with  him  all  night. 
And  it  was  generally  believed  that  now,  at  any  rate,  Chatham 
was  quite  out  of  his  mind.1 

That  summer  almost  everybody  —  except  George  Grenville, 
who,  after  Chatham,  was  far  the  most  capable — was  asked  to 
come  and  help  govern  the  British  Empire;  and  everybody 
was  afraid  to  undertake  the  task.  Nobody  cared  to  .become  one 
of  a  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms.  For  a  few  days  it  seemed 
as  though  the  Rockinghamites  would  return  to  power,  with  the 
Bedfords  and  Newcastles.  The  King  called  this  "an  intent  to 
storm  my  closet,"  but  he  dared  not  openly  resist,  for  fear  of 
having  to  take  back  "Mr.  Greenville."  To  his  great  joy,  the 
negotiations  fell  through  on  the  question  of  America — Bedford 
was  for  coercion,  Rockingham  still  for  conciliation.  But  all 
saw  that  a  change  was  inevitable.  Chatham  no  longer  counted. 
At  the  end  of  July,  a  person  employed  to  find  out  his  real 
condition,  reported  that  he  sat  most  of  the  day  alone,  his  head 
leaning  down  on  his  hands,  which  he  rested  on  the  table.  Even 
Lady  Chatham  did  not  generally  stay  in  the  room  with  him — if 
he  wanted  anything,  he  knocked  with  a  stick.  "He  says  little, 
even  to  her,  if  she  comes  in;  and  is  so  averse  to  speaking,  that 
he  commonly  intimates  his  desire  to  be  left  alone  by  some  signal, 
rather  than  by  any  expression."  Addington,  however,  still  thought 
he  would  recover. 

It  was  practically  an  "  interministerium."     All  who  were  behind 

1  "The  public  here,  as  well  as  with  you,  believe  him  wholly  mad  :  but  I  am 
assured  it  is  not  so.  He  is  only  fallen  into  extreme  low  spirits  and  into  nervous 
disorders,  which  render  him  totally  unfit  for  business,  make  him  shun  all  company, 
and,  as  I  am  told,  set  him  weeping  like  a  child  upon  the  least  accident.  Is  it 
not  even  an  addition  to  his  unhappiness  that  he  retains  his  senses  ?  It  was  a  rash 
experiment,  that  of  repelling  the  gout,  which  threw  him  into  this  state  of  mind  ; 
and  perhaps  a  hearty  fit  of  gout  may  again  prove  a  cure  to  him. " — David  Hume 
to  the  Countess  de  Boufflers. 


LORD  NORTH  105 

the  scenes  were  certain  that  Charles  Townshend  would  be  First 
Lord  of  the  Treasury  before  Parliament  reassembled.  He  had 
been  in  communication  with  the  King,  and  with  Bute,  who  was 
his  wife's  cousin.  He  had  paid  court  to  the  City  of  London,  and 
received  its  freedom  in  a  gold  box — this  was  thought  a  huge  joke 
by  Charles's  friends.  He  seemed  to  be  in  sight  of  the  goal.  There 
are  in  existence  163  skeleton  sketches  for  an  Administration,  drawn 
up  by  the  political  plotters  of  the  time.  One,  which  was  pretty 
nearly  carried  into  effect,  was  for  shutting  out  all  the  Rockinghams 
except  Yorke,  and  filling  the  vacancies  with  the  "  King's  Friends." 

Charles  had  been  drinking  very  hard  of  late,  and  had  never 
been  so  delightful.  Night  after  night  he  supped  at  Conway's,  and 
kept  them  all  in  a  roar  at  his  sallies  till  past  two  in  the  morning — 
winding  up  one  night  with  an  imitation  of  his  wife  and  another 
great  lady,  with  whom  he  pretended  to  be  in  love.  When  we  try 
to  imagine  what  a  man  would  have  done  as  the  head  of  a  Cabinet, 
who  had  contrived  to  crowd  so  much  mischief  into  a  year  as 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  we  are  almost  reconciled  to  North's 
Administration.  If  Townshend  had  come  to  power,  his  rashness 
and  fickleness  would  have  been  to  North's,  as  King  Stork  to 
King  Log.  But  it  was  never  to  be.  The  combined  excitements 
of  wine,  women,  and  politics  were  telling  upon  him.  Even  before 
the  House  rose,  some  thought  he  looked  very  ill.  His  wife 
said  he  was  in  very  low  spirits.  Towards  the  end  of  August 
it  was  known  that  he  was  laid  up — Sir  William  Duncan  had 
seen  him,  and  pronounced  it  a  "putrid  fever,"  which  he  had  been 
carrying  about  for  a  long  time.  This  may  partly  explain  his 
extraordinary  conduct  during  the  last  few  months.  Duncan 
thought  the  fever  not  dangerous  at  present,  but  it  might  at  any 
moment  become  so.  And,  suddenly,  it  took  this  fatal  turn. 
When  he  was  told  of  his  condition,  Charles  showed  a  patience 
and  resignation  in  strange  contrast  to  his  habitual  temper — but 
in  him  everything  was  strange  and  contradictory.  He  died  on 
the  4th  of  September,  1767.  He  had  only  just  completed  his 
forty-second  year.  He  had  sown  the  wind.  He  died  before  his 
country  could  reap  the  whirlwind. 

There  was  great  difficulty  in  filling  Charles's  place.  On  September 
1 1,  Lord  Mansfield,  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  was  appointed 
ad  i?iterim.  The  Exchequer  was  offered  to  Lord  North,  who 
declined  more  than  once.  Then  to  Barrington,  then  to  the  Duke 
of  Bedford.  Not  until  December  1  do  we  find  in  the  "  Promotions," 
"  Lord  North,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  a  Lord  of  the 
Treasury."     He   had  been   persuaded  to   accept   by  the  Dowager 


io6  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Princess  of  Wales.  It  was  a  sinister  omen,  but  too  prophetic  of  the 
influences  which  were  henceforth  to  direct  his  career. 

Like  many  other  famous  Tory  Ministers,  North  had  begun  as  a 
Whig.  His  disastrous  Administration  has  left  an  impression  of 
incompetence  not  wholly  just.  He  was  a  man  of  superior  abilities, 
but  weak  of  will,  an  indolent  and  easy-going  man,  with  a  quick  wit 
and  a  sweet  temper ;  a  good  debater  rather  than  a  good  speaker. 
He  had  a  singularly  ungainly  presence,  and  the  story  went  that  he 
had  said  he  supposed  himself,  his  wife  and  daughter  were  three  of 
the  ugliest  people  in  England.  They  were  certainly  among  the 
most  amiable.1  North's  personal  peculiarities  are  mercilessly 
described  by  Horace  Walpole.  "  Two  large  prominent  eyes  rolled 
about  to  no  purpose — for  he  was  utterly  short-sighted — a  wide 
mouth,  thick  lips,  and  an  inflated  visage,  gave  him  the  appearance 
of  a  trumpeter." 

North  was  the  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of  Guildford.  He  had 
done  well  at  Eton  and  Christ  Church  in  classics,  and  had  made  the 
"  grand  tour " — he  had  even  "  studied  the  German  constitution  " 
under  Mascovius.  He  had  held  office  under  Pitt.  He  was  now 
thirty-five.  His  abilities  had  been  recognised  by  the  shrewdest 
political  observers.  George  Grenville  said  to  a  man  who  was 
sneering  at  North,  "  You  are  mistaken.  North  is  a  man  of  great 
promise  and  high  qualifications,  and  if  he  does  not  relax  in  his  political 
pursuits,  is  very  likely  to  be  Minister."  Townshend,  who  always 
called  him  "Blubbery  North,"  was  walking  one  day  in  the  Park, 
when  he  said  to  a  friend,  "See  that  great  heavy,  booby-looking 
changeling — you  may  believe  me  when  I  assure  you  as  a  fact,  that 
if  anything  should  happen  to  me,  he  will  succeed  to  my  place,  and 
very  shortly  after  come  to  be  First  Commissioner  of  the  Treasury." 
No  one  would  believe  this ;  but  the  first  part  of  the  prophecy  was 
immediately  fulfilled. 

From  this  time,  every  change  was  for  the  worse — that  is,  it  gave 
more  and  more  power  to  the  "  King's  Friends."  Earl  Gower,  the 
new  President  of  Council,  the  Earl  of  Hillsborough,  Lord  Weymouth, 
Rigby  (the  Duke  of  Bedford's  lieutenant  in  the  House  of  Commons) 
— all  these  will  play  their  part  in  driving  the  quarrel  with  America 
to  extremity.  Soon  the  King  was  to  have  the  Cabinet  he  had  been 
working  for  ever  since  Bute  resigned  in  1 763.     Shelburne,  Chatham's 

1  "  His  daughter  Lady  Charlotte  Lindsay  said  of  him,  '  His  only  fault  was  his 
inability  to  resist  the  influence  of  those  he  loved.'  North  bore  a  strong  general 
resemblance  to  the  Royal  Family — a  resemblance  accounted  for  by  an  old  piece 
of  scandal." — Memoirs  of  Rockingham. 


LORD  NORTH  107 

friend,  was  dismissed,  and  replaced  by  Weymouth.  And  on 
January  6,  1768,  "  the  Right  Honourable  the  Earl  of  Hillsborough 
took  his  seat  at  the  board  of  trade,  as  secretary  for  the  American 
colonies."     He  was  the  first  Colonial  Secretary.1 

1  Wills  Hills,  afterwards  first  Marquis  of  Downshire,  Earl  of  Hillsborough  in 
the  Peerage  of  Ireland,  b.  1718.  He  sat  as  Lord  Harwich.  Walpole  had  called 
him  "  a  young  man  of  great  honour  and  merit,  scrupulous  in  weighing  his  reasons, 
and  excellent  at  setting  them  off  by  solemnity  of  voice  and  manner."  Franklin 
said  of  him :  "  His  character  is  conceit,  wrong-headedness,  obstinacy,  and 
passion.  Those  who  speak  most  favourably  of  him  allow  all  this  ;  they  only  add 
that  he  is  an  honest  man  and  means  well." — Franklin  to  Dr.  Cooper,  February 
5,  i77i. 


CHAPTER   XVI 
THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  A  PARLIAMENT 

"  In  one  of  our  conversations,  I  desired  Lord  Chatham  to  secure  you  a 
seat  in  the  New  Parliament ;  he  assured  me  he  would.  .  .  .  Since  that,  I  have  heard 
no  more  of  it ;  which  made  me  look  out  for  some  venal  borough  ;  and  I  spoke  to  a 
borough-jobber,  and  offered  five-and-twenty  hundred  pounds  for  a  secure  seat  in 
parliament ;  but  he  laughed  at  my  offer,  and  said,  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a 
borough  to  be  had  now,  for  the  rich  East  and  West  Indians  had  secured  them  all, 
at  the  rate  of  three  thousand  pounds  at  least ;  but  many  at  four  thousand  ;  and  two 
or  three,  that  he  knew,  at  five  thousand.  ...  I  am  looking  out  for  a  chance  borough  ; 
and  if  I  can  find  one,  I  promise  you  I  will  bid  like  a  chapman  for  it." — Lord 
Chesterfield  to  his  Son,  Dec.  19,  1767,  and  Jan.  29,  1768. 

"  The  old  Parliament  is  gone.  .  .  .  All  the  members  are  now  in  their  counties 
and  boroughs  among  their  drunken  electors  ;  much  confusion  and  disorder  in  many 
places,  and  such  profusion  of  money  as  never  was  known  before  on  any  similar 
occasion.  .  .  .  The  first  instance  of  bribery  ...  is  no  longer  ago  than  Queen 
Elizabeth's  time,  when  .  .  .  '  a  simple  man  .  .  .  had  given,  four  pounds.'  .  .  . 
The  price  is  monstrously  risen  since  that  time,  for  it  is  now  no  less  than  four 
thousand  pounds!  It  is  thought  that  near  two  millions  will  be  spent  this 
election." — Franklin  to  Joseph  Galloway,  March  13,  1768. 

The  last  session  of  the  Twelfth  Parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom 
opened  badly  (on  the  24th  of  November,  1767)  with  a  Speech 
from  the  Throne,  unmercifully  criticised  by  Mr.  Burke.  Such,  he 
said,  was  the  condition  of  the  country — so  much  distress,  so  many 
disorders  owing  to  that  distress,  that  every  moment  of  the  recess 
ought  to  have  been  devoted  to  discovering  a  remedy.  But  we  are  put 
off  with  a  declaration  that  the  laws  passed  last  session  have  been 
without  effect.  God  knows  what  Ministers  have  been  about  these 
four  months  past !  They  have  done  very  little  good — it  is  to  be 
hoped  they  have  not  been  doing  mischief !  It  is  claimed  for  the 
Speech  that  it  is  "  harmless  " — there  have  been  times  when  harmless- 
ness  was  not  enough.  It  is  hinted  that  Mr.  Townshend  had  a  plan. 
That  lamented  gentleman  was  not  a  reserved  man — surely  someone 
must  know  what  the  plan  was.  What  a  humiliating  thing  for  an 
Administration,  to  tell  the  House  that  by  the  death  of  a  single  man 
all  projects  for  the  public  good  are  at  an  end !  Then  we  are 
assured  that  all  is  quiet  abroad — it  is  to  be  hoped  so,  for  we  are  in 

108 


THE  LASTT)AYS  OF  A  PARLIAMENT     109 


confusion  enough  at  home.  Nothing  has  been  done  anywhere — 
our  consuls,  envoys  and  ambassadors  have  been  suffered  to  loiter 
at  home,  instead  of  repairing  to  their  stations.  Even  the  Manilla 
Ransom  has  disappeared  from  the  King's  Speech.  Burke  was 
especially  indignant  at  the  recommendation  to  the  Houses  to 
cultivate  "a  spirit  of  harmony."  He  asked,  were  we  to  look  to 
Ministers  for  an  example  of  harmony?  Is  it  not  notorious  that 
they  only  exist  by  creating  divisions  among  others — separating 
friend  from  friend,  brother  from  brother  ?  They  mean  they  hope 
we  shall  unite  in  supporting  them  t  A  sort  of  union  which  I  hope 
will  never  prevail  in  a  free  Parliament ! 

It  was  Conway  who  had  put  forward  Mr.  Townshend's  death  as 
the  reason  why  Ministers  had  not  been  able  to  devise  a  scheme  for 
the  relief  of  the  poor.  Mr.  Townshend's  plan,  he  said,  "  was  lost 
with  him."  His  lamented  friend  had  promised  to  prepare  one,  but 
it  was  impossible  to  find  a  successor  to  his  abilities.  It  was  a 
miserable  exhibition,  and  Burke's  attack  was  emphasised  by  a 
Petition  from  the  City  of  London  on  the  high  price  of  provisions. 
There  were  other  petitions — from  the  provinces.  All  the  House  could 
think  of  was  to  continue  the  ineffectual  laws  of  last  session,  prohibit- 
ing the  exportation  of  corn,  and  allowing  importation  from  America. 

Hitherto,  Colonial  affairs  had  been  a  branch  of  the  Southern 
Secretary's  department.  At  the  end  of  1767,  Grafton  proposed  to 
divide  the  office,  and  appoint  a  Third  Secretary  for  the  Colonies. 
Moved  by  not  receiving  till  December  11  papers  from  New  York 
which  reached  the  Southern  Office  on  October  3,  he  told  Shelburne 
that  the  present  arrangement  was  too  much  for  any  man — "  a  Solomon 
could  not  do  it."  So  Hillsborough  was  appointed,  and  soon  after 
Shelburne  was  dismissed.  Then  Conway  resigned — high-minded l 
but  vacillating  Conway,  the  only  man  of  whom  Horace  Walpole 
never  spoke  ill,  but  who  could  never  say  No  unless  Pitt  was  there  to 
back  him  up.  All  the  Rockinghamites  were  now  got  rid  of,  and  a 
good  many  of  the  Bedford  Whigs  were  in  their  places.  But  the 
Cabinet  had  no  soul,  and  very  little  life.  Intrigues  went  on,  but  no 
one  understood  them  except  the  King.  America  was  becoming 
more  and  more  the  crucial  question — one  attempt  at  coalition  after 
another  had  split  on  the  rock  of  conciliation.  The  Rockinghams, 
the  Bedfords,  the  Grenvilles  could  never  agree  on  America.  Even 
Camden,  left  without  his  great  friend's  moral  support,  wavered,  and 
condemned  the  resistance  of  the  colonists.  His  great  friend 
himself  was  becoming  annoyed  at  their  obstinacy. 

1  From  a  delicacy  about  the  negotiations  with  Rockingham  in  the  summer, 
Conway  had  refused  to  accept  the  £5000  a  year  belonging  to  his  Secretaryship. 


no  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

But  for  the  body  of  the  people,  there  were  questions  far  more 
important  than  the  doings  of  the  tiresome  American  colonists.  The 
General  Election,  and  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company,  were 
the  topics  of  conversation  at  the  beginning  of  1768,  and  if  America 
was  mentioned,  it  was  only  because  the  non-importation  agreement 
was  so  prejudicial  to  the  Company. 

The  Company  had  got  out  of  one  crisis,  only  to  get  into  another. 
It  had  now  another  war  on  hand,  and  had  met  with  some  disasters. 
It  had  meddled  incautiously  with  Hyder  Ali  (once  "a  corporal  of 
seapoys,"  now  a  powerful  sovereign).  It  would  have  been  wiser  to 
leave  the  Mahrattas  to  worry  him.  Hyder  had  overrun  all  the 
country  from  Bombay  to  Madras,  and  in  September,  1767,  could 
have  captured  the  whole  of  the  Company's  government,  if  the  five 
thousand  horse  who  appeared  before  Madras  had  been  less  intent  on 
looting. 

It  was  an  extraordinary  situation — "twenty-four  gentlemen  in 
Leadenhall-street,"  administering  an  empire,  while  another  empire 
tried  to  make  them  share  the  spoils.  A  Company  so  rich  that  the 
British  people  were  assured  its  revenues — could  Government  but  get 
hold  of  them — would  pay  off  the  National  Debt,  and  abolish  the  land- 
tax  for  ever,  and  most  other  taxes  too ;  yet  so  burdened  with  debts 
as  not  to  have  a  halfpenny  of  ready  money.  East  India  Stock 
fluctuating  between  260  and  270,  when  Bank  of  England  Stock 
was  only  from  160  to  170.  Thirteen  million  pounds  of  tea  spoiling 
in  the  cellars  of  Leadenhall  Street ;  six  and  a  half  million  more 
pounds  expected  in  fourteen  ships  from  China — twenty  million 
pounds  in  all,  enough  for  three  or  four  years'  consumption,  but 
little  sale  for  it,  because  the  duty  made  tea  a  hundred  per  cent, 
dearer  in  England  than  in  foreign  parts.  Half  the  bohea  drunk  in 
England  was  never  sold  by  the  Company,  and  never  made  the 
acquaintance  of  a  revenue  officer,  or  paid  a  penny  of  duty.  And 
all  these  millions  of  pounds  of  tea  locked  up,  though  the  Revenue 
Act  took  off  one  shilling  in  the  pound  sterling  for  the  next  five 
years,  on  both  black  and  singlo  teas.  And  if  the  tea  could  not  be 
worked  off  somehow,  the  East  India  dividend  must  fall  below  6 
per  cent. ;  and  in  that  case  the  country  (meaning  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer)  will  lose  the  ^400,000  yearly  tribute,  paid  by 
the  Company  out  of  the  revenues  of  Bengal.  America  was  the 
natural  market  for  this  tea — and  America  had  made  a  non-importa- 
tion agreement.     The  country  began  to  lose  patience.1 

"  *  The  indignation  of  the  English  is  like  that  of  the  Scythians,  who,  returning 
from  war,  found  themselves  excluded  from  their  own  houses  by  their  slaves."— 
Dr.  Johnson. 


THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  A  PARLIAMENT      in 

The  first  parliamentary  event  of  the  new  year  was  the  extraordinary 
case  of  the  Mayor  and  Council  of  Oxford,  who,  in  view  of  the 
approaching  General  Election,  had  written  to  their  members, 
offering  to  return  them  to  the  new  Parliament  for  ^4000  down. 
This,  they  explained,  would  enable  the  Corporation  to  discharge 
the  City  debt,  and  would  save  Sir  Thomas  Stapleton  and  the  Hon. 
Robert  Lee  the  "opposition,  animosity  and  confusion"  of  an 
election.  The  two  members  thanked  the  Corporation  for  giving 
them  the  preference,  but,  "as  we  never  intend  to  sell  you,  so  we 
cannot  afford  the  purchase."  They  laid  the  Mayor's  letter  before 
the  House.  The  Magistrates  who  had  signed  it  were  commanded 
to  appear,  were  committed  to  Newgate,  and  had  to  ask  pardon 
on  their  knees  at  the  Bar. 

After  this  exhibition  of  virtue,  Parliament  turned  to  the  Nullum 
Tempus  Bill — pending  since  1767.  For  nearly  seventy  years  the 
Duke  of  Portland  had  held  the  Honour  of  Penrith,  always  supposed 
to  carry  with  it  Inglewood  Forest  and  the  Manor  of  Carlisle.  In 
1767,  Sir  James  Lowther,  another  great  Cumberland  landowner, 
memorialised  the  Treasury — the  forest  and  the  manor  had  long 
been  held  with  no  benefit  to  the  Crown,  and  Lowther  suggested  as 
a  remedy  that  he  himself  should  have  a  lease  of  them  for  three 
lives.  One  part  of  the  benefit  to  the  Crown  would  have  been  the 
votes  of  the  tenants.  Portland  was  not  a  supporter  of  Administra- 
tion; Lowther  was.  The  question  was  whether  the  title  of  the 
Crown  had  lapsed.  It  used  to  be  said  that  after  sixty  years  the 
King  himself  could  not  take  away  a  man's  land;  but  the  claim 
was  based  on  the  maxim,  Nullum  Tempus  occurrit  Regi.  As  all 
land  in  England  has  belonged  to  the  King  at  one  time  or  other, 
the  Crown  could  thus  claim  any  man's  estate,  on  the  ground  that 
it  once  belonged  to  William  the  Conqueror.  The  people  saw  this, 
and  the  Duke  of  Portland's  rights  became  the  rights  of  every  man. 
The  Nullum  Tempus  business  was  one  more  attempt  to  exalt 
prerogative ;  and  it  was  said  to  be  intended  to  do  this  in  a  twofold 
manner,  for  Portland  was  a  staunch  Whig,  and  many  believed  that 
his  lands  were  to  be  bestowed  on  Lowther,  in  order  to  strengthen 
Lowther's  "  interest "  and  lessen  the  Duke's  at  the  approaching 
Election.1     The  instant  effect  of  the  Bill  would  be  to  give   the 

1  "  One  fatal  mark  seems  to^be  fixed  on  every  measure.  .  .  .  The  extraordinary 
step  you  took  to  make  Sir  James  Lowther  lord  paramount  of  Cumberland  has 
ruined  his  interest  in  that  country  for  ewer."— Junius  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton, 
April  10,  1760. 

It  was  said  that  the  Treasury  set  to  work  to  worry  the  Duke  out  in  a  way 
only  worthy  of  a  low  attorney,  who  resorts  to  sharp  practice  when  his  client's 
cause  is  dubious. 


ii2  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Crown  the  power  of  controlling  elections,  by  resuming  lands  and 
re-granting  them  to  its  supporters.  This  made  the  Bill  so  odious, 
that  though  Sir  George  Savile's  Bill,  limiting  the  claim  of  the  Crown, 
was  lost  on  the  second  reading,  the  Court  party  was  afraid  to  use 
its  victory,  and  the  question  was  put  off  till  a  new  Parliament,  with 
a  long  life  before  it,  should  remove  the  necessity  for  caution. 

Almost  the  last  act  of  the  old  Parliament  was  to  renew  the 
East  India  Company  Restraining  Bill.  In  spite  of  strong  pressure 
in  Parliament  and  out,  the  Bill  passed  by  a  very  great  majority.1 
The  Directors,  at  their  next  Court,  voted  to  reduce  the  dividend  to 
five  per  cent.,  everybody  to  be  forgiven,  and  all  prosecutions 
dropped  for  anything  which  commanders  and  officers  of  ships  might 
have  done  in  the  Company's  service.  And  then,  determined  that 
the  new  Parliament  should  not  serve  them  as  the  old  had  done, 
they  set  to  work  in  such  earnest  to  make  themselves  friends  of  the 
Mammon  of  Unrighteousness,  that  the  Thirteenth  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having  been  bought  more  dearly 
than  any  Parliament  before  it.  Two  millions  sterling  was  the  sum 
named  as  having  changed  hands  at  the  General  Election  of  1768. 
Yet  such  are  the  surprises  of  political  cause  and  effect,  this  dear- 
bought  "  Unreported  "  Parliament  2  was  to  be  the  one  which  broke 
down  the  rule  of  secrecy,  and  instead  of  punishing,  rather  encouraged 
the  immediate  printing  of  speeches  delivered  at  its  sessions.  Up 
to  then,  such  reports  as  we  have  are  contained  in  private  letters, 
and  notes  furnished  by  speakers,  or  printed  in  transparent  disguise 
in  the  great  magazines  of  the  day.  Such  accounts  are  veiled 
in  more  or  less  mystery,  as  the  temper  of  Parliament  varied.    In 

1732,  Sir  R 1   W le   spoke    for    the   Salt   Bill    (imploring 

some  consideration  for  unhappy  freeholders,  groaning  under  2s.  in 

the  pound  land-tax) ;  and  Mr.  C r  of  the  E r  spoke  against 

the  Bill  to  exclude  Placemen.  But  in  1736,  the  Editor  of  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine  expresses  his  gratitude  "for  any  authentic 
intelligence  in  matters  of  such  importance  and  tenderness  as  the 
Speeches  in  Parliament,"  and  regrets  that  he  has  not  been  able  to 
get  them  this  month — hopes  to  have  them  by  next.  Soon  after 
the  candid  reader  is  reminded  of  the  "difficulty  (and  sometimes 
danger)  of  publishing  speeches  in  Parliament" — the  Editor  hopes 
the  very  words  will  not  be  expected.  And  in  1738,  he  has  grown 
so  cautious  that  we  have  the  Debates  of  the  Senate  of  Magna 
Lilliputia,  sitting  at  Belforborac,  in  the  nth  Moon  of  the  Reign  of 

1  February  17,  1768. 

2  Sir  Henry  Cavendish  took  very  full  notes  of  the  more  important  debates, 
but  these  were  not  published  till  1841. 


THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  A  PARLIAMENT      113 

the  Emperor  Gorgenti  11 ;  and  Hugo  Pulnub  (leader  of  the  high- 
heeled  or  patriotic  party)  and  Tsahom  Wintinnong  (who  had  ratted 
to  the  fiscals)  are  reported  at  great  length.  Instead  of  a  petition 
from  the  Merchants  of  London  respecting  the  Trade  to  the  North 
American  Colonies — as  in  1767 — we  have  in  1738  the  Merchants  of 
Mildendo  petitioning  on  the  Trade  to  the  Lilliputian  Plantation  in 
Columbia;  and  instead  of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  we  have 
the  Praetor  of  Mildendo,  and  Gumdalua,  Lettyltno  and  Feaucks 
speak  in  the  debate.  But  as  soon  as  calm  is  restored  after  the 
Forty-Five,  we  return  to  the  loud  whispers  of  1732,  and  listen  to 
Mr.  P m  and  Sir  J n  H d  C n. 

In  old  days,  the  secrecy  of  debate  was  the  security  of  Parliament 
— almost  its  only  safeguard  against  the  impeachment  of  its  members 
for  treason.  As  to  an  appeal  to  public  opinion,  before  Culloden 
public  opinion  was  so  nicely  balanced  that  it  was  safer  not  to 
appeal  to  it  oftener  than  could  be  helped — for  which  reason 
Parliaments  had  been  made  septennial. 

But  when  Mr.  Wilkes  became  the  idol  of  the  public,  all  was 
changed.  The  Whig  members  of  the  High  Court  of  Parliament 
were  now  as  eager  to  appeal  to  the  higher  court  of  the  People, 
as  they  had  formerly  been  shy  of  doing  so, — with  the  people  at 
their  back  publicity  was  a  defence,  not  a  danger.  And  so  John 
Wilkes  was  the  godfather  of  public  opinion  in  England  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  He  was  not  an  entirely  satisfactory  champion 
of  Liberty,  but  he  was  its  champion,  and  other  causes  besides 
Liberty  have  had  champions  as  unsatisfactory;  even  if  he  was 
the  kettle,  there  were  plenty  of  Cabinet  Ministers  who  might  be 
called  the  pot.     Sandwich  was  hardly  the  man  to  rebuke  Wilkes. 

The  Twelfth  Parliament  was  dissolved  March  12,  1768.  It 
died  neither  respected  nor  regretted.  In  its  seven  years  of  life 
it  had  been  the  docile  tool  of  five  Administrations — Pitt's,  Bute's, 
Grenville's,  Rockingham's,  Grafton's.  Charles  Townshend  had 
played  upon  it  any  tune  he  chose.  The  more  rash  and  violent 
the  measures  laid  before  it,  the  more  eager  it  was  to  support  them. 
It  passed  the  Stamp  Act,  almost  in  its  sleep;  but  offered  some 
opposition  to  repeal.  Since  then,  it  had  wobbled  with  the  wobbling 
Cabinet — had  been  now  for  conciliating,  now  for  coercing  America, 
but  had  never  had  any  well-defined  plan  for  either  conciliation 
or  coercion. 


vol.  1. — 8 


CHAPTER    XVII 
BOSTON 

"The  old  world  had  not  its  parallel.  It  counted  about  16,000  inhabitants  of 
European  origin,  all  of  whom  learned  to  read  and  write.  Good  public  schools 
were  the  foundation  of  its  political  system.  ...  As  its  schools  were  for  all  its 
children,  so  the  great  body  of  its  male  inhabitants  of  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
when  assembled  in  a  hall  which  Faneuil,  of  Huguenot  ancestry,  had  built  for 
them,  was  the  source  of  all  municipal  authority.  ...  A  property  qualification 
was  attached  to  the  right  of  voting,  but  it  was  so  small  that  it  did  not  change 
the  character  of  the  suffrage.  There  had  never  existed  a  considerable  munici- 
pality, approaching  so  nearly  to  a  pure  democracy ;  and,  for  so  populous  a  place, 
it  was  undoubtedly  the  most  orderly  and  best  governed  in  the  world." — Bancroft's 
description  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  History,  iii.  p.  327. 

With  the  passing  of  the  Revenue  Act,  a  change  came  over  the 
tone  of  the  Colonials.  Up  to  now  they  had  accepted  the 
restrictions  laid  on  their  trade  as  a  necessary  evil,  a  Law  of  Nature 
to  which  the  colonies  of  all  nations  were  subjected.  These 
restrictions  must  with  time  and  increase  of  population  have  become 
intolerable,  but,  hitherto,  the  new  country  was  not  ready  to  make 
its  own  manufactures,  and  was  glad  to  buy  ours.  But,  since  the 
Seven  Years'  War,  a  new  system  had  been  inaugurated — a  system 
which  placed  the  Colonies  on  an  altogether  different  political 
footing.  Until  now,  the  provincial  Assemblies  had  been  parlia- 
ments in  exactly  the  same  sense  that  the  Parliament  of  West- 
minster was  a  parliament.  When  revenue  was  required,  the 
Assemblies  were  informed  of  it,  in  the  same  way  that  the  same 
thing  was  made  known  at  Westminster,  and  they  raised  the  money 
voluntarily,  in  the  same  sense  that  the  Parliament  of  Westminster 
granted  Supply  voluntarily, — themselves  choosing  the  ways  and 
means  of  raising  it.  The  colonists  demanded  the  continuance 
of  this  policy.  To  the  last  moment  of  the  connection  with  Great 
Britain,  they  protested  that  they  were  ready  to  continue  the 
loyal  subjects  of  the  King  of  England,  but  absolutely  refused  to 
become  the  subjects  of  the  Parliament  of  England.  There  was 
neither  hypocrisy  nor  inconsistency  in  the  distinction — it  was 
perfectly   clear  and    logical,    and    showed    a    grasp    of   political 


BOSTON  1 1 5 

principles  which  the  majority  of  our  own  Liberal  politicians  have 
even  yet  very  imperfectly  attained  to.  They  saw — what  we  still 
refuse  to  realise — that  the  government  of  one  people  by  another 
people  is  a  farce,  which  very  easily  becomes  a  tragic  farce — that 
it  results  inevitably  in  the  irresponsible  tyranny  of  a  little  handful 
of  officials,  who  can  always  reckon  on  no  too-searching  inquiry 
being  made  into  their  conduct  on  the  other  side  of  the  world. 
The  only  logical  answer  to  the  colonists  would  have  been  to  tell 
them  candidly  that  henceforth  their  provincial  Assemblies  must 
cease  to  be  legislative,  and  exist  only  to  pass  such  Bills  as  the 
Royal  Governors,  acting  under  instructions  from  England,  should 
put  before  them.  Ministers  presently  saw  this  themselves,  and 
began  to  talk  about  revoking  the  Charters.  It  was  no  pedantic 
stickling  for  etiquette  that  made  the  New  York  Assembly  refuse 
to  vote  anything  for  the  troops,  except  in  a  manner  which  should 
show  unmistakably  that  it  did  so  of  its  own  proper  motion — the 
distinction  was  vital,  and,  as  they  justly  said,  constituted  the 
difference  between  liberty  and  slavery. 

It  seemed  at  one  time  that  Canada  also  would  be  provoked 
into  rebellion.  The  statesmen  who  presided  over  our  affairs 
thought  that  the  best  way  to  reconcile  a  people  to  a  change  of 
government  was  to  make  the  change  as  conspicuous  as  possible. 
So  they  had  abolished  the  old  French  laws — which  the  people 
understood,  and  established  British  law,  which  was  no  doubt 
infinitely  superior;  but  unfortunately  the  French  of  Canada  did 
not  understand  it,  and  they  felt  their  property  less  secure  than 
before.  Next  the  "Protestant"  party  in  England  tried  hard  to 
introduce  some  of  the  penal  laws  enjoyed  by  Ireland.  Luckily 
for  British  rule,  saner  counsels  prevailed,  and,  in  spite  of  much 
Protestant  protestation,  the  Catholics  of  Canada  were  allowed  to 
sit  on  juries  without  renouncing  their  religious  beliefs.  A  time  was 
at  hand  when  the  fiercest  Protestant  must  have  been  very  glad 
that  we  gave  up  the  idea  of  inaugurating  our  rule  in  Canada  by 
treating  Canadian  as  we  did  Irish  Catholics.  At  the  same  time 
it  must  have  been  difficult  to  account  for  not  doing  so.  If  right 
in  Ireland,  why  wrong  in  Canada  ? 

There  was  another  religious  question  in  debate  at  this  time. 
As  though  a  political  quarrel  was  not  enough  to  demand  all  our 
energies,  it  had  been  for  some  years  seriously  contemplated  to 
establish  the  Church  of  England  in  the  Colonies,  and  a  "  Bishop 
of  North  America "  had  been  talked  about.  The  proposal  caused 
considerable  stir  and  a  very  strong  feeling  of  opposition,  but  the 
political  situation  was   very  shortly  to   become   so  acute  that  the 


n6  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

appointment  of  a  Bishop  of  North  America  was  deferred  to  a 
more  convenient  season.  Considering  that  the  Colonies  of  New 
England  had  been  founded  by  persons  who  crossed  the  seas  to 
avoid  Bishops,  a  more  impolitic  idea  could  hardly  have  been 
entertained.  It  had  the  same  motive  as  the  rest  of  the  Mother 
Country's  dealings  with  her  children  at  that  time.  The  constitution 
of  the  churches  of  America  was  much  too  democratic  and  inde- 
pendent to  please  statesmen  always  on  the  look-out  for  the  first 
signs  of  any  attempt  to  throw  off  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown. 
The  bogey  of  "Independence"  was  always  being  brought  out  to 
frighten  us  into  "putting  our  foot  down,"  and  the  King  and  his 
Ministers  thought  that  an  Established  Church  would  greatly  promote 
obedience  and  loyalty.  It  seemed  at  one  time  as  though  the 
rupture  might  come  on  this  question,  but  the  tide  of  events  soon 
swept  it  away,  and  but  for  a  few  references  to  the  plan  in  the 
letters  of  Ministers  of  State,  we  might  forget  it  was  ever  proposed 
to  ask  the  Colonies  to  endow  an  Episcopal  Church. 

By  May  of  1767,  the  Colonies  knew  that  there  were  to  be  fresh 
taxes,  and  on  October  19  they  heard  in  Boston  that  the  Revenue 
Act  was  now  law.  On  the  28th,  "the  freeholders  and  other 
inhabitants,  legally  assembled  in  Faneuil  Hall,"  considered  what 
could  be  done.  Hutchinson  says  it  was  believed  that  the  Non- 
importation Associations  had  alarmed  the  English  merchants,  and 
induced  them  to  petition  for  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act;  and 
it  was  hoped  that  the  like  Associations  would  have  the  like  effect 
this  time  also.  The  Hon.  James  Otis,  Hutchinson's  old  enemy, 
was  Moderator  of  the  meeting.  A  petition  was  presented  praying 
that  effectual  means  might  be  taken  to  promote  "  industry,  economy 
and  manufactures,  thereby  to  prevent  the  unnecessary  importation 
of  European  goods,  which  threaten  the  country  with  poverty  and 
ruin."  The  "very  large  and  full"  meeting  voted  unanimously  to 
encourage  in  all  prudent  and  legal  ways  the  produce  and  manu- 
factures of  this  province,  and  to  lessen  the  use  of  superfluities,  and 
particularly  of  the  following  articles,  imported  from  abroad,  viz., 
loaf  sugar,  cordage,  anchors,  coaches,  chaises  and  carriages  of  all 
sorts ;  horse  furniture ;  men's  and  women's  hats,  gloves,  shoes,  and 
ready-made  wearing  apparel;  household  furniture;  sole-leather, 
sheathing,  and  deck-nails ;  gold-  and  silver-thread  lace,  gold  and 
silver  buttons,  wrought  plate,  diamonds,  watches  and  clocks; 
broadcloths  at  above  10s.  the  yard;  muffs,  furs  and  tippets, 
and  "  all  sorts  of  Millenery  ware " ;  women's  and  children's  stays ; 
silk  and  cotton  velvets,  gauze,  lawn,  cambric,  and  silks;  fire- 
engines,  china-ware,  snuff;  mustard,  glue,  oil,  malt  liquors,  cheese 


BOSTON  117 

— a  list  which  serves  to  show  how  vast  a  trade  the  English 
merchants  stood  to  lose  if  the  American  market  was  cut  off.  And 
to  encourage  home-manufactures,  merchants  handed  round  samples 
— starch  ("Poland,  and  the  common  sort"),  hair-powder  ("of  the 
best  sort "),  glue  and  snuff  ("  like  Kippen's  ") — all  made  in  Boston, 
and  all  pronounced  very  good. 

Great  was  the  wrath  in  England.  Angry  letters  in  the  news- 
papers and  magazines  denounced  the  weakness  which  had  repealed 
the  Stamp  Act,  and  taught  the  Americans  to  think  we  were  afraid  of 
them.  We  are  in  the  power  of  our  debtors,  exclaims  a  writer  in  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine ;  this  is  an  inversion  of  the  natural  order  of 
things  !  We  repealed  the  Act  lest  we  should  lose  our  outstanding 
debts — it  was  ne  moriare,  mori — we  have  cut  our  throats  to  save 
our  lives.  The  taxes  on  trade  to  pay  the  interest  on  over  a  hundred 
and  thirty  millions  of  debt  are  so  heavy  that  our  manufactures  no 
longer  find  a  foreign  market — we  are  undersold  and  beaten  out 
where  we  once  had  almost  exclusive  possession.  We  thought  an 
exclusive  commerce  with  our  colonies  ("  in  whose  cause  a  great  part 
of  the  very  encumbrances  which  have  destroyed  our  foreign  trade 
were  undertaken  ")  would  have  rewarded  us  for  our  losses.  We 
thought  the  Americans  would  be  grateful  for  all  we  have  done  for 
them — to  say  nothing  of  their  being  our  blood,  and  their  interest 
being  to  stand  by  us.  We  thought  they  would  have  made  up  any 
deficiency  in  our  revenue  from  customs.  But  vain,  pernicious  ideas 
of  independence  and  separate  dominion  have  got  hold  of  them, 
fomented  by  designing  seditious  spirits  there,  and  treachery  and 
folly  here — and  they  are  uniting  to  prohibit  our  manufactures ! 
And  of  course  all  the  other  colonies  will  follow  their  example,  and  if 

the  present  weak,  false,  and  pusillanimous  Ad n  are  suffered  to  go 

on  abetting  the^colonies  against  the  mother  country,  our  children, 
if  not  ourselves,  will  have  to  surrender  to  the  Americans — nor  will 
it  be  long  first.  If  this  combination  is  not  illegal,  it  ought  to  be 
made  so — you  can't  compel  people  to  buy,  but  you  can  make 
combination  illegal.  "  A  tumultuous  people  "  must  be  awed  by  a 
vigorous  and  steady  exertion  of  the  authority  of  Great  Britain. 
They  have  trampled  on  us  because  we  submitted  to  them. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 
44 THE  CIRCULATORY  LETTER" 

"The  enemies  of  the  colonists  ...  my  Lord,  are  equally  the  enemies 
of  Britain." — Letter  from  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  to  Lord  Chatham,  signed  by  the  Speaker,  Feb.  2,  1768. 

"It  is  moreover  their  humble  opinion,  which  they  express  with  the  greatest 
deference  to  the  wisdom  of  the  Parliament,  that  the  Acts  made  there,  imposing 
duties  on  the  people  of  this  province,  with  the  sole  and  express  purpose  of  raising  a 
revenue,  are  infringements  of  their  natural  and  constitutional  rights." — Circulatory 
Letter  sent  from  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Massachusetts  Bay  to  the  Speakers 
of  the  respective  Houses  and  Burgesses  on  the  Continent  of  North  America, 
Feb.  11,  1768. 

' '  We  have  for  a  long  time  known  your  enmity  to  this  province.  We  have  full 
proof  of  your  cruelty  to  a  loyal  people  .  .  .  when  you  had,  by  your  judicial 
insinuations,  induced  a  worthy  Minister  of  State  (Shelburne)  to  form  a  most 
unfavourable  opinion  of  the  province  in  general,  and  some  of  the  most  respect- 
able inhabitants  in  particular  ;  you  had  the  effrontery  to  produce  a  letter  from  his 
lordship,  as  proof  of  your  success  in  calumniating  us." — A  Supposed  Libel  on  the 
Governor  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  published  in  the  Boston  Gazette  of  February  29, 
1768. 

"It  gives  great  concern  to  his  Majesty  to  find  .  .  .  that  a  thin  House  at  the 
end  of  a  Session  should  have  presumed  to  revert  to  a  measure  of  so  inflammatory 
a  nature  as  that  of  writing  to  the  other  colonies." — The  Earl  of  Hillsborough  to 
Governor  Bernard,  April  22,  1768. 

Four  days  after  the  death  of  Charles  Townshend,  the  Commissioners 
of  Customs  in  America  were  appointed,  and  very  soon  afterwards 
they  sailed.  Among  them  was  Mr.  John  Temple,  a  gentleman  who 
knew  America  well  ;  his  family  held  estates  there,  and  he  himself 
had  married  Bowdoin's  daughter.  He  was  always  friendly  to  the 
Americans,  and  was  hereafter  to  play  a  dubious  part  in  a  very 
dubious  incident. 

It  so  happened  that  for  a  month  after  the  Commissioners 
arrived,  no  dutiable  articles  came  in,  so  they  had  nothing  to  do, 
and  all  was  so  quiet  that  Bernard  wrote  a  favourable  report  to 
Shelburne  of  this  good  behaviour.  He  had  hardly  despatched  his 
letter,  when  a  ship  arrived  with  Shelburne's  answer  to  a  former  one. 
Shelburne  censured  the  Assembly,  and   named   several  members. 

118 


"THE  CIRCULATORY  LETTER"  119 

He  thought  it  very  extraordinary  that  a  person  of  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor's  very  respectable  character — whose  learning  and  abilities 
had  been  exerted  in  the  cause  of  America — met  with  so  much  ill-will. 
Bernard  had  the  letter  read  to  the  Assembly,  but  refused  to  allow  a 
copy  to  be  taken.  So  it  was  printed  from  memory,  and  afterwards 
from  the  copy  entrusted  to  the  Speaker  on  condition  no  other  copy 
was  taken.  A  violent  attack  on  Bernard  appeared  in  the  Boston 
Gazette — charging  him  with  "  a  diabolic  thirst  for  mischief,"  and 
with  giving  a  worthy  Minister  of  State  a  bad  opinion  of  the  whole 
province — and  then  having  the  effrontery  to  show  a  letter  from  his 
lordship,  to  prove  the  success  of  his  calumnies.  Bernard  laid  the 
matter  before  the  Council — up  to  now,  he  said,  he  had  treated  the 
Gazette  with  the  contempt  it  deserved,  but  this  was  going  too  far. 
The  Council — now  packed  with  a  good  many  of  the  Governor's 
friends — called  it  "  an  insolent  and  licencious  attack  on  the  King's 
representative  "  ;  but  the  Assembly  talked  about  the  liberty  of  the 
Press,  and  drew  up  a  letter  to  Shelburne,  entreating  to  know  of 
what  they  were  accused,  and  who  was  their  accuser — hinting  pretty 
plainly  that  it  was  the  Governor.  On  March  4,  Bernard  pro- 
rogued them,  and  took  the  opportunity  of  lecturing  them  on  their 
behaviour,  and  especially  on  their  "extraordinary  and  indecent 
observations  on  a  letter  wrote,  as  I  may  say,  in  the  presence  of  the 
King  himself."  He  had  hoped,  by  his  manner  of  communicating  the 
letter,  it  need  never  be  known  "  out  of  the  general  Court."  They 
had  only  themselves  to  thank  that  it  had  been  dragged  into  public. 

The  Assembly  drew  up  an  Address  to  the  King,  and  wrote 
letters  to  the  chief  members  of  Opposition,  and  to  their  few  friends 
in  the  Cabinet — Chatham,  Conway,  Camden  and  Rockingham — 
entreating  their  interest  to  get  the  Revenue  Act  repealed.  The 
King  was  very  angry  when  he  learned  this,  and  still  more  angry  at 
the  "Circulatory  Letter,"  which  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  sent 
to  the  other  provincial  Assemblies,  begging  them  to  take  "such 
constitutional  measures  as  they  judged  most  proper."  The  King 
called  this  "an  unwarrantable  combination."  The  differing 
constitutions  of  the  Colonies  had  always  been  relied  on  to  keep 
them  apart — the  slightest  move  towards  concerted  action  was 
suspected  to  cover  a  wicked  design  of  independence.1 

The  Assembly  did  not  know  that  Shelburne  was  no  longer 
Secretary — he  was  already  dismissed  when  his  last  letter  to  Bernard 

1  "  Fire  and  water  are  not  more  heterogeneous  than  the  different  colonies  in 
North  America.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  jealousy  and  emulation  which  they 
possess  in  regard  to  each  other." — The  traveller  Burnaby,  1759-60  (Archdeacon  of 
Leicester). 


120  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

was  read  to  the  indignant  Assembly.  By  the  changes  made  since 
the  death  of  Charles  Townshend,  all  who  were  for  conciliating 
America  had  been  weeded  out  of  the  Cabinet,  and  in  their  places 
were  North,  Gower,  Weymouth,  Rochford,  Hillsborough — all  to  be 
the  King's  ready  instruments  in  substituting  brute  force  for  moral. 
Hillsborough  came  in,  as  he  said>  determined  to  be  firm.1  He 
began  at  once.  He  it  was  who  obtained  for  Hutchinson  a  grant 
of  ;£2oo  a  year  out  of  the  new  duties  —  that  he  might  be 
more  independent  of  the  people.  He  did  not  think — or  did 
not  care — in  what  a  light  this  would  place  the  already  detested 
Lieutenant-Governor.  He  and  Bernard  corresponded Jn  secret, 
planning  how  to  reconstruct  the  Council,  control  the  Judges,  and 
— as  soon  as  it  should  be  safe  to  do  so — take  away  the  Charter. 
Bernard  was  playing  a  double  game — he  showed  the  Council  a 
letter  to  Hillsborough,  recommending  the  Petition  for  relief  from 
the  Revenue  Act ;  but  he  did  not  tell  them  he  had  written  another, 
advising  that  there  should  be  neither  total  nor  partial  repeal. 

The  good  effect  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  was  all  but 
frittered  away.  On  the  anniversary  of  the  repeal,  effigies  of  Paxton 
and  another  revenue  officer  were  found  hanging  on  Liberty  Tree, 
but  the  friends  of  the  people  took  them  down.  There  was  "a 
temperate  festival,"  and— since  those  who  are  contending  for  their 
own  liberties  ought  to  show  sympathy  with  others  engaged  in  the 
same  struggle — they  drank  to  Paoli  and  the  Corsicans.  Also  to  the 
memory  of  Brutus  and  Hampden.  But  though  Bernard  represented 
that  hundreds  were  parading  the  streets  with  yells,  Gage  thought 
the  disturbance  trifling ;  and  though  in  the  evening  a  mob  assembled 
outside  the  Province  House,  it  dispersed  after  a  little  verbal  abuse 
of  the  Governor. 

Just  about  this  time,  Dr.  Franklin,  who  had  a  sly  humour  of  his 
own  not  equalled  since  Defoe  wrote  his  Short  Way  with  Dissenters, 
published  two  satirical  "pieces,"  which  attracted  much  attention. 

1  At  an  interview  on  January  16,  1771,  Hillsborough  told  Franklin  that 
Hutchinson  had  refused  his  assent  to  the  Bill  making  Franklin  Agent  for  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  Massachusetts.  "  Not  a  Bill,  my  lord — it  was  a 
Vote  of  the  House,"  said  Franklin.  But  Hillsborough  refused  rudely  to 
acknowledge  him,  and  would  not  read  a  word  of  the  copy  of  the  Vote,  which 
Franklin  handed  to  him,  and  said  it  was  an  offence  to  give  it.  "  When  I  came 
into  the  administration  of  American  affairs  I  found  them  in  great  disorder.  By 
my  firmness  they  are  now  something  mended  ;  and  while  I  have  the  honour  to 
hold  the  seals  I  shall  continue  the  same  conduct,  the  same  firmness.  ...  If  that 
conduct  is  not  approved  ...  I  shall  make  them  a  bow,  and  thank  them  ; 
I  shall  retire  with  pleasure."  Franklin  says  he  worked  himself  up  until  he  was 
pale  with  anger.— Biglow's  Life  of  Franklin. 


"THE  CIRCULATORY  LETTER"  121 

One  of  them  was  even  taken  seriously — as  happened  also  to  Defoe. 
One  was  entitled,  Rules  for  Reducing  a  Great  Empire  to  a  Small 
One ;  the  other,  An  Edict  by  the  King  of  Prussia.  In  this  latter  the 
Great  Frederick  was  made  to  announce  to  all  present  and  to  come, 
that,  whereas  the  first  German  settlements  in  the  Island  of  Britain 
(led  by  Hengist,  Horsa,  and  others)  were  by  colonies  of  people 
subject  to  his  renowned  ducal  ancestors,  and  never  emancipated 
from  that  subjection ;  and  whereas  the  said  colonies  had  hitherto 
yielded  him  little  profit,  though  he  had  defended  them  from  France, 
it  was  just  and  expedient  that  a  revenue  should  be  raised  from  the 
said  colonists — who  would  have  had  to  pay  taxes,  if  they  had  remained 
in  Germany.  Wherefore  he  was  about  to  levy  certain  customs — 
enumerated  at  great  length,  with  perfect  gravity,  ending  with  minute 
provisions  forbidding  the  islanders  to  make  their  own  beaver  furs 
into  their  own  hats  j  and  graciously  explaining  how — lest'they  should 
thereby  want  for  hats — they  would  be  permitted  to  send  their  furs 
to  Prussia  to  be  made  up  there,  all  costs  of  manufacture,  commis- 
sion, and  transit  to  be  of  course  defrayed  by  the  islanders.  In  all 
this  Franklin  was  exactly  transcribing  the  laws  passed  by  the  British 
Parliament  to  restrain  the  hat  trade  in  North  America ;  and  he  was 
wicked  enough  to  make  the  conqueror  of  Rosbach  refer  to  the 
Statutes  of  10th  and  nth  William  111,  4th  George  1,  and  5th  and 
23rd  George  11.  Some  simple-minded  persons  were  much  disturbed, 
until  assured  it  was  only  one  of  the  great  philosopher's  jokes. 


CHAPTER    XIX 
THE  SOLDIERS  COME  TO  BOSTON 

"  It  only  needs  one  steady  plan,  pursued  a  little  while." — Hutchinson,  History 
of  Massachusetts. 

"  The  Committees,  considering  themselves  only  as  so  many  private  fellow-sub- 
jects convened  from  divers  towns,  at  the  request  of  their  inhabitants,  have  made 
known  to  each  other  the  loyal  and  dutiful  disposition  of  the  same ;  and  their 
desire  that  no  irregular  steps  should  be  taken  by  the  people.  .  .  .  We, 
from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts,  disclaim  and  detest  all  pretences  of  '  usurping ' 
any  of  the  '  rights  of  sovereignty,'  but  also  of  arrogating  to  ourselves  any  the 
least  authority  whatever." — Report  of  the  Committee  appointed  by  the  Convention, 
Sept.  26,  1768. 

"  We  wish  to  avoid  severities  towards  you  ;  but,  if  you  refuse  obedience  to  our 
laws,  the  whole  fleet  and  army  of  England  shall  enforce  it." — Reply  of  Lord 
Hillsborough  to  the  Agent  of  Connecticut,  who  had  presented  the  petition  of  that 
Colony. 

"  We  have  no  fondness  for  the  acts  complained  of;  particularly,  the  late  duty 
Act  is  so  anti-commercial  that  I  wish  it  had  never  existed ;  and  it  would  cer- 
tainly have  been  repealed  had  the  colonies  said  nothing  about  it,  or  petitioned 
against  it  only  on  the  ground  of  expediency ;  but  the  principle  you  proceed  upon 
extends  to  all  laws  ;  and  we  cannot  therefore  think  of  repealing  it,  at  least  this 
Session  of  Parliament,  or  until  the  colonies  shall  have  dropped  the  point  of 
right." — Statement  made  by  Lord  Hillsborough  to  the  Colonial  Agents,  Dec.  6, 
1768. 

When  Election   Day  came,  the   Company   of  Cadets — raised   by 

Governor  Burnet,  as  the  Governor's  bodyguard — refused  to  attend 

the  usual  dinner  if  Hutchinson  were  invited. 

The  new  Assembly  met  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  May,  1768. 

Bancroft  says  it  was  more  kindly  disposed   to  England  than  any 

Massachusetts  Assembly  for  seven  years.     The  two  parties  in  it  were 

nearly  equal.     Parson  Shute,  of  Bingham,  preached  the   sermon, 

denied  the  supremacy  of  Parliament,  and  justified  resistance  to  laws 

not  based  on  equity.     But  when  the  first  ballot  for  the  Council  was 

taken,  Hutchinson   had   sixty-eight  votes,  where  he   needed   but 

seventy-one.     Samuel  Adams  rose  to  ask  if  the  Lieutenant-Governor 

was  a  pensioner — the  question  was  aimed  at  the  ^200  a  year  lately 

granted  by  a  secret  warrant,  under  the  King's  sign-manual,  to  the 

Commissioners  of  Customs  at  Boston.     Otis  exposed  the  fact  that 

122 


THE  SOLDIERS  COME  TO  BOSTON        123 

the  new  revenue  was  being  spent  in  corruption,  and  at  the  second 
ballot  Hutchinson  was  rejected,  to  Bernard's  great  mortification.1 

Immediately  afterwards  occurred  the  affair  of  Mr.  Hancock's 
sloop,  the  Liberty — an  event  chiefly  important  on  account  of  the 
indignation  it  aroused  in  England  against  the  colonists. 

The  new  Commissioners  had  done  very  little  business,  and  for 
some  time  had  made  no  seizure  of  any  value,  though  the  Act  was 
openly  set  at  defiance.  A  cargo  of  Madeira — the  duty  was  £1  the 
tun — was  landed  one  night,  and  carried  through  the  streets  by 
"  thirty  or  forty  stout  fellows  "  armed  with  bludgeons,  no  officer 
venturing  to  interfere.  Several  other  cargoes  were  smuggled  in 
soon  after,  and  Hancock's  sloop  Liberty  was  daily  expected  from 
Madeira,  and  it  was  openly  said  that  no  duty  would  be  paid  on  her 
cargo.  When  she  arrived,  entry  was  made  of  four  or  five  pipes  only 
— as  though  that  were  her  whole  freight.  The  rest  was  landed  the 
same  night,2  and  no  duty  was  demanded.  Everyone  in  Boston 
knew  this.  Several  days  passed,  and  the  Liberty  had  taken  in  a 
quantity  of  oil  and  tar,  as  if  for  another  voyage,  when  suddenly  on 
Friday,  June  10,  she  was  seized  for  the  false  entry,  and  the  goods 
aboard  her  were  also  seized,  for  want  of  a  permit  from  the  Customs. 
This  happened  about  sunset,  "when  many  people,  who  had  left 
their  work,  were  upon  the  wharves."  The  officers,  fearing  a  rescue, 
signalled  to  the  Romney  man-of-war,  and  a  boat  with  armed  men 
came  to  their  aid.  The  Liberty  was  towed  out  into  the  harbour, 
and  anchored  under  the  Romnefs  stern.  A  crowd  soon  gathered. 
It  was  known  the  Romney  had  come  at  the  request  of  the 
Commissioners — known,  too,  that  she  was  improving  the  occasion  to 
pick  up  seamen.  There  was  a  rowdy  element  in  Boston — the  men 
at  the  rope-walks  were  a  rough  lot,  and  besides  them  there  were 
"all  sorts  of  expatriated  vagabonds,"  and  their  numbers  were 
swollen  by  the  continued  importation  of  bond-servants  from  Ireland 
and  elsewhere.  As  the  Commissioners  returned  home  they  were 
set  upon  "  with  clubs,  stones,  and  brickbats."  Hallowell  was  left 
on  the  ground  covered  with  blood.  Harrison's  son  (a  youth)  was 
knocked  down,  and  dragged  by  his  hair. 

For  two  or  three  days  there  was  considerable  excitement,  but  no 

1  In  his  stead  they  elected  Artemus  Ward,  General  of  the  Continental  Army 
in  1775. 

2  The  tidesman,  Thomas  Kirk,  went  aboard  her  in  the  afternoon.  About 
9  p.m.  a  Captain  Marshall,  in  Hancock's  employ,  tried  to  bribe  Kirk  to  connive 
at  the  landing  of  the  cargo.  On  Kirk's  refusal,  he  was  overpowered,  and  con- 
fined below  for  three  hours,  during  which  time  the  wine  was  taken  out.  Marshall 
worked  so  hard  to  get  it  out,  that  his  sudden  death  in  bed  that  night  was 
attributed  to  some  injury  received  while  removing  the  casks. 


124  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

riot,  except  when  the  Romney  pressed  a  seaman.  The  man  was 
rescued.  Both  lawyers  and  people  believed  this  pressing  of  New 
England  men  returned  from  sea  was  illegal.  It  had  never  been 
attempted  since  it  caused  a  riot  in  Governor  Shirley's  time.  The 
Commissioners  were  frightened — all  but  one  sought  refuge  on  board 
the  Ronuiey^  and  took  the  earliest  opportunity  of  slipping  into  the 
Castle,  where  henceforth  they  held  their  Boards.  The  Com- 
missioner who  did  not  run  away  was  John  Temple,  who  now  began 
to  dissociate  himself  from  his  colleagues.  The  Council  persisted 
in  making  light  of  the  disturbances,  and  Bernard  could  not  punish 
anybody  without  their  consent.  This  defection  so  scared  the 
Governor  that  he  received  with  unwonted  courtesy  a  deputation 
from  a  great  town-meeting  in  the  Old  South,  and  gave  a  written 
promise  to  stop  the  pressing.1  The  deputation  said  nothing  about 
the  Liberty^  nor  did  Bernard.  But  he  began  to  urge  Ministers 
to  send  a  strong  naval  and  military  force  to  America.  At  the 
time  of  the  Stamp  Act  he  had  told  the  Assembly  that  things 
were  in  "a  very  nice  balance."  They  were  in  a  still  nicer  balance 
now. 

Ten  days  later,  on  June  21, — while  the  air  was  still  tingling  with 
these  excitements, — a  ship  from  England  came  in,  and  presently  the 
Governor  sent  to  tell  the  Assembly  that  he  had  his  Majesty's  orders 
to  make  a  requisition  which  he  would  communicate  in  the  very 
words  in  which  he  received  it.  He  was  "  merely  ministerial  in  this 
business."  He  heartily  wished  they  might  see  the  expediency  of 
submission — if  not,  he  must  do  his  duty.  With  this  alarming 
preamble,  he  laid  before  them  half  a  letter  from  Lord  Hills- 
borough. 

The  requisition  which  Bernard  was  instructed  to  make  was  an 
order,  in  his  Majesty's  name,  "to  rescind  the  resolutions  which 
gave  birth  to  the  circular  letter,"  and  "  to  declare  their  disappro- 
bation of,  and  dissent  to,  that  rash  and  hasty  proceeding."  Bernard 
protested  later  that  he  hoped  the  Assembly  would  yield,  and  not 
oblige  him  to  make  known  the  threat  contained  in  the  other  half  of 
the  letter.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  reconcile  this  with  the  tone  of 
his  message,  which  ends  with  a  distinct  intimation  that  if  they 
refuse  he  has  a  "duty"  to  perform.  Of  course,  the  Assembly 
demanded  to  see  the  whole  letter.  With  ostentatious  professions  of 
regret,  Bernard  sent  it.  It  contained  an  order  to  the  Governor  to 
dissolve  the  Assembly  immediately  if  it  refused  to  rescind. 

1The  deputation  came  "  in  a  procession  of  eleven  chaises."  Bernard  had 
wine  handed  round,  and  behaved  with  marked  civility.  Now  that  he  could  not 
rely  on  a  majority  in  the  Council,  he  adopted  a  very  different  tone. 


THE  SOLDIERS  COME  TO  BOSTON       125 

After  much  deliberation,  the  Assembly  drew  up  a  very  long 
letter  to  Hillsborough,  setting  forth  the  whole  case,  and  distinctly 
charging  Bernard  with  having  once  more  misrepresented  them.1 
This  letter  was  read  several  times  to  the  House,  and  adopted  by  93 
to  13  ;  a  resolution,  refusing  to  rescind,  was  adopted  by  92  to  17  in 
the  fullest  House  ever  remembered.  Bernard  had  now  no  choice. 
This  time  he  seems  to  have  really  wished  to  proceed  mildly.  He 
first  prorogued,  and  then,  as  it  continued  impenitent,  dissolved  the 
Assembly.2 

By  this  time  Bernard  wished  he  had  never  exchanged  the  peace 
of  New  Jersey  for  the  better  pay  of  Massachusetts.  He  was  getting 
frightened.  Ever  since  1766  every  now  and  then  some  letter  of  his 
had  got  into  print.  It  was  true  that  he  had  never  approved  of  the 
Stamp  Act — he  had  told  Ministers  that  this  was  no  time  to  make 
America  contribute,  as  she  would  not  be  out  of  debt  for  the  Seven 
Years'  War  for  another  four  years.  He  had  then  suggested  that 
thirty  delegates  from  the  Continent,  and  fifteen  from  the  islands, 
should  go  to  England,  to  discuss  "terms  of  relation"  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies.  But  though  he  had  thought  the 
Stamp  Act  ill-timed,  he  had  always  been  clear  that  the  Colonies 
were  not  sufficiently  subordinated  to  the  Mother  Country.  He 
thought  the  Charters  a  mistake.8  He  was  always  lamenting  that 
the  Judges  and  great  Colonial  officials  were  not  appointed  and  paid 
direct  from  England,  and  were  not  ex-officio  members  of  the 
Cabinet.  He  had  continually  advised  the  taking  away  the  Charter 
of  Massachusetts,  and  altering  the  whole  form  of  government. 
His  idea  of  what  the  government  should  be  pretty  nearly  corre- 
sponded to  the  form  we  know  as  a  "Crown  Colony."  He  was 
trying  to  exchange  once  more,  and  had  half  a  promise  of  the  vice- 
governorship  of  the  great  province  of  Virginia.  Meanwhile,  he  had 
asked  for  a  furlough  to  visit  England.  These  last  commotions 
made  him  fear  it  might  not  come  in  time — yet  if  he  took  French 
leave  he  would  forfeit  his  salary.  He  resolved,  if  Boston  grew 
dangerously  hot  for  him,  to  retire  to  Halifax  and  await  his  leave 
there. 

xThe  letter  was  written  by  Samuel  Adams.  The  House  had  both  lists 
printed.  "One  list  was  handed  about  with  every  expression  of  honour  and 
applause ;  the  other,  like  the  list  of  the  Straffordians  in  the  last  century,  was 
hung  up  in  contempt  and  derision.  The  number  92  was  auspicious,  and  17  of  ill 
omen,  for  many  months,  not  only  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  but  in  most  of  the 
colonies  on  the  continent." — Hutchinson,  History  of  Massachusetts. 

2  July  2,  1768. 

8  "  Governor  Bernard  says,  there  is  too  much  democracy  in  the  government  of 
Massachusetts  Bay." — Edmund  Burke. 


126  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

The  Assembly  was  got  rid  of  for  near  a  year,  but  there  were 
still  the  town-meetings,  and  Otis  and  Adams  were  influencing  the 
merchants — a  surprising  and  unaccountable  fact,  "  as  they  had  no 
connection  with  commerce."  The  non  -  importation  resolutions 
were  the  chief  subject  of  debate  at  these  town-meetings.  Com- 
mittees had  been  appointed  to  "carry  about  a  writing,"  and  get 
signatures  to  a  promise  not  to  import  British  goods.  Hitherto 
these  engagements  had  been  conditional  on  the  other  colonies 
doing  the  like;  but  this  time  Massachusetts  was  pledging  herself 
unconditionally. 

On  the  14th  of  August — the  day  the  stamp-master  had  been 
compelled  to  resign — a  vast  concourse  assembled  at  Liberty  Tree. 
There  was  a  procession  to  Roxbury,  and  an  entertainment,  and 
Hutchinson  says  that  persons  who  had  been  immediate  actors  in 
the  riot  took  part  in  this  celebration. 

A  more  decisive  event  was  at  hand.  General  Gage,  then  at 
New  York,  was  ordered  to  move  "  one  or  two  of  the  regiments  at 
Halifax  "  to  Boston.  This  order  came  out  by  the  July  packet  from 
England,  and  therefore  was  not  given  on  account  of  the  affair  of  the 
Liberty.  In  fact,  Gage  had  been  ordered  months  before  to  move 
these  regiments  whenever  Bernard  should  apply  for  them.  Bernard — 
after  exacting  a  promise  of  secrecy — had  laid  this  order  before  the 
Council,  and  asked  their  advice.  They  advised  him  not  to  apply, 
and  he  did  not.  Hutchinson  is  very  earnest  on  this  point.  "  These 
first  troops,"  he  says,  "were  ordered  by  government  in  England,  of 
their  own  mere  motion."  This  was  the  first  direct  appeal  to  force, 
and  it  was  made  to  enforce  the  Revenue  Act. 

There  was  no  attempt  to  conceal  that  troops  were  on  their  way. 
Early  in  September  an  officer  arrived  to  make  arrangements  for 
their  reception.  The  Senegal  and  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  sailed, 
and  Bernard  let  it  be  known  they  were  gone  to  Halifax  to  fetch  the 
soldiers.  Immediately  the  old  beacon,  used  in  former  times  to 
alarm  the  country  when  an  enemy's  ships  hove  in  sight,  was  made 
ready  to  signal  the  arrival  of  "  the  fleet  from  Halifax  " ;  and  a  town- 
meeting  was  called  in  Faneuil  Hall.  On  the  day  of  meeting,  four 
hundred  rusty  old  muskets  in  boxes  lay  on  the  floor — brought  from 
the  lumber-rooms  where  they  had  lain  for  years.  When  Dr. 
Cooper  had  opened  the  meeting  with  prayer,  James  Otis  was 
elected  Moderator.  Pointing  to  those  boxes,  he  said,  "There  are 
the  arms — when  an  attempt  is  made  against  your  liberties,  they  will 
be  delivered."  The  meeting  resolved  never  to  yield  the  great  point 
of  government  by  consent.  Taxes  must  be  levied  not  by  a  stand- 
ing army,  but  by  free  consent  of  the  people.     A  Committee  was 


THE  SOLDIERS  COME  TO  BOSTON       127 

sent  to  ask  the  Governor  his  grounds  for  saying  the  soldiers  were 
coming,  and  to  request  him  to  issue  precepts  for  a  General 
Assembly.  Bernard  replied  that  he  heard  the  news  "  in  a  private 
way,"  and  declined  to  call  an  Assembly. 

On  the  14th  arrived  another  ship  ("forty  days  from  Falmouth") 
with  news  that  England 1  was  very  angry,  that  three  regiments  were 
on  their  way,  and  that  fifty  State  prisoners  were  to  be  sent  to 
England  for  trial.  Boston  resolved  to  call  an  Assembly  for  herself. 
The  Selectmen  issued  a  circular  letter  to  every  town  of  the  province, 
inviting  committees  to  come  "and  give  sound  and  wholesome 
advice,"  and  "prevent  any  sudden  and  unconcerted  measures." 
They  also  appointed  next  Tuesday  as  a  solemn  fast,  "  to  pray  for 
that  wisdom  which  is  profitable  to  direct."  It  was  also  voted  that 
all  inhabitants  should  arm — as  many  apprehend  an  approaching  war 
with  France.2 

The  "  Convention  " — Hutchinson  will  not  call  it  an  Assembly — 
met  in  Faneuil  Hall  on  September  22,  1768.  Ninety-six  towns 
and  eight  districts  were  represented,  but  the  town  of  Hatfield  had 
refused  to  come,  and  had  entered  a  protest. 

Cushing  was  elected  Chairman.  The  first  proceedings  were  so 
moderate — disclaiming  any  pretence  to  "governmental  acts,"  and 
only  praying  the  Governor  to  call  an  Assembly — that  Bernard  took 
courage,  refused  to  receive  their  petition,  and  sent  a  message  warn- 
ing them  of  the  great  danger  they  were  placing  themselves  in — 
ignorance  of  law  might  excuse  the  past,  but  a  step  further  will  take 
away  that  plea.  The  King  means  to  assert  his  rights,  and  those 
who  persist  in  usurping  them  will  repent  of  their  rashness. 

The  Convention  broke  up  September  29.  The  day  before 
advices  had  come  that  the  fleet  from  Halifax — the  men-of-war  and 
transports,  with  Colonel  Dalrymple  and  Colonel  Carr,  and  the  14th 
and  29th  of  the  line — had  arrived  in  Nantasket  harbour.  There 
were  about  900  men  in  all,  collected  from  several  parts  of  America. 
The  fleet  had  narrowly  escaped  shipwreck  off  Cape  Cod.  On 
the  29th  it  anchored  near  Castle  William.  Bernard  summoned 
the  Council  to  the  Castle,  letting  them  know  that  the  officers  of  his 
Majesty's  fleet  and  army  would  be  present.  The  Council  attended, 
but  refused  to  consent  to  the  troops  being  brought  into  Boston. 
There  were  barracks  at  the  Castle  quite  sufficient  to  receive  them 

1  Hallowell  had  gone  to  England  and  given  a  full  account.  On  July  26, 
Thomas  Whately  wrote  to  Grenville  :  "  The  alarm  about  America  is  very  great. 
The  Stocks  have  fallen  two-and-a-half  per  cent,  on  it." 

2  This  referred  to  a  recent  "  incident."  A  French  ship  in  the  Downs  had 
refused  to  salute,  and  had  been  fired  into. 


128  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

all.  Feeling  the  military  behind  him,  Bernard  was  "uncourtly 
and  even  rude,"  but  the  Council  were  firm.  Early  on  the  30th,  a 
number  of  boats  were  observed  taking  soundings  round  the  town, 
and  at  three  o'clock  the  Launceston,  40  guns,  Glasgow,  20, 
Mermaid,  18,  Beaver  and  Senegal,  14,  and  Bonetta,  10,  and 
several  armed  schooners,  with  the  Roniney,  60  guns,  and  the  other 
ships  of  war  already  in  harbour,  came  up  and  anchored  round  the 
town — "  their  cannon  loaded,  and  springs  on  their  cables,  as  for  a 
regular  siege."  The  whole  fleet  was  under  Captain  Smith.  Boston 
was  now  surrounded  by  fourteen  men-of-war. 

On  October  1,  a  rumour  ran  through  the  town  that  Boston 
had  been  represented  to  General  Gage  as  in  a  state  of  rebellion, 
and  that  Gage  had  sent  word  more  troops  were  coming  from  New 
York.  By  this  time  Sheriff  Greenleaf  and  his  deputy  were  busy 
pressing  carts,  etc.,  and  it  was  reported  that  the  troops  were  to  be 
encamped  on  the  Common — evidently  to  intimidate  the  magistrates 
into  finding  them  quarters,  though  the  law  directed  under  penalties 
that,  until  the  Castle  was  full,  no  troops  must  be  quartered  in  the 
town.  They  were,  therefore,  as  the  people  said,  "  flying  in  the  face 
of  an  Act  of  Parliament." 

Dalrymple  and  Smith  were  for  observing  the  law;  an  express 
was  sent  to  Gage  for  orders.  Bernard,  slipped  away  to  the  country, 
leaving  Dalrymple — who  "  despised  his  want  of  spirit " — to  shift  for 
himself.  About  one  o'clock  the  troops  were  landed  at  Long  Wharf, 
and  Dalrymple  marched  them  to  the  Common.  Each  man 
received  sixteen  rounds,  and  they  marched  "with  muskets 
charged,  bayonets  fixed,  colours  flying,  drums  playing,  the  train  of 
artillery  bringing  up  the  rear."  There  was  great  difficulty  in 
finding  them  shelter  for  the  night,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to 
persuade  the  occupiers  of  the  "  Manufactory  House  " l  to  give  it  up. 
"  Mr.  Brown "  was  ordered  to  remove  within  two  hours,  but  the 
people  barred  and  bolted  the  doors,  and  the  Selectmen  absolutely 
refused  to  give  quarters  in  the  town.  At  last  Dalrymple  appealed 
to  their  compassion — the  night  was  cold,  one  regiment  had  not  got 
its  camp  equipage — he  asked  that  it  might  lodge  in  the  hall  and 
chambers  of  Faneuil  Hall  till  Monday — this  being  Saturday 
afternoon.  At  nine  o'clock  somebody  opened  the  doors,  and  the 
14th  and  part  of  the  29th  were  put  up  somehow — some  of  them  in 
the  very  room  where  the  Convention  had  sat,  with  those  rusty  old 

1  The  Manufactory  House  was  built  after  "the  spinning  craze"  of  17 18, 
when  a  spinning  school  was  held  in  the  open  air  on  the  Common.  After  a  time, 
a  solid  brick  house  was  built  on  the  east  side  of  Long  Acre ;  but  it  had  long  been 
let  out  in  tenements. 


THE  SOLDIERS  COME  TO  BOSTON       129 

muskets  still  on  the  floor.  All  was  quiet  on  Sunday,  but  in  the 
evening,  by  Bernard's  order,  the  Town  House,1  and  even  the 
Representatives'  Chamber,  was  opened  to  the  troops.  On  Monday 
morning  Boston  saw  the  Court  House  and  Faneuil  Hall  full  of 
soldiers,  the  Common  white  with  tents,  and  "  alive  with  soldiers " 
and  counter-marchings  to  relieve  guard — the  whole  town  turned 
into  a  garrison. 

That  day  the  Court  of  Sessions  met  at  the  Court  House,  and 
a  motion  was  made  from  the  Bench  that  the  troops  be  ordered 
to  remove  to  a  distance  from  the  town.  In  the  afternoon  the 
town  artillery  was  exercised,  when  their  Captain  was  informed  by 
the  officer  of  the  regulars  that  it  was  not  customary  to  beat  drum 
or  fire  after  the  evening  gun.  In  King  Street  that  day,  "the 
soldiers  being  gathered,"  a  proclamation  was  read,  offering  ten 
guineas  reward  to  such  soldier  as  should  inform  of  anyone  trying 
to  persuade  him  to  desert.  It  was  reported  that  the  Colonel 
advised  the  soldiers  to  accept  the  money  offered  as  a  temptation, 
but  to  bring  in  the  offender,  "  when  he  would  take  care  it  should 
be  the  last  offer  he  should  make."  Nothing  was  spared  to  make 
the  town  realise  that  it  was  virtually  under  martial  law. 

That  same  Monday,  at  the  Council,  Bernard  showed  several 
letters — one  from  Dalrymple,  another  from  Gage,  another  from 
Lord  Hillsborough  (again,  only  part  of  this  last),  announcing  the 
despatch  of  two  more  regiments  from  Ireland.  The  Council 
steadily  maintained  the  illegality  of  quartering  troops  in  the  town. 
They  were  the  more  resolute  because  they  had  seen  an  expression 
in  Dalrymple's  letter,  to  the  effect  that  there  was  a  bad  spirit  in  the 
town,  and  that,  in  consequence^  the  troops  were  to  be  quartered 
there.  They  also  knew  that  Gage  had  said,  "  he  saw  no  cause  to 
be  scrupulous,"  as  the  people  had  resolved  to  rise  in  open  rebellion. 
The  Council  asked  Bernard  why  he  supposed  the  troops  were 
sent?  The  Governor  replied,  Those  from  Halifax,  on  account  of 
the  riots  in  March;  those  from  Ireland,  on  account  of  the  affair 
of  the  Liberty.  But  the  Ministry  ordered  even  the  regiments  from 
Ireland  before  they  knew  about  the  Liberty.  The  Council  retorted 
that  his  Majesty  would  never  have  thought  such  a  step  needful 
unless  he  had  received  a  greatly  magnified  representation  of  the 
riots. 

The  irritation  was  kept  up.  Next  day  (Oct.  4)  Hancock's 
brig,  Lydia,  which  had  cleared  the  Customs  and  had  a  pass,  was 
ordered   not   to    proceed    to    sea    without   permission    from    the 

1  The  Province  House  was  often  called  the  State  or  Town  House.     The 
Courts  were  held  in  a  room  on  the  ground  floor. 
VOL.  I. — 9 


130  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Governor.  Next  day  the  Council  met  again — and  had  to  pass  a 
guard  in  the  passage  leading  to  the  Council  Chamber.  Again 
Dairy mple  demanded  quarters  in  the  town,  though  the  barracks 
were  standing  empty.  On  the  morning  of  the  6th  the  town  was 
shocked  to  see  nine  or  ten  men  of  the  29th  (a  disorderly  regiment) 
being  flogged  on  the  Common  by  negro  drummers,  for  "sundry 
misdemeanours." x  It  was  also  shocked  by  the  number  of  doubtful 
(or  not  doubtful)  women,  who  had  followed  the  regiments  from 
Halifax.  That  day  the  South  Battery  was,  by  Bernard's  order, 
delivered  up  to  Dalrymple;  and  that  evening  the  Governor's 
portrait  in  the  Hall  of  Harvard  was  found  with  a  piece  "  exactly 
describing  a  heart "  cut  out  of  the  breast. 

The  Council  protested  again,  a  few  days  later,  against  the 
disturbance  being  used  as  a  pretext  for  sending  the  soldiers.  As 
for  the  affair  in  March,  it  was  nothing  at  all — a  few  disorderly  boys 
went  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Williams,  Inspector-General  of  Customs, 
on  the  evening  of  the  anniversary  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 
Williams  and  the  neighbours  persuaded  them  to  go  home;  they 
did  no  mischief  at  all.  The  affair  of  the  Liberty  was  a  riot,  but  it 
was  over  in  a  few  hours — a  few  panes  of  glass  were  broken,  "  not 
more  than  the  value  of  five  pounds."  And  the  barge  was  burned 
on  the  Common,  and  not  as  alleged  in  front  of  Mr.  Hancock's 
door,  and  he  dispersed  the  mob.  The  Commissioners  need  not 
have  taken  refuge  on  the  Romney,  nor  have  got  the  Romney  sta- 
tioned as  though  to  protect  the  Castle.  Nobody  would  have 
hurt  them,  and  they  knew  it,  for  they  frequently  made  country 
excursions,  which  showed  they  were  not  really  afraid.  The  Council 
wrote  all  this  to  Gage,  and  begged  for  a  full  enquiry.  Gage  replied 
that  "  the  riots  and  resolves  that  were  published  "  had  induced  his 
Majesty  to  order  four  regiments  to  this  town,  "  to  protect  his  loyal 
subjects."  He  hoped  the  town  would  so  behave  that  he  could 
advise  his  Majesty  to  remove  them. 

These  New  Englanders  were  bad  to  deal  with.  Gage  com- 
plained that  "  in  this  country  every  man  studies  law,  and  any  two 
justices  of  the  peace — the  best  of  them  keeper  of  a  paltry  tavern — 
can  by  law  cashier  any  officer  who  quarters  troops  in  the  town." 
In  the  face  of  this  law,  Gage  dared  not  act.  The  troops  remained 
on  the  Common  till  the  weather  grew  too  severe.  Then  he  had 
to  hire  houses,  "  at  very  dear  rates,"  and  to  pay  for  everything  he 
had,  by  no  means  sure  that  the  province  would  ever  reimburse 
him.     The  troops  in  Faneuil  Hall  were  moved  to  a  store  on  Pitt's 

1  This  flogging  of  soldiers  was  one  of  the  things  which  most  disgusted  the 
colonists,  and  alienated  them  from  us. 


THE  SOLDIERS  COME  TO  BOSTON       131 

Wharf,  those  in  the  Court  House  to  stores  on  Griffin's  Wharf,  and 
those  from  the  encampment  went  to  Major  Green's  distillery  store, 
"by  Green's  lane."  This  was  on  October  27,  and  the  same  day 
a  man  of  the  14th  was  shot  for  deserting.  It  was  asserted  that 
thirty  soldiers  had  deserted  in  the  month. 

By  November  1,  there  were  more  than  four  regiments  in 
Boston ;  but  there  was  nothing  for  them  to  do.  Hutchinson  was 
pleased  to  see  them — he  thought  "  the  red-coats  had  a  formidable 
appearance."  But  the  desertions  continued — the  soldiers  rather 
liked  the  country,  and  they  knew  nobody  would  betray  them. 
Whether  by  accident  or  design,  the  main-guard  was  posted  in  an 
empty  house  opposite  the  Province  House — "not  12  yards  from 
it" — and  two  field-pieces  happened  to  point  at  the  very  room 
where  the  Legislature  used  to  sit.  Gage  was  talking  about  building 
barracks  on  Fort  Hill,  a  flat-topped  hill  which  commanded  town 
and  harbour.  There  was  once  a  fort  up  there — traces  yet  remained 
of  the  bastions  which  unlucky  Governor  Andros  held  against  his 
rebellious  townspeople  in  the  days  of  James  11. 

As  yet  no  insult  was  offered  to  the  soldiers.  Governor  Went- 
worth,  of  New  Hampshire,  writing  to  Rockingham  on  November  18, 
says  that  when  the  troops  arrived  in  Boston  the  discipline  was  very 
strict,  and  the  officers  were  very  careful.  No  mischief  occurred  ; 
and  at  night,  as  the  men  were  waiting  for  their  quarters,  the  people 
brought  them  food  and  drink,  and  next  day  the  soldiers  were  heard 
saying,  "  God  bless  the  Commissioners  who  have  brought  us  to  such 
a  blessed  country  ! "  Wentworth  adds  that  there  was  really  no  use 
for  this  armament,  and  that  "  the  revenue  will  not  pay  half  the 
expense."     We  shall  see  that  the  revenue  obtained  was  ^295. 

The  Council  published  their  reasons  for  refusing  quarters,  in  the 
Boston  Gazette,  and  sent  a  copy  to  Lord  Hillsborough.  Bernard 
calls  this  "  the  greatest  blow  that  has  ever  been  given  to  the  King's 
government.  .  .  .  Nine-tenths  of  the  people  consider  the  declaration 
of  the  Council  just." l 

Meantime,  every  provincial  Assembly,  as  it  met,  pronounced 
against  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to  tax  the  Colonies ;  and  sent 

1  "  We  have  seen  justices  attending  at  liberty  tree  ;  one  to  administer  an  oath 
to  the  stamp-master,  when  he  was  obliged  to  swear  that  he  would  not  execute 
his  office ;  another  to  perform  the  function  of  toast-master ;  a  third,  but 
lately,  to  consult  about  fortifying  the  town  ;  others  to  make  up  a  procession  of 
forty-five  carriages  and  ninety-two  persons,  on  the  14th  of  August  last.  All 
these  are  included  in  two  lists  which  your  Lordship  has ;  that  of  the  five  select- 
men who  signed  the  circular  letter  for  the  convention  .  .  .  and  that  of  the 
eight  justices  who  signed  the  refusal  to  billet  the  soldiers." — Sir  Francis  Bernard 
to  Lord  Hillsborough,  Boston,  November  14,  1768. 


132  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

petitions  to  the  King,  who  rejected  them  all — Virginia's  the  least 
ungraciously.  To  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut  and 
Maryland,  he  said  rudely  that  "wicked  men,"  who  questioned 
authority,  would  not  be  listened  to.  Charles  i  himself  hardly  had 
a  greater  aversion  to  petitions  than  Farmer  George. 

In  little  over  six  months  from  the  time  the  Commissioners 
began  to  work,  it  had  come  to  this — that  having  passed  a  Revenue 
Act  to  increase  our  revenue,  we  were  obliged  to  send  a  fleet  and 
army  3000  miles  across  the  ocean  to  collect  it. 


CHAPTER  XX 
THE  COMMONS  CONCUR 

"  Let  gentlemen  look  .  .  .  they  will  see  how  well  these  Americans  are  versed 
in  the  Crown  law.  I  doubt  whether  they  have  been  guilty  of  an  overt  act  of 
treason  ;  but  I  am  sure  they  have  come  within  an  hair's  breadth  of  it.  I  think 
Governor  Bernard  has  the  merit  of  stopping  them  in  time.  .  .  .  The  governor 
has  directions  not  to  send  any  individuals  over,  but  upon  full  information." — 
Attorney-General  de  Grey. 

"  Though' the  crimes  of  the  Americans  may  deserve  exact  justice,  it  is  not  wise 
to  treat  them  with  rigour,  and  drive  things  to  the  extremity.  ...  I  would  not 
put  this  power  into  the  angry  hand  of  Governor  Bernard.  Let  not  parliament  go 
into  that  odious  work." — Mr.  Cornwall. 

"Why  have  the  Lords  named  an  act  which  has  a  very  odd  meaning  ? — an  act 
1  concerning  the  trials  of  treasons  committed  out  of  his  Majesty's  dominions '  ? 
Will  not  the  Americans  say,  '  we,  then,  are  out  of  his  Majesty's  dominions '  ?  " — 
George  Grenville. 

' '  You  have  drawn  it  out  from  the  stores  of  Henry  the  Eighth ;  which  are 
more  dangerous  than  the  arms  of  Boston." — Burke. 

The  first  business  (and  a  very  large  part  of  the  whole  business)  of  the 
Unreported  Parliament  was  with  Mr.  Wilkes.  The  instant  he  heard 
that  Parliament  was  to  be  dissolved,  he  returned  from  his  banish- 
ment in  Paris,  and  offered  himself  to  the  City.  The  City  did  not 
elect  him — though  he  polled  1247  votes;  but  the  County  of 
Middlesex  did  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  his  friends 
expressed  their  opinion  of  the  City  by  breaking  every  pane  of  glass 
in  the  Mansion  House.  While  they  were  about  it,  they  also 
smashed  Lord  Bute's,  and  knocked  down  everybody  who  declined 
to  bawl  "  Wilkes  and  Liberty  ! "  Every  house  was  illuminated. 
For  fifteen  miles  out  of  town,  Franklin,  on  his  way  to  Winchester, 
saw  hardly  a  door  or  a  window-shutter  without  "  No.  45  "  and 
Wilkes'  name  scrawled  on  it.  The  King  sat  up  all  night,  expecting 
an  attack  on  the  palace.  This  was  on  March  28.  On  April  27, 
when  Wilkes  was  committed  to  the  King's  Bench— as  a  returned 
outlaw — the  mob  overtook  his  coach  on  Westminster  Bridge,  took 
out  the  horses,  and  drew  the  carriage  back  to  the  Middlesex  side, 
and  so  along  the  Strand  and  Fleet  Street  to  Cornhill— enormous 

133 


134  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

crowds  all  the  way — and  on  to  the  Three  Tuns  in  Spitalfields, 
where  they  kept  it  up  till  late.  But  Wilkes,  who  always  showed 
great  discretion  when  in  contact  with  the  Law,  took  an  opportunity 
of  giving  his  deliverers  the  slip,  and,  disguising  himself,  reached  the 
prison  and  surrendered.  From  that  night  till  the  ioth  of  May,  when 
Parliament  met,  the  King's  Bench  Prison  was  always  surrounded 
by  a  mob  ;  and  that  day  a  most  determined  attempt  was  made  to 
get  Wilkes  out  and  carry  him  to  the  House.  The  military  J  were 
sent  for ;  the  mob  was  insolent ;  the  soldiers  fired.  Five  or  six 
persons  were  killed — most  of  them,  as  usual  on  these  occasions, 
entirely  innocent — a  poor  woman  selling  oranges,  a  man  riding  into 
town  on  the  top  of  a  hay-cart,  and  so  on.  The  most  famous  victim 
was  young  Allen,  a  boy  of  seventeen,  who  seems  to  have  thrown  grass 
at  the  soldiers.  He  fled,  was  pursued  into  a  stable,  and  shot  dead. 
His  actual  slayer  got  off  by  a  pardonable  official  device.  It  is  not 
just  to  punish  the  instrument,  when  the  instigators  go  scot-free ; 
and  it  was  proved  in  court  that  Justice  Gillam  had  said  publicly  in 
the  hearing  of  the  soldiers,  "  his  orders  from  the  ministry  were  that 
some  men  must  be  killed,  and  that  it  were  better  to  kill  five-and- 
twenty  to-day  than  one  hundred  to-morrow  "  ;  and  it  was  also  proved 
that  Gillam  referred  to  a  letter  Lord  Weymouth  had  written  to  the 
Justices  of  Surrey. 

The  new  Parliament  only  met  at  that  season  to  renew  the 
Embargo.  Then  it  thanked  the  Lord  Mayor  for  his  conduct  during 
the  late  disturbances,  demanded  to  be  informed  why  the  laws  were 
not  immediately  put  in  force  against  John  Wilkes,  Esq.,  an  outlaw, 
for  returning  to  this  kingdom ;  and  adjourned  till  November. 

There  were  many  other  riots  that  year.  Seamen,  watermen, 
coal-heavers,  rioted  for  more  wages.  The  Proclamation  of  May 
1 1  says  that  large  bodies  of  seamen  have  assembled  tumultously 
on  the  wharves,  have  taken  possession  of  ships  ready  to  sail,  unbent 
the  sails,  struck  the  yards  and  top-masts,  and  so  prevented  their 
sailing.2     It  was  no  time  to  lay  on  fresh  taxes. 

The  chief  excitement  of  the  summer  of  1768  was  connected  with 
America,  inasmuch  as  it  concerned  the  very  summary  dismissal  of 

1  "  Scotch  soldiers  under  a  Scotch  ensign." 

2  "Here  mobs  of  English  sawyers  can  burn  sawmills  ;  mobs  of  English  labourers 
destroy  or  plunder  magazines  of  corn  ;  mobs  of  English  coal-heavers  attack 
houses  with  fire-arms  ;  English  smugglers  can  fight  regularly  the  King's  cruising 
vessels,  drive  them  ashore,  and  burn  them,  as  lately  on  the  coast  of  Wales  and 
on  the  coast  of  Cornwall :  but  upon  these  accounts  we  hear  no  talk  of  England's 
being  in  rebellion  ;  no  threats  of  taking  away  its  Magna  Charta,  or  repealing 
its  Bill  of  Rights." — Franklin,  in  the  Public  Advertiser ;  about  the  time  of  his 
departure  for  America. 


THE  COMMONS  CONCUR  135 

Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst  from  the  Government  of  Virginia — as  the 
Ministry  said,  in  order  to  have  a  resident  Governor,  but  Opposi- 
tion chose  to  think  it  was  because  Amherst  was  Chatham's 
friend;  and  angry  writers  to  The  Printer  declared  the  true 
cause  was  that  Amherst  had  defeated  some  American  scheme  of 
Hillsborough's.     (This  referred  to  Lands  of  the  Ohio.1) 

Probably  this  event  had  some  share  in  determining  another, 
which  once  would  have  convulsed  all  England,  but  now  made  far 
less  commotion  than  Amherst's  removal.  On  October  14,  1768, 
the  Earl  of  Chatham  resigned  the  Privy  Seal,  and  withdrew  from 
the  Cabinet  which  had  long  ceased  to  be  his.  To  the  last,  the 
King  did  his  utmost  to  retain  him — as  Lord  Privy  Seal,  Chatham 
could  do  little  mischief,  but  if  he  resigned,  who  could  say  he  might 
not  take  up  with  Opposition  ?     But  Chatham  was  resolved  to  go. 

The  Political  Register  for  1768  has  a  remarkable  and  evi- 
dently inspired  article  on  the  disappearance  of  the  great  Minister. 
"Having  found,  in  a  variety  of  late  instances,"  says  the  writer, 
"  that  his  advice  was  disregarded,  his  influence  in  the  state  at 
an  end,  he  chose  to  resign.  The  principle  now  adopted  with  respect 
to  America  is  said  to  have  been  one  cause  of  his  resignation." 
After  severe  reflections  on  the  foreign  policy  of  the  Cabinet,  there 
follows  a  curious  passage  on  home  administration.  "  Public  busi- 
ness for  some  time  executed  only  by  clerks.  Men  of  profligate 
character,  whose  fortunes  have  been  dissipated  in  scenes  of  lewdness 
and  debauchery,  placed  in  great  offices  of  honour,  trust,  and 
emolument.  .  .  .  Corruption  practised  in  the  most  daring  and 
extensive  manner.  .  .  .  And  to  crown  all,  beyond  their  incomes, 
they  are  known  to  have  accepted  of  an  annual  ^500  out  of  the 
minister's  pocket-book,  under  the  denomination  of  secret  service,  as 
the  reward  for  betraying  their  country." 

Lord  Bristol,  a  friend  of  Chatham,  took  the  Seal.  And  so 
Chatham's  career  as  an  English  Minister  came  to  an  end.  The  only 
possible  excuse  for  his  conduct  since  1766  is  the  state  of  his  health. 
Addington's  remedies  had  driven  the  gout  inward,  with  terrible  con- 
sequences to  the  patient's  nerves.  In  spite  of  all  that  was  said,  he 
was  never  mad,  but  he  was  in  so  shattered  a  condition,  so  excited, 
so  irritable  and  unstrung,  as  to  be  utterly  unable  to  play  any  part 
in  a  Cabinet  which  he  could  not  have  made  a  safe  and  efficient 
instrument  of  government,  even  though  he  had  been  always  there, 
and  always  at  his  best.  It  is  a  tragic  story,  and  England  is  the 
worse  for  it  to  this  day. 

1Lord  Botetourt,   "a  broken-down  gamester,"  was  appointed  Governor  of 
Virginia. 


136  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

The  Thirteenth  Parliament  was  in  its  second  session  before  it 
considered  the  affairs  of  America.  Ministers  had  been  rather 
frightened  when  they  heard  of  the  Convention,  and  had  resolved  to 
try  a  little  conciliation — hence  the  renewed  assurances  that  the 
revenue  laws  should  be  repealed.  But  when  they  heard  how  short 
a  time  the  Convention  had  sat,  and  how  easily  the  troops  had  been 
landed,  they  took  heart  again.  The  Americans  were  only  blustering 
— they  gave  in  on  the  first  display  of  "  firmness."  Hallowell, 
Comptroller  of  Customs,  arrived,  to  tell  Administration  all  about 
the  Liberty.  Examined  by  North  and  Jenkinson,  he  completely 
reassured  them.  Resistance  to  the  Acts  was  not  universal — Salem 
and  Marblehead  had  made  no  fuss.  Once  more  Ministers  resolved 
to  be  firm.  The  Irish  regiments  must  very  soon  arrive,  and  then 
Otis,  Hancock,  Samuel  Adams,  Cushing,  and  the  other  ringleaders 
— Bernard  had  given  sixteen  names  in  all — must  be  seized  and 
brought  over  to  England,  to  be  tried  for  treason  under  the  35  th 
Henry  vm. 

For  at  first  everybody  in  England  who  was  not  a  lawyer  had 
been  clear  that,  in  summoning  a  Convention,  the  Colonials  were 
guilty  of  treason.  Presently,  however,  to  the  great  disappointment 
of  everybody,  Mr.  Attorney-General  de  Grey  said  he  was  afraid  it 
might  not  be  quite  treason — these  Colonials  knew  a  great  deal  more 
law  than  was  good  for  them,  and  always  contrived  to  come  within 
a  hair's  breadth  of  treason  without  actually  committing  it.  But  in 
any  case,  we  must  mark  our  displeasure;  after  which,  on  a  full 
submission,  all  may  be  forgiven.  But  the  provincial  Charters  must 
be  modified,  and  the  composition  of  the  provincial  Councils  must 
be  changed.  Governors,  too,  must  be  made  more  absolute,  and 
the  great  Colonial  Officers  must  depend  immediately  upon  the 
Crown.  Meanwhile,  on  a  rumour  of  Government  intending  to 
suspend  American  commerce,  Stocks  fell.  America  owed  four 
million  sterling  to  the  merchants  of  Great  Britain. 

As  much  perhaps  to  quiet  the  merchants  as  the  Colonies,  early 
in  December  Hillsborough  sent  for  the  Colonial  Agents — Franklin 
among  them  —  and  made  them  the  most  astonishing  speech 
addressed  to  men  with  a  grievance  since  the  days  of  Charles  1.  He 
told  them  that  if  they  would  waive  the  point  of  right,  and  ask  for 
the  repeal  of  the  new  Customs  merely  as  burdensome  and  grievous, 
Administration  was  disposed  to  come  into  it.  Ministers  had  no 
fondness  for  the  Acts  complained  of — indeed  "  the  late  Act  is  so 
anti-commercial  that  I  wish  it  had  never  existed,"  and  if  the 
colonists  had  said  nothing  about  it,  or  only  petitioned  on  the 
ground  of  expediency,  it  would  have  been  repealed.     The  Agents 


THE  COMMONS  CONCUR  137 

replied  that  they  had  been  strictly  charged  never  to  admit  the  right 
of  the  British  Parliament  to  tax  the  Colonies.  In  effect,  Hills- 
borough was  asking  them  to  allow  him  to  retain  the  power  of 
making  "  anti-commercial "  laws. 

In  the  Speech  from  the  Throne,  on  November  8,  his  Majesty 
had  told  the  Houses  that  the  spirit  of  faction  in  America  had 
broken  out  again,  and  that  one  colony  (meaning  Massachusetts) 
seemed  to  intend  throwing  off  its  dependence  on  Great  Britain. 
Parliament  took  the  hint.  On  the  15th  of  December  the 
Lords  passed  the  following  Resolutions,  moved  by  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  :— 

1.  That  the  votes  and  proceedings  of  the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  last 

Jan.  and  Feb.  imported  a  denial  of  his  Majesty's  authority,  and 
were  illegal  and  unconstitutional. 

2.  That  the  Circular  Letters  asking  the  other  Assemblies  to  join  in  petition 

denying  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  them,  are  repugnant  to  the  laws 
of  Great  Britain,  and  subversive  of  the  constitution. 

3.  That  the  town  of  Boston  has  for  some  time  past  been  in  a  state  of  great 

disorder  and  confusion,  whereby  the  officers  of  his  Majesty's  revenue 
have  been  obstructed  in  executing  the  laws,  and  their  lives  en- 
dangered. 

4.  That  it  appears  that  neither  the  Council  nor  the  civil  magistrates  did 

exert  their  authority  to  suppress  the  said  riots  and  tumults. 

5.  That  in  these  circumstances,  the  aid  of  a  military  force  is  necessary  to 

protect  the  civil  magistrates  and  the  officers  of  his  Majesty's  revenue. 

6.  That  the  declarations  and  resolutions  in  the  town  meetings  of  the  14th  of 

June  and  12th  of  September  were  illegal  and  unconstitutional,  and 
calculated  to  excite  sedition  and  insurrection  in  his  Majesty's  province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

7.  That  the  appointment  of  a  Convention,  and  the  issuing  of  a  precept  to  the 

several  towns  of  that  province,  were  proceedings  subversive  of  his 
Majesty's  government,  and  evidently  manifested  a  design  to  set  up  a 
new  and  unconstitutional  authority,  independent  of  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain. 

8.  That  the  elections,  by  several  towns,  of  deputies,  to  sit  in  the  said  Con- 

vention, were  daring  insults  offered  to  his  Majesty's  authority,  and 
audacious  usurpations  of  the  powers  of  government. 

There  was  some  debate,  but  the  Resolutions  passed  without  a 
division. 

The  Address  was  far  stronger — even  violent — in  tone.  It  spoke 
of  "wicked  and  designing  men,"  to  be  brought  to  "condign  punish- 
ment," and  prayed  that  all  persons,  guilty  of  treason  or  misprision  of 
treason,  should  be  tried  within  this  realm,  pursuant  to  the  35th  of 
King  Henry  vm.  Both  Address  and  Resolutions  passed  without 
a  division. 

The  Resolutions  were  sent  down  to  the  Commons  on  Dec.  16, 


138  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

but  the  House  was  so  busy  with  Mr.  Wilkes  that  it  did  not 
take  them  into  consideration  until  January  25,  1769.  That  day 
Alderman  Beckford  presented  the  petition  of  the  Council  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  but  the  House  ruled  that  the  petition  was  not 
passed  in  a  legal  assembly  of  the  Council,  and  could  only  be 
received  as  the  personal  petition  of  Samuel  Danforth,  President  of 
the  Council,  who  had  signed  it.  As  such  it  was  read.  It  recited 
the  early  history  of  the  Colony,  the  heavy  customs  always  paid,  and 
the  losses  in  the  "last  war" — "the  loss  of  men  was  great,  and  to 
so  young  a  country  very  detrimental,  and  could  not  be  compensated 
by  grants  of  Parliament " — and  it  prayed  for  the  repeal  of  the  Acts 
made  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America.  It  was 
ordered  to  "  lie  on  the  table." 

On  the  26th,  Sir  George  Savile  presented  another  petition — 
from  "William  Bollan,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  in  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,"  1  praying  that  the  Resolutions  of  the  Lords 
may  not  be  concurred  in  by  the  Commons.  There  was  a  long 
debate  as  to  whether  this  petition  should  be  read — Ministers  said  it 
was  long,  and  would  take  too  much  time ;  moreover,  it  contained 
law  arguments,  which  the  House  were  not  good  judges  of — with 
other  less  weighty  objections.  The  reading  was  lost  by  105  to  136. 
This  petition,  too,  lay  upon  the  table. 

Then  began  "the  grand  debate."  Concurrence  with  the 
Resolutions  of  the  Lords  was  moved.  "The  debate  was  very  fine 
indeed,"  but  it  ended  in  an  extraordinary  and  disgraceful  scene. 

Opposition  enlarged  on  the  injustice  of  bringing  a  man  3000 
miles  to  be  tried  for  his  life — the  expenses  of  such  a  trial  would 
ruin  the  richest  man  in  America,  even  though  he  should  be  acquitted. 
Administration,  who  knew  that  Mr.  Hancock,  of  the  sloop  Liberty », 
was  that  richest  man,  could  have  borne  to  see  him  ruined — 
failing  being  able  to  see  him  hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered ;  but  as 
they  could  not  well  say  so,  they  fell  back  on  the  gross  ingratitude 
of  the  Colonies,  their  rebellious  spirit,  and  the  necessity  of  marking 
our  displeasure.  Treason  and  rebellion  must  be  put  down,  and  the 
"republican  principle"  of  Boston  must  be  repressed.  And  after 
all,  it  is  unlikely  the  Statute  will  ever  be  put  in  execution — this 
proof  of  our  "  vigour  and  lenity  "  will  suffice  to  bring  them  to  their 
senses. 

The  talk  of  "  vigour "  made  Grenville  very  angry.  "  This 
resolution  is  so  much  waste  paper."  He  pitied  Governor  Bernard, 
who  was   ordered   "to   preserve   the  law,  but  to  give  no  offence. 

1  Bollan  presented  the  petition  as  Agent  for  the  Council  of  Massachusetts 
Bay. 


THE  COMMONS  CONCUR  139 

Now,  sir,  how  are  these  contradictory  points  to  be  attained  ?  "  To 
whom,  sir,  are  we  obliged  for  this  grand  plan  ?  In  some  countries, 
when  a  man  proposed  a  law,  his  name  was  made  known.  "  I  did 
propose  the  Stamp  Act,  and  shall  have  no  objection  to  have  it 
christened  by  my  name."  Of  all  that  were  with  me  in  the  Govern- 
ment, "  I  never  heard  anyone  prophesy  that  the  measure  would  be 
opposed.  .  .  .  Do  not  let  us  stand  shiffle- shuffle  between  two  measures. 
Do  not  let  us  make  use  of  big  words,  and  then  suffer  ourselves  to 
be  laughed  at,  like  Ancient  Pistol  in  the  play.  You  are  doing 
absolutely  nothing." 

North  said,  whoever  was  the  author  of  the  measure,  he  adopted 
it  by  voting  for  it.  The  not  repealing  the  Act  "  is  in  itself  a 
measure  that  will  operate  in  America,  where  they  have  been 
expecting  a  repeal."     And  operate  it  did,  but  not  as  he  expected. 

The  honours  of  the  debate  were  with  Governor  Pownall.  He 
attacked  the  Resolutions  of  the  Lords  as  false  in  substance — they 
were  not  borne  out  by  the  Journals  and  Proceedings  of  the  Boston 
Assembly.  The  first  Resolution  charged  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives with  passing  a  Resolution  which  it  had  negatived,  and 
which  was  not  upon  their  Journals;  the  Third  and  Fourth,  with 
having  abandoned  the  town  to  riots  during  some  considerable  time 
— whereas  the  riot  (the  affair  of  the  sloop  Liberty)  was  a  sudden, 
unpremeditated,  temporary  affray,  over  before  the  magistrates  could 
interpose ;  the  Seventh  and  Eighth,  with  a  usurpation  of  sovereign 
power,  by  issuing  writs  to  call  a  Convention.  "Those  who  said 
this,  did  not  know  what  a  writ  was  " — Pownall  produced  one  to 
show  them.  He  pressed  the  Ministry  so  hard,  that  North  con- 
sented to  withdraw  the  expression,  and  substitute  the  words, 
"  writing  letters."  There  was  a  warm  passage-of-arms,  during  which 
Mr.  Burke  reminded  the  House  that  it  was  asserted  there  was  no 
such  resolve  as  the  Resolution  brought  its  charge  against;  and 
George  Grenville  said  this  was  a  short  question — if  there  was  such 
a  resolution  on  the  Journals  of  the  Boston  Assembly,  let  it  be  read. 
Others  cried,  "Read!  read!"  "This  threw  the  whole  bench  of 
Ministers  and  clerks  into  a  most  ridiculous  confusion,  as  they  could 
not,  when  now  called  upon  in  the  face  of  the  House,  find  any  such : 
the  business  of  the  House  stood  still ;  one  side  laughing,  the  other 
side  in  the  most  shameful  perplexity,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  an 
hour."  Mr.  Baker  moved  to  adjourn,  "  to  give  the  gentlemen  time 
to  produce  their  evidence."  Pownall  showed  them  how  the  mistake 
arose,  "  but  as  they  were  not  willing  to  own  it,  they  rested  on  Mr. 
Dyson's  amendment.  And  the  chorus-men,  who  at  proper  times 
call  for   the  question,  helped   them  out  of  this   dead   lift   by  an 


140  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

incessant  recitative  of  the  words,  '  Question,  question,  question.'  At 
length,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  whole  House  in  con- 
fusion, laughing,  etc.,  the  Resolutions  and  Address  were  agreed 
to.  Upon  which  a  member  remarked,  it  was  indecent  to  bring  us 
resolves  ready  cut  and  dried,  only  for  the  drudgery  of  passing  them  : 
it  was  indecent  to  do  it  in  the  confused  manner  we  did  it :  it  was 
indecent  to  do  it  without  evidence,  and  highly  so  to  answer  all 
arguments  with,  '  The  question  !  the  question  ! ' " 

So,  "laughing  and  in  confusion,"  the  Thirteenth  Parliament — 
bought  for  two  millions  sterling — voted  the  Americans  guilty  of 
acts  which  their  Journals  showed  they  had  not  committed,  and 
recommended  that  military  force  should  be  used  to  punish  them  for 
acts  of  which  they  were  not  guilty. 

The  debate  was  resumed  on  February  8  (1769),  when  Mr. 
Rose  Fuller  implored  the  House  to  take  time  to  consider — this 
business  is  one  on  which  we  ought  to  debate  again  and  again. 
The  measure  is  the  harshest  ever  proposed  to  Parliament.  The 
Americans  will  think  we  wish  treason  had  been  committed,  and 
will  imagine  they  can  only  save  themselves  by  going  further,  and 
appealing  to  arms.  Where  do  gentlemen  wish  this  business  to 
end  ?  We  were  living  at  peace  with  our  colonies.  Without  them 
we  are  not  able  to  do  anything.  The  very  force  which  you  may 
require  in  other  parts,  is  now  in  America. 

Captain  Phipps  protested  against  the  folly  of  reviving  the  Act  of 
Henry  vm.  It  will  be  obvious  to  the  Americans  that  they  are  being 
snatched  away  to  be  condemned  here,  because  we  know  they  would 
be  acquitted  there.  These  men  will  think  they  are  being  brought 
here  to  be  murdered.  Such  measures  are  more  likely  to  raise 
rebellions  than  to  quell  them  ! 

Alderman  Trecothick  brought  up  Townshend's  name,  hinting  that 
he  had  proposed  taxing  America  to  please  the  King.  He  accused 
the  Commissioners  of  acting  in  a  haughty  and  offensive  manner, 
and  Bernard  of  writing  "their  retreat  will  serve  our  purposes." 
Frederick  Montagu  said  that  London  and  Westminster  had  no 
right  to  inveigh  against  Boston  for  rioting  !  As  for  the  statute 
of  Henry  viu,  it  was  passed  in  the  worst  time  of  the  worst 
reign  that  ever  disgraced  our  annals.  Four  unfortunate  persons 
were  tried  under  it — two  in  Elizabeth's  days,  one  in  1644, 
and  one — Dr.  Oliver  Plunkett,  "titular  Archbishop  of  Armagh" 
— for  Oates'  Plot,  in  1681.  "Plunkett  said,  'Here  is  no  jury 
that  either  knows  me,  or  the  quality  of  my  adversaries '  —  I 
can  imagine,  sir,  an  American  making  use  of  the  same  defence." 
Mr.  Seymour  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  House,  but  lately 


THE  COMMONS  CONCUR  141 

so  full  about  a  single  individual,  was  now  nearly  empty.  "  When 
I  look  round  and  see  the  empty  benches  upon  this  important  ques- 
tion, I  am  shocked."  Others  pointed  out  that  the  35th  Henry  vin 
was  originally  framed  to  ensure  a  jury  in  cases  of  treason — to 
prevent  the  accused  being  tried  in  Ireland,  where  there  was  no 
jury.  It  was  therefore  intended  for  his  protection — now  it  is 
proposed  to  apply  it  to  Americans  to  ensure  their  conviction  ! 
Dyson  denied  that  it  was  harsh  to  extend  the  statute  to 
America — and  as  for  exasperating  the  colonists,  they  cannot  do 
worse  than  they  have  already  done.  Lord  Beauchamp  said  we 
were  upon  the  edge  of  a  precipice — "  and  no  one  would  drive  to 
an  inch  " — yet  he  thought  the  statute  might  overawe  and  intimidate, 
and  so  prevent  mischief. 

George  Grenville,  in  a  speech  full  of  strong  sense,  urged  the 
House  not  to  stand  hesitating.  "  If  you  mean  to  give  up  the  right 
to  tax  America,  do  it  like  men ;  if  you  do  not,  take  proper  measures 
to  show  your  intention.  For  the  sake  of  your  honour,  for  the  sake 
of  your  dignity,  show  yourselves  to  be  something — if  you  wish  for 
lenient  measures,  are  these  angry  ones  proper  ?  "  Yet  he  voted  for 
the  Resolutions,  because  he  saw  "  no  prospect  of  anything  better," 
and  would  not  be  the  man  to  heap  difficulties  upon  Administration. 
Pownall,  in  another  long  speech,  urged  upon  the  House  that  it  was 
acting  upon  a  one-sided  statement.  A  friend  had  said  to  him  :  "  If 
you  mean  to  govern  the  country  by  the  aid  of  military  force,  you 
have  not  sent  a  sufficient  number  of  troops ;  if  you  do  not  mean 
this,  you  have  already  sent  too  many."  Again  Pownall  asserted 
that  "  rebellion  was  not  in  their  hearts."  You  cannot  force  them 
to  rebellion.  All  they  ask  is  to  go  back  to  the  old  ground,  the  old 
policy.  "Be  content  with  that — be  directed  by  the  spirit  of 
commercial  wisdom."  Do  not  ruin  the  Colonies  and  yourselves 
by  attempting  force. 

But  he  talked  to  the  winds.  The  House  had  formed  its  opinions 
on  the  letters  of  Governor  Bernard — whose  name  was  freely 
bandied  about,  for  praise  or  blame,  all  through  these  debates. 
Fuller's  motion  for  delay — at  least  till  we  can  ascertain  the  facts  — 
was  lost  by  65  to  169.1  The  House  did  not  even  divide  on  the 
Resolutions.  America  was  got  rid  of  for  a  while,  and  the  Commons 
could  return  to  the  battle  with  Mr.  Wilkes,  and  the  overhauling  of 
the  accounts  of  the  East  India  Company — with  a  view  to  dividing 
the  spoil  with  it. 

1  In  the  debate  of  February  3,   1769,  when  Grenville  made  his  great  speech 
against  the  expulsion  of  Wilkes,  the  numbers  were,  ayes  219,  noes  137. 


CHAPTER   XXI 
THE  FARMER'S  GRIEVANCES 

"The  Americans  have  tried  divers  schemes  of  intimidation  to  deter  our 
parliament  from  maintaining  their  jurisdiction  over  them.  But  none  is  so  futile 
as  that  of  pretending  to  recall  their  orders  for  British  manufactures,  in  case  the 
stamp  act  shall  not  be  repealed.  ...  Do  they  imagine  that  we  are  ignorant,  that 
none  of  our  provincialists  take  merchantable  commodities  from  us,  except  for 
gain  in  the  way  of  trade,  and  by  force  of  necessity,  because  we  will  not  permit 
them  to  supply  their  warehouses  anywhere  else.  .  .  .  It  is  as  just  that  they  should 
submit  to  our  parliament,  as  it  is  happy  for  us,  that  no  European  nation  either 
can  or  will  be  inclined  to  protect  them  from  our  resentment." — Writer  in  the 
Gentleman* s  Magazine,  1765  (pp.  572-3). 

"  A  duty  of  three  pence  per  gallon  on  foreign  molasses  is  much  higher  than 
that  article  can  possibly  bear  .  .  .  there  hath  been  imported  into  the  colony  of 
Rhode  Island  only  about  1,150,000  gallons  annually  :  the  duty  on  this  quantity  is 
^"14,375,  a  larger  sum  than  was  ever  in  the  colony  at  any  one  time.  This 
money  is  to  be  sent  away,  and  never  to  return :  yet  the  payment  is  to  be 
repeated  every  year. — Can  this  possibly  be  clone?  .  .  .  can  ministers  change  the 
nature  of  things,  stop  our  means  of  getting  money,  and  yet  expect  us  to  pay 
British  taxes  and  purchase  and  pay  for  British  manufactures  ? — Grievances  of 
the  American  Colonies.     Printed  by  Authority  at  Providence  in  Rhode  Island. 

With  the  coming  of  the  soldiers,  Bernard  cast  off  all  prudence. 
When  Gage  came  to  Boston,  the  Governor  allowed  him  to  attend 
Council  Meetings.  The  Commissioners  returned,  and  arrested 
Hancock,  for  a  debt  to  the  revenue  of  ^9000 — forfeiture  of  the 
cargo  of  the  Liberty  and  "treble  damages."  On  November  28, 
Bernard  and  Sheriff  Greenleaf  were  burnt  in  effigy,  while  a  vast 
concourse  of  people  looked  on.  Circulars  came  from  Hillsborough, 
ordering  the  Colonial  Governors  to  support  the  Commissioners ; 
and  private  letters  ordered  them  not  to  lay  before  their  Assemblies , 
without  special  orders,  any  letters,  or  extracts  of  letters  from  the 
Colonial  Secretary.  By  the  5th  of  December,  this  was  known  in 
Boston.  Indeed,  they  knew  everything  in  Boston — every  word 
spoken  in  the  British  Parliament,  every  rumour  going  round  town. 
A  bird  of  the  air  carried  the  matter.  All  was  proclaimed  upon  the 
housetops.  And  so,  early  in  1769,  by  private  letters  from  England 
they  learned  that  there  was  a  plan  for  a  change  in  the  representation 

142 


THE  FARMER'S  GRIEVANCES  143 

— members  were  to  be  elected  in  future  for  counties,  instead  of  for 
towns.  On  this  the  Selectmen  waited  on  Bernard,  and  asked  him 
what  he  had  been  saying  about  Boston  to  his  Majesty's  Ministers,  for 
these  fourteen  months  past  ?  Bernard  replied  that  Ministers  formed 
their  opinion  from  the  actions  of  the  town.  The  Selectmen  called  a 
town-meeting,  to  draw  up  an  address  to  the  King — as  the  Governor 
refuses  to  tell  them  what  he  has  said  of  them,  they  do  not  know 
why  troops  have  been  sent.  They  beg  for  their  removal,  and  for 
copies  of  Bernard's  letters,  and  for  other  papers  that  affect  their 
interests,  that  they  may  know  whereof  they  are  accused,  and  have 
the  justice  of  being  heard  by  counsel.  This  petition  was  sent  to 
Barr£,  but  no  more  was  heard  of  it.  And  at  this  moment  the 
Resolutions  of  the  Lords  reached  Boston,  with  the  demand  for  the 
principal  offenders  to  be  sent  to  England  for  trial.  This  at  first 
caused  great  exasperation,  but  letters  came  at  the  same  time  which 
said  that  the  Crown  lawyers  themselves  were  against  this  proposal 
— they  doubted  whether  the  offence  was  treason.  And  healing 
measures  were  to  be  adopted,  and  the  Revenue  Act  was  to  be 
repealed  next  session,  if  not  this.  The  35th  Henry  viu  became 
a  jest. 

These  shrewd,  litigious  New  Englanders — every  other  man  a 
lawyer — were  quite  able  to  appreciate  Lord  Hillsborough's  meaning, 
when  he  told  their  Agents  that  the  British  Government,  though  fully 
aware  it  had  made  a  foolish  and  "anti-commercial"  law,  was 
determined  not  to  repeal  it,  unless  the  colonists  admitted  his  right 
to  make  another,  which  other  he  promised  should  be  repealed  in  its 
turn,  if  you  dorit  complain  of  it.  The  colonists  were  not  so  simple 
as  to  believe  that  a  Cabinet  foolish  enough  not  to  perceive  the  effect 
of  its  own  laws,  would  be  wise  enough  to  repeal  them,  unasked  ! 
They  knew  that  folly,  haste,  and  ignorance  are  the  last  to  perceive 
themselves  in  the  wrong. 

Bernard's  position  was  becoming  intolerable,  and  he  was  now 
under  considerable  personal  apprehensions.  He  had  been  warned, 
by  a  friend  in  London,  that  efforts  were  being  made  to  get  copies 
of  his  letters  and  papers,  which  had  been  laid  before  the  House  of 
Commons.  He  now  learned  that  these  efforts  had  succeeded. 
Mr.  Bollan,  Agent  in  London  for  the  Council  of  Massachusetts,  had 
got  copies  from  Alderman  Beckford,  who,  as  a  member  of  the  House, 
had  a  right  to  copies  of  all  papers  laid  before  it.  Bollan  had 
selected  six  letters — one  from  Gage — and  sent  them  over  to  the 
Council.  They  arrived  on  a  Saturday,  and  the  Council  sat  upon 
them  on  Sunday  !  On  Monday  the  letters  were  published,  for  all 
the  town  to  read.    All  except  Gage's  were  dated  between  November  1 


144  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

and  December  5,  1768,  and  contained  accounts  of  events  which 
had  occurred  during  that  time.  Everyone  in  Boston  now  knew 
that  Bernard  had  urged  the  King  to  "  take  the  Council  Chamber 
into  his  own  hands" — in  other  words,  to  appoint  the  members 
himself.  Other  similar  suggestions  he  had  made,  which  would 
utterly  destroy  the  constitutional  character  of  the  government.  He 
had  mentioned  persons  by  name,  thus  pointing  them  out  for 
vengeance.  He  was  charged  with  having  reported  to  the  Colonial 
Secretary  "  every  sudden,  unguarded  expression,  dropped  in  debates 
which  sometimes  were  rather  free  and  familiar  conversation,  than 
cautious  and  formal  declarations  of  advice  "  ;  and  with  accusing  the 
Council  of  private  animosities,  duplicity,  and  servile  dependence 
on  the  people.     The  situation  became  more  acute  than  ever. 

We  had  set  the  Colonies  thinking.  A  great  meeting  of  merchants 
had  been  held  at  Philadelphia  on  the  25th  of  April,  1768,  at  which 
Mr.  Dickenson,  author  of  The  Farmers  Letters^  read  an  address. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  decide  what  answer  should  be  given  to 
"our  brethren  of  Boston  and  New  York,  who  desire  to  know 
whether  we  will  unite  with  them  in  stopping  the  importation  of 
goods  from  Great  Britain."  Dickenson  went  back  to  the  beginning 
— to  the  coming  of  the  first  settlers.  They  did  not  divest  them- 
selves of  any  of  the  rights  inherent  in  freemen,  and  no  power  on 
earth  could  lawfully  deprive  them  of  what  was  theirs  without  their 
consent,  but  as  they  were  members  of  one  great  empire,  "they 
tacitly  acquiesced  in  the  superintending  authority  of  the  parliament 
of  Great  Britain,  and  admitted  a  power  in  it,  to  make  regulations  to 
preserve  the  connection  of  the  whole."  And  though  regulations  were 
made  which  bore  hardly  on  the  Colonies,  they  had  submitted  out  of 
filial  respect  and  regard  for  Great  Britain.  And  then  he  enumerated 
"some  of  the  most  grievous." 

There  was  the  law  against  making  steel,  or  erecting  steel  furnaces, 
"  though  there  are  not  above  5  or  6  people  in  England  engaged 
in  that  branch  of  business,  who  are  so  far  from  being  able  to  supply 
what  is  wanted,  that  great  quantities  of  steel  are  yearly  imported 
from  Germany." 

The  law  against  plating  and  slitting  mills  and  tilt  hammers, 
"  though  iron  is  the  produce  of  our  country,"  and  we  require  vast 
quantities  of  nails  and  plated  iron,  as  hoes,  stove-pipes,  etc. 

The  restraint  laid  on  hatters,  and  the  prohibition  of  exporting 
hats. 

The  prohibition  of  carrying  wool,  or  anything  made  of  wool, 
manufactured  here,  from  one  colony  to  another.     A  single  fleece 


THE  FARMER'S  GRIEVANCES  145 

of  wool,  or  a  dozen  home-made  hose,  so  conveyed,  is  not  only 
forfeited,  but  the  ship,  or  the  waggon  and  horses  which  carried  it,  is 
seized,  and  the  owner  heavily  fined. 

Though  the  Spaniards  may  cut  and  carry  logwood  where  they 
please,  the  Americans  may  not  send  to  any  foreign  market  without 
first  taking  it  to  England,  landing  and  re-shipping  it,  at  great  expense 
and  loss  of  time. 

The  same  for  Portugal  and  Spanish  wines. 

A  duty  on  Madeira,  which,  if  re-shipped  to  England,  must  pay 
full  duty  there  without  any  allowance  for  what  was  paid  here. 

"The  emptying  their  jails  upon  us,  and  making  the  colonies 
a  receptacle  for  their  rogues  and  villains;  an  insult  and  indignity 
not  to  be  thought  of,  much  less  borne,  without  indignation  and 
resentment." 

"Not  to  mention  restrictions  in  the  fisheries,  the  duties  on 
foreign  sugar,  molasses,  etc. ; "  thus  compelling  the  Colonies  to 
supply  themselves  wholly  from  Great  Britain  with  European  and 
East  India  goods,  at  an  advance  of  20,  and  sometimes  of  40  per 
cent,  on  what  we  could  get  them  for  otherwise. 

And,  as  if  all  this  were  not  enough,  a  party  has  lately  arisen  in 
England  which  is  trying  to  erect  a  new  sovereignty  over  the  Colonies. 
They  began  with  the  Stamp  Act.  When  we  resisted  it,  the  Mutiny 
Bill  was  to  dragoon  us  into  compliance.  By  the  interposition  of  the 
London  merchants  who  traded  to  the  Colonies,  the  Stamp  Act  was 
dropped ;  but  the  Assemblies  were  ordered  to  furnish  the  troops  with 
articles  some  of  which  are  not  allowed  them  in  Britain ;  and  every 
officer  can  get  a  warrant  and  search  any  house,  by  day  or  night,  under 
pretence  of  looking  for  deserters.  Then,  because  the  Assembly  of 
New  York  hesitated  to  comply,  its  legislative  power  was  suspended, 
and  an  Act  was  passed  asserting  the  power  of  Parliament  to  bind  us 
with  their  laws  in  every  respect  whatever.  Then  followed  the  Revenue 
Act,  imposing  new  duties,  and  the  revenue  thus  raised  is  to  be 
applied  to  rendering  our  Assemblies  useless,  and  to  give  the  whole 
power  to  governors  and  judges,  whom  we  are  not  to  appoint,  and 
who  hold  their  commissions  during  the  King's  pleasure.  "Thus, 
having  divested  us  of  our  property,  they  are  proceeding  to  erect  over 
us  a  despotic  government,  and  to  rule  us  as  slaves.  .  .  .  You  are 
now,  my  fellow-citizens,  to  deliberate,  not,  whether  you  will  tamely 
submit .  .  .  that,  I  am  sure,  your  love  of  freedom  and  regard  for  your- 
selves and  your  posterity  will  never  allow  you  to  think  of — but,  by 
wThat  means  you  may  defend  your  rights  and  liberties,  and  obtain  a 
repeal  of  these  acts.  .  .  ."  It  is  in  your  power,  by  stopping  importa- 
tion from  Great  Britain,  to  obtain  relief  in  a  peaceable  and  consti- 
vol.  1. — 10 


I46  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

tutional  way.  No  people  ever  defended  their  liberties  without 
suffering.  "The  Roman  people  suffered  themselves  to  be  defeated 
by  their  enemies,  rather  than  submit  to  the  tyranny  of  the  nobles." 
"And,  even  in  the  midst  of  war,  the  Parliament  of  England  has 
denied  to  grant  supplies  until  their  grievances  were  redressed;" 
well  knowing  that  no  present  loss  could  equal  that  of  liberty.  And 
in  the  height  of  the  late  terrible  Indian  war,  the  Assembly  of  Mary- 
land and  our  own  refused  to  grant  supplies  on  terms  injurious  to 
public  privilege  and  to  justice.  But  our  strength  depends  on  our 
union —  United  we  conquer,  divided  we  die. 

This  famous  address  from  a  man  who  afterwards  deserted  the 
Colonial  cause  marks  a  great  change  in  Colonial  feeling.  The 
new  Revenue  Act  had  set  the  people  thinking  about  all  the  other 
Revenue  Acts,  passed  to  prevent  the  Colonies  either  from  competing 
with  ourselves  or  dealing  elsewhere. 

Long  as  was  Dickenson's  list,  it  might  have  been  longer.  He 
does  not  mention  the  most  iniquitous  of  all,  the  Assiento,  the  most 
important  result  for  British  America  of  the  negotiations  at  Utrecht, 
in  Queen  Anne's  time,  whereby  Great  Britain  secured  to  herself  the 
profitable  traffic  in  human  flesh  which  made  Queen  Anne  the 
greatest  slave-trader  in  the  world.  Since  then  we  had  steadily  re- 
sisted any  attempt  to  limit  the  trade,  so  that  Georgia  had  tried  in 
vain  to  exclude  slavery,  and  South  Carolina  to  restrict  it. 

Almost  the  last  exercise  of  George  ill's  authority  over  the  North 
American  Colonies  was  a  refusal  to  check  the  slave-trade.  In 
June,  1775,  in  the  very  last  months  of  British  sovereignty,  Lord 
Dartmouth  wrote  to  a  Colonial  Agent :  "  We  cannot  allow  the 
Colonies  to  check,  or  discourage  in  any  degree,  a  traffic  so  bene- 
ficial to  the  nation." 

NOTES  ON  THE  SLAVE-TRADE. 

It  was  demanded  by  St.  John  in  171 1.  "Her  Britannic  Majesty  did  offer 
and  undertake  by  persons  whom  she  shall  appoint,  to  bring  into  the  West  Indies 
of  America  belonging  to  his  Catholic  Majesty,  in  the  space  of  thirty  years,  144,000 
negroes,  at  the  rate  of  4800  in  each  of  the  said  thirty  years, "  paying  on  4000  of 
them  a  duty  of  33^  dollars  a  head.  The  assientists  might  introduce  as  many  more 
as  they  pleased,  at  the  less  duty  of  i6§  dollars  a  head;  but  no  Frenchmen  nor 
Spaniard,  nor  any  other  person,  might  introduce  one  negro  slave  into  Spanish 
America.  "  For  the  Spanish  world  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  on  the  Atlantic,  and 
along  the  Pacific,  her  Britannic  Majesty,  by 'persons  of  her  appointment,  was  the 
exclusive  slave-trader."  Harley  advised  the  assignment  of  the  Queen's  portion  of 
the  stock  (one  quarter)  to  the  South  Sea  Company.  By  the  same  treaty  England 
obtained  Newfoundland,  "subject  to  the  rights  of  France  in  its  fisheries." — 
Bancroft. 

Already  in  1727,  the  "  vast  importation  of  negroes  "  was  a  subject  of  complaint 


THE  FARMER'S  GRIEVANCES  147 

in  S.  Carolina.  In  1701,  Boston  had  instructed  its  representatives  to  "encourage 
the  bringing  of  white  servants,  and  to  put  an  end  to  negroes  being  slaves." 
"  England  was  inexorable  in  maintaining  the  system.  .  .  .  From  1600  to  1700,  the 
English  took  from  Africa  about  15,000  a  year.  The  number  during  the  assiento 
may  have  averaged  annually  not  far  from  30,000."  Bancroft  thinks  about  one- 
eighth  died  on  the  passage,  and  were  thrown  into  the  Atlantic.  "  The  party  of 
the  slave-trade  dictated  laws  to  England."  The  Statute  of  William  and  Mary 
(1695),  f°r  the  better  supply  of  the  plantations  with  negroes,  says  that  in  the 
opinion  of  the  King  and  Parliament,  "  the  trade  is  highly  beneficial  and  advan- 
tageous to  the  kingdom  and  the  colonies." — Bancroft. 

"Were  it  possible  for  white  men  to  answer  the  end  of  negroes  in  planting, 
our  colonies  would  interfere  with  the  manufactures  of  these  kingdoms  .  .  .  but,  while 
we  can  supply  them  abundantly  with  negroes,  we  need  be  under  no  such  appre- 
hensions. .  .  .  Negro  labour  will  keep  our  British  colonies  in  a  due  subserviency  to 
the  interest  of  their  mother  country." — The  African  Slave  Trade  the  Great  Pillar 
and  Support  of  the  British  Plantation  Trade  in  America,  by  a  British  Merchant, 
1745- 


CHAPTER   XXII 
GOVERNOR  BERNARD'S  DEPARTURE 

"  The  European  system  of  elevating  a  few  individuals  at  the  expense  of  the 
multitude,  and  of  erecting  an  aristocratic  fabric  of  wealth  and  luxury  on  the 
labour  and  servitude  of  the  many,  a  system  peculiar  to  ancient  and  extended 
empires,  was  happily  unknown  in  New  England.  .  .  .  The  means  of  subsistence 
were  easy  and  open  to  all ;  beggars  were  unknown  in  the  country  ;  the  virtuous 
confidence  of  industry  and  liberty  left  no  citizen  to  ask  alms ;  hardly  any  to 
accept  donations.  ...  So  true  it  is  that  liberty,  while  it  constitutes  the  happiness, 
increases  and  confirms  the  virtue  of  mankind." — Life  of  Sir  Francis  Bernard,  by 
his  Son. 

"A  gentleman  from  London  would  almost  think  himself  at  home  in  Boston, 
when  he  observes  the  number  of  people,  their  houses,  their  furniture,  their 
tables,  their  dress  and  conversation,  which  perhaps  is  as  splendid  and  showy  as 
that  of  the  most  considerable  tradesmen  in  London.  .  .  .  Near  six  hundred  sail  of 
ships  have  been  laden  here  in  a  year  for  Europe  and  the  British  Plantations. 
The  goodness  of  the  pavement  may  compare  with  most  in  London,  to  gallop  a 
horse  on  it  is  three  shillings  and  sixpence  forfeit." — Oldmixon,  British  Empire  in 
America. 

"  How  would  it  have  served  his  Majesty's  cause  for  me  to  have  provoked  the 
people  in  whose  power  I  was,  to  have  knocked  me  on  the  head,  or  drove  me 
out  of  the  town?" — Bernard  to  Mr.  Secretary  Pownall,  Sept.  20,  1768. 

"As  to  Governor  Bernard,  let  him  have  what  merit  he  will,  he  appears,  from 
these  papers,  to  be  peevish  and  litigious  ;  glad  to  find  things  wrong,  on  purpose 
to  represent  them  to  the  government  at  home.  ...  He  mentions  every  little  dirty 
story,  and  writes  of  an  intention  to  seize  Castle  William.  Sir,  all  this  is  inex- 
cusable, unless,  in  the  following  post,  he  could  give  us  the  names  of  the 
conspirators." — Barrels  Speech,  Jan.  26,  1769. 

Early  in  1769,  the  struggle  between  Bernard  and  the  town  of 
Boston  became  acute.  On  the  16th  of  February,  a  meeting  of 
the  Selectmen  unanimously  voted  an  address  to  the  Governor, 
requesting  him  to  contradict  the  misrepresentations  made  about 
the  behaviour  of  the  town ;  and  as  there  was  a  report  that  deposi- 
tions had  been  taken,  they  demanded  copies,  that  the  town  might 
have  an  opportunity  of  vindicating  itself.  Bernard  replied  that  he 
had  no  reason  to  think  the  town  had  been  misrepresented,  or  that 
the  opinions  of  his  Majesty  or  his  Ministers  were  founded  on  any 
other  accounts   than  those  published  by  the  town  itself — if  they 

148 


GOVERNOR  BERNARD'S  DEPARTURE   149 

could  vindicate  themselves  from  charges  which  arose  out  of  their 
own  publications,  they  would  have  nothing  to  dread.  On  the  23rd, 
the  Selectmen  met  again,  and  voted  a  second  address,  demanding 
to  know  what  they  had  done  against  any  law,  or  against  the  British 
Constitution?  Bernard  replied  that  he  referred  to  no  particular 
disorder  in  the  town,  but  to  the  town-meetings,  and  the  proceedings 
of  the  Selectmen. 

The  irritation  at  having  troops  in  the  town  had  increased  to 
such  a  pitch,  during  the  winter,  that  to  avoid  disorder  sentinels 
were  ordered  to  challenge  nobody  at  night,  and  this  was  carried  so 
far,  that  one  night  a  sentinel  looked  on  while  thieves  broke  into  a 
house.  The  sound  of  the  fife  and  drum  on  Sundays  gave  great 
scandal  to  a  town  famous  for  strict  observance  of  the  Lord's  Day  ; 
Gage  yielded  so  far  as  to  change  the  hours  of  relieving  guard,  to 
prevent  disturbance  during  church-time. 

In  April,  Bernard  got  his  long-expected  leave.  It  was  really  a 
recall,  but  the  reason  alleged  was  that  he  might  make  a  full  report 
to  the  King.  At  the  same  time  he  was  informed  that  the  King  had 
made  him  a  baronet. 

Another  unfortunate  incident  now  occurred.  The  brigantine 
Pitt,  of  Marblehead,  was  boarded  just  as  she  came  in  from  Europe, 
by  a  boat  from  the  Rose  man-of-war, — the  Boston  station  ship, 
cruising  about  to  impress  seamen.  The  crew  shut  themselves  into 
the  fore-peak  with  harpoons,  and  swore  they  would  die  before  they 
would  be  taken.  After  a  long  defence,  Lieutenant  Panton,  of  the 
Rose,  advancing  in  spite  of  warning,  was  killed  by  a  harpoon.  The 
crew  of  the  Pitt  were  apprehended,  and  the  question  at  once  arose, 
How  they  must  be  tried  ?  Otis  and  Adams  insisted  on  a  jury,  and 
not  the  Court  of  Admiralty,  which  had  no  jury.  Bernard  was 
inclined  to  agree,  the  Counsel  for  the  King  acceded;  but  Chief 
Justice  Oliver  showed  that  the  prisoners  could  be  sent  to  England 
under  the  35th  Henry  vm,  and  would  then  have  a  jury;  but  if 
tried  "  in  the  Plantations,"  it  must  be  without  a  jury,  under  a 
Statute  of  William  m,  intended  to  prevent  trials  of  pirates  by 
plantation  juries,  who  were  not  impartial,  and  had  acquitted 
buccaneers  of  many  acts  of  piracy  against  the  Spaniards,  Moors,  etc. 
Thus,  like  the  35th  Henry  vin,  the  Statute  was  originally  framed  to 
prevent  injustice.  Judge  Oliver  was  desired  to  state  his  reasons 
in  open  court,  whereby  he  incurred  fresh  odium.  The  prisoners 
were  tried  by  the  Court  of  Admiralty,  the  Commander  of  the  Rose 
being  one  of  the  Commission;  but  the  Court  unanimously 
acquitted  the   prisoners,   because   the   impressers   had   no   special 


150  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

warrant  from  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty,  and  this,  it  was  ruled,  gave 
the  prisoners  "  a  good  right "  to  defend  themselves,  and  at  Common 
Law  the  killing  the  lieutenant  would  not  even  have  amounted  to 
manslaughter. 

This  case  was  on  when  the  writs  were  issued  for  the  new 
Assembly.  On  the  5th  of  May,  a  Town-Meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall 
chose  James  Otis,  Thomas  Cushing,  Samuel  Adams  and  John 
Hancock  as  representatives  of  the  town,  and  on  the  8th  another 
meeting  gave  the  representatives  their  mandate.  Their  first  object 
was  to  be  the  privilege  of  Assembly — debates  must  be  free,  the 
House  must  not  be  surrounded  by  guards  and  cannon.  And  as 
soon  as  these  are  removed,  they  must  enquire  why  the  military  have 
been  quartered  in  the  body  of  the  town,  contrary  to  an  express  Act 
of  Parliament;  and  why  the  Attorney-General  enters  a  nolle 
prosequi  when  the  repeated  offences  of  the  soldiery  against  the  peace 
are  complained  of.  The  representatives  must  by  no  means  comply 
with  the  requisition  to  provide  for  the  troops — if  the  General  Court 
is  a  free  assembly,  no  power  on  earth  can  compel  it  to  find  this 
money.  Next  to  the  revenue,  the  late  extensions  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Admiralty  are  the  greatest  grievance.  Many  of  your  towns- 
men have  been  worn  out  in  attendance  on  these  Courts,  defending 
themselves  against  extravagant  and  enormous  penalties.  Let  these 
Courts  be  confined  to  their  proper  element.  While  you,  in  the 
most  ample  manner,  testify  your  loyalty  to  our  most  gracious 
Sovereign,  you  must  strenuously  maintain  the  right  of  petition. 

Before  the  meeting  adjourned,  it  expressed  its  high  satisfaction 
at  hearing  that  the  merchants  had  so  strictly  adhered  to  the  agree- 
ment for  non-importation  of  European  merchandise,  and  recom- 
mended the  inhabitants  not  to  purchase  any  goods  of  the  few 
persons  who  have  imported  any  articles  in  the  ships  lately  arrived 
from  Great  Britain.  And  presently  we  find  it  stated  that  all  British 
imported  goods  are  ordered  to  be  stored  unopened,  whether 
ordered  or  not,  "  so  that  there  is  now  a  total  stagnation  of  trade  in 
New  England " ;  and  the  Assembly  of  New  York  has  laid  a  tax  of 
5  per  cent,  on  all  goods  sold  as  public  vendue,  and  the  merchants 
of  New  York  have  forbidden  shipmasters  to  take  on  board  any 
goods  from  Great  Britain — salt,  sail-cloth,  card-wire,  grind-stones, 
chalk,  lead,  tin,  sheet-copper,  and  German  steel,  excepted.  And 
both  New  York  and  Virginia  have  passed  "  very  high  "  resolutions, 
and  an  address  to  his  Majesty  in  the  best  style  of  Boston  itself. 

At  its  very  first  meeting,  the  Boston  Assembly  appointed  a 
Committee  to  wait  upon  the  Governor,  and  complain  of  the  armed 
force  now  being  employed  to  overawe  the  town.     Armament  by 


GOVERNOR  BERNARD'S  DEPARTURE       151 

sea  and  land  investing  their  metropolis,  and  a  military  guard,  with 
cannon  pointed  at  the  very  door  of  the  State  House,  where  the 
Assembly  is  held,  is  inconsistent  with  the  freedom  and  dignity  of 
a  Representative  Assembly.  They  desired  his  Excellency  to  give 
effectual  orders  for  the  removal  of  the  forces  by  sea  and  land 
during  the  session  of  the  Assembly.  Bernard  replied  that  he  had 
no  authority  over  ships  or  troops,  and  could  give  no  orders  for 
their  removal. 

When  this  message  came  back,  the  House  declined  entering 
on  business,  "and  a  solemn  and  expressive  silence  ensued."  At 
length  the  House  sent  another  message  to  the  Governor,  to  say  that 
it  was  impossible  to  believe  a  military  power,  or  a  standing  army, 
was  the  just  and  full  representative  of  the  supreme  executive  of  the 
whole  empire — if  it  is,  then  it  is  a  power  without  any  check  here, 
and  therefore  is  so  far  absolute.  If  no  redress  can  be  had  from 
the  King's  lieutenant  in  the  province,  nothing  remains  but  to  lay 
a  humble  petition  before  their  gracious  Sovereign.  Bernard  knew 
that  their  gracious  Sovereign  looked  on  petitions  as  a  sort  of 
rebellion.  He  had  already  been  ordered  to  remove  the  Assembly, 
if  necessary.  He  now  replied  that  he  had  no  authority  to  remove 
the  troops  or  the  cannon — all  he  could  do  was  to  remove  the 
Assembly  to  a  place  where  these  difficulties  cannot  operate ;  and  two 
days  later  he  ordered  his  secretary  to  adjourn  the  Court  of  General 
Assembly  to  Harvard  College  in  Cambridge,  there  to  meet  for  the 
despatch  of  business. 

This  had  only  been  done  once  before,  in  the  time  of  Governor 
Burnet  of  unhappy  memory.  Bernard  hoped  the  Assembly  would 
refuse  to  go — then  he  could  dissolve  it.  As  Hutchinson  frankly 
remarks,  "  The  Governor  had  no  interest  to  induce  him  to  keep  the 
Assembly  sitting."  He  was  going  to  England  as  soon  as  the  session 
was  over,  and  he  knew  that  they  would  not  vote  him  his  salary 
during  his  absence.  And  as  if  on  purpose  to  show  that  the  cannon 
were  in  truth  intended  to  command  the  Assembly,  they  were  removed 
the  very  night  after  the  House  removed. 

The  Assembly  changed  its  place  but  not  its  mind.  From 
Cambridge  it  sent  a  Committee  to  expostulate  about  the  guard  at 
the  doors  of  the  State  House — "the  most  pointed  insult"  ever 
offered  to  a  free  people,  aggravated  by  the  removal  as  soon  as  the 
Assembly  had  been  removed  from  its  ancient  seat,  and  forced  to  do 
business  at  this  inconvenient  distance  from  the  State  Records,  etc. 
The  House  had  been  reproached  with  wasting  time  and  treasure  to 
no  purpose,  but  no  time  can  be  better  employed  than  in  the  pre- 
servation  of  our    rights,    nor    treasure    better   expended   than   in 


152  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

securing  "  that  true  old  English  liberty  that  gives  a  relish  to  every 
other  enjoyment." 

This  was  on  the  15  th  of  June.  Bernard  seems  to  have  made  no 
reply;  but  on  the  21st,  he  sent  a  message,  recommending  the 
Assembly  to  come  to  business — particularly :  1.  The  support  of 
Government  (meaning  his  own  salary).  2.  The  Supply  of  the 
Treasury.  3.  Payment  of  the  Provincial  Debt  of  ;£i  05,000. 
4.  The  Tax-Bill.  5.  The  Impost-Bill.  6.  The  Excise-Bill.  7.  The 
Establishment  of  Forts  and  Garrisons.  8.  The  Truck-trade,  etc., 
and  offering  every  assistance  consistent  with  duty.  And  on  the  28th, 
he  stirred  them  up  again,  by  sending  a  message  to  signify  his  recall, 
"  to  lay  before  his  Majesty  the  true  state  of  the  province."  He  also 
acquainted  the  House  with  his  Majesty's  instructions  for  the  appli- 
cation of  the  salary  when  the  Governor  is  absent — one-half  is  to 
be  paid  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Hutchinson — at  the  same  time 
intimating  that  he  had  been  given  to  understand  he  was  to  be 
continued  Governor,  so  they  might  as  well  vote  the  whole  salary, 
the  same  as  at  other  times. 

On  the  4th  of  July  the  Assembly  replied  to  the  message  of 
June  21.  They  admitted  that  the  service  of  the  Crown  and  the 
interest  of  the  people  are  very  compatible  objects — especially  under 
such  a  Monarch  as  we  have,  who  makes  the  welfare  of  his  people 
the  sole  end  of  his  government.  If  your  Excellency  had  imitated 
him  we  should  have  had  fewer  disputes.  If  business  was  in  arrears, 
it  was  the  fault  of  those  who  brought  the  province  into  this  difficulty. 
He  himself  had  suspended  his  assent  to  the  establishment  for  forts 
and  garrisons.  "  Was  it  your  duty  to  the  King,  or  your  regard  to  the 
people,  that  hindered  you  ?  " 

On  the  12th  they  replied  to  the  second  message.  They 
"  cheerfully  acquiesced "  in  his  repair  to  Great  Britain,  and  felt  a 
peculiar  satisfaction  at  hearing  he  was  to  give  a  true  account  of 
affairs;  and  they  persuaded  themselves  that,  while  the  Governor 
was  employed  in  setting  his  own  conduct  in  the  most  favourable 
light,  they  would  be  able  to  answer  for  themselves.  They  were  sure 
that  when  the  King  knew  it,  he  would  be  very  angry  with  those  who 
had  wickedly  misinformed  his  Ministers.  As  for  the  salary,  he  was 
already  fully  paid  up  to  the  2nd  of  August — the  day  he  was  to 
embark,  and  as  they  had  not  been  made  to  understand  he  would  be 
continued,  the  House  could  not  make  any  unprecedented  grant  of 
money  for  services  they  had  no  reason  to  expect  would  ever  be 
performed.  They  would  provide  for  another  Governor,  whenever 
his  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased  to  appoint  one. 

Bernard  would  have  replied  by  adjourning  the  Assembly  at  once, 


GOVERNOR  BERNARD'S  DEPARTURE      153 

but  he  was  obliged  to  wait  till  they  had  voted  his  salary.  Instead 
of  doing  this,  they  were  writing  letters  to  Hillsborough,  passing 
"  Resolves,"  and  drawing  up  a  petition — voted  unanimously  when 
109  members  were  present — praying  his  Majesty  to  be  graciously 
pleased  to  remove  Sir  Francis  Bernard  for  ever  from  the  government 
of  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  place  one  in  his  stead 
worthy  to  serve  the  greatest  and  best  Monarch  on  earth. 

In  the  middle  of  this  ferment,  came  news  from  England  that  the 
British  Government  intended  to  take  off  the  duties  on  paper,  glass, 
and  colours. 

Immediately,  the  merchants  of  Boston  called  a  meeting,  and 
voted  unanimously  that  the  taking  off  of  these  duties  would  not 
relieve  trade  from  the  present  difficulties,  and  they  confirmed  their 
agreement  not  to  import  until  the  Revenue  Acts  were  repealed. 
And  now  paper-mills  are  "  actually  in  agitation,"  and  notices  are  being 
circulated  through  the  provinces,  requiring  every  family  to  be  careful 
of  its  linen  rags,  that  the  plan  may  not  fail  for  want  of  materials. 

Bernard's  friends  had  advised  him  not  to  ask  the  Assembly  to 
make  the  grant  for  Hutchinson.  Of  course  they  refused ;  and  they 
harped  on  the  "standing  army."  Was  not  Boston  quiet?  True 
there  were  frays  between  the  soldiers  and  the  townsmen,  but  no 
civil  magistrate  would  ever  call  in  the  military,  and  the  soldiers  were 
tried  in  the  civil  courts  as  easily  as  if  they  had  been  civilians.  At 
last,  in  sheer  weariness  and  disgust,  the  64th  and  65th  were  ordered 
to  Halifax.  The  commanding  officers  did  not  find  Boston  "an 
agreeable  station" — Halifax  was  much  gayer.  One  regiment  had 
started,  and  the  other  was  embarking,  when  the  Resolves  of  the 
Assembly  were  published  in  the  papers.  These  Resolves,  passed 
unanimously  in  a  House  of  107  members,  declared  that  "no 
laws "  made  by  any  authority  in  which  the  people  have  not  their 
representatives,  can  be  obligatory  upon  them.  Mackay,  Colonel  of 
the  regiment,  and  Hood,  Commander  of  the  ships,  consulted  with 
Bernard,  and  it  was  resolved  to  remain  for  the  present.  An  express 
was  sent  to  Gage  at  New  York,  but  the  express  was  recalled — the 
House  had  modified  the  Resolves — which  it  said  had  been  published 
prematurely.  The  words  now  stood,  "laws  imposing  taxes."  The 
ships  and  the  troops  departed  for  Halifax. 

Governor  Wentworth  happening  to  come  to  Cambridge,  on 
business  of  the  Court  of  Admiralty,  was  received  with  great  honour — 
the  Council  waited  on  him,  and  he  was  given  an  entertainment. 
The  public  prints  carefully  explained,  for  Governor  Bernard's  benefit, 
that  the  people  wished  to  show  how  much  they  could  respect 
a  worthy  Governor.     To  mark  this   still   more,  Bernard   was   not 


154  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

invited  as  usual  to  the  annual  dinner  at  the  Visitation  of  the 
Schools.  A  more  practical  token  of  displeasure  was  the  refusal  of 
the  House  to  pay  the  barrack-master  of  Boston  the  sums  he  was  out 
of  pocket  for  the  troops.  The  troops,  they  said,  were  not  needed, 
and  the  Acts  for  imposing  taxes  ought  to  be  called  Acts  for  raising 
a  tribute  in  America,  to  be  dissipated  among  place-men  and 
pensioners.     They  are  even  worse  than  the  Stamp  Act. 

Governor  Bernard  had  now  been  eleven  years  in  America — two 
years  as  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  nine  in  Massachusetts.  If 
he  had  gone  at  the  end  of  his  first  five  years,  he  would  have  been 
spoken  of  as  one  of  the  best  of  the  Royal  Governors.  But  he  had 
many  children,  and  wished  to  make  provision  for  them,  and  when 
it  came  to  choosing  between  the  King  and  the  people  not  one  of 
the  Royal  Governors  of  Massachusetts  had  ever  hesitated  to  throw 
the  people  over.  He  was  recalled,  because  Ministers  were  getting 
frightened — Bernard  had  depicted  the  situation  in  very  alarming 
colours,  and  a  little  conciliation  was  now  to  be  tried.  Just  before 
he  sailed,  Bernard  received  circular  letters  from  Hillsborough,  with 
assurances  that  "administration  is  well  disposed  to  relieve  the 
colonies  from  all  real  grievances  arising  from  the  late  acts  of 
revenue " ;  and  that  "  it  is  their  intention  to  propose,  in  the  next 
session  of  parliament,  to  take  off  the  duties  upon  glass,  paper,  and 
colours,  upon  consideration  of  such  duties  being  contrary  to  the 
true  principles  of  commerce."  Bernard's  last  act  as  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  was  to  publish  this  second  official  confession  of 
folly  and  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  Government.  It  seemed  as 
though  England  actually  desired  to  teach  the  colonists  to  trust 
neither  her  wisdom  nor  her  justice,  and  to  be  always  prepared  for 
some  foolish  Act  of  Parliament,  which  it  would  take  a  year  or  two's 
agitation  and  interruption  of  business  to  get  repealed — only  presently 
to  begin  again  with  some  other  foolish  Bill  of  the  same  sort.1 

1  Folly  in  Governors  is  worse  than  all  the  wickedness  in  the  world. — Burke. 

Grafton  charges  Hillsborough  with  altering  the  Circular  Letter  of  1769,  after 
he  read  it  to  the  Cabinet.  A  majority  had  amended  it  "by  words  as  kind  and 
lenient  as  could  be  proposed  by  some  of  us."  When  they  saw  the  minute — after 
the  despatch  had  been  sent  off  by  "a  quick  departure" — they  were  persuaded  it 
was  not  in  the  words  or  form  of  the  last  correction  agreed  to  by  the  Cabinet. 
Camden  charged  Hillsborough  with  omitting  the  "soothing"  portion,  and 
insisted  on  seeing  the  minute  again.  Hillsborough  could  not  find  it — said  he 
had  looked  a  whole  morning  in  vain.  Worse,  still,  the  version  sent  (and 
shown  the  King)  said  the  Cabinet  was  unanimous,  whereas  the  majority  was  only 
one.  Grafton  says  that  Camden  lost  the  King's  favour  for  his  attack  on 
Hillsborough.  Grafton  also  noticed  that  "his  Majesty  was  more  forward  to 
dictate  his  will  to  me  than  to  enquire  first  my  opinion  ...  as  had  been  his  usual 
practice. " — Memoirs. 


GOVERNOR  BERNARD'S  DEPARTURE      155 

Bernard  prorogued  the  Assembly  on  the  15th  of  July.  The 
parting  was  angry.  He  rated  them  for  stopping  business  on  the 
most  trifling  pretences,  "for  weeks  together."  The  assertions, 
declarations,  and  resolutions  which  they  had  issued  were  "an 
invasion  of  the  rights  of  the  imperial  sovereignty."  To  his 
Majesty  must  they  be  referred,  and  then,  "  By  your  own  acts  you 
will  be  judged."  You  need  not  fear  misrepresentation — your  enemies 
cannot  say  worse  of  you  than  your  own  publications.  I  shall  take 
care  that  the  King  has  true  copies. 

A  fortnight  later  he  sailed  for  England  in  the  Ripon  man-of-war, 
sent  from  Virginia  for  him.  Earlier  in  the  year  he  had  seriously 
considered  the  practicability  of  seizing  Hancock,  Samuel  Adams, 
and  others,  and  sending  them  to  England  to  be  tried  for  treason. 
He  did  not  dare  attempt  to  take  them  with  him.  The  bells  of  the 
Old  South  rang  for  joy  of  his  departure,  guns  were  fired  from 
Hancock's  wharf,  the  Liberty  Tree  was  hung  with  flags,  and  in  the 
evening  a  great  bonfire  was  lighted  on  Fort  Hill.1 

The  Resolves  give  so  clear  a  view  of  the  situation,  and  so 
admirably  expound  the  principles  of  civil  liberty  as  they  were 
understood  in  the  eighteenth  century,  that  a  somewhat  full  resume 
must  be  given  as  much  as  possible  in  the  words  of  the  original,  only 
shortening  where  the  sense  allows. 

The  Resolves  begin  by  declaring :  That  that  House  bears  the 
firmest  allegiance  to  their  rightful  sovereign,  King  George  the  Third ; 
That  the  sole  right  of  imposing  taxes  on  the  colony  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  is  vested  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  with  the 
consent  of  the  Council,  and  of  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  or  his  governor  for  the  time  being ;  That  it  is  the  indubitable 
right  of  the  subject  to  petition  the  King  for  redress  of  grievances ; 
That  it  is  lawful  for  subjects  to  confer  with  one  another,  on  dutiful 
addresses  for  relief  from  common  burdens ;  That  Governor  Bernard, 
by  a  wanton  and  precipitate  dissolution  of  last  year's  Assembly,  and 
refusing  to  call  another,  acted  against  the  spirit  of  a  free  con- 
stitution ;  That  Governor  Bernard,  in  his  letter  to  Lord  Hillsborough, 
gave  a  false  and  highly  injurious  representation  of  the  conduct  of 
his  Majesty's  truly  loyal  and  faithful  Council  of  this  colony,  and  of 
the  town  of  Boston;  That  Governor  Bernard,  by  representing  it 
was  necessary  for  the  King  to  have  the  Council  in  his  own  hands, 
has  discovered  his  enmity  to  the  true  spirit  of  the  British  constitution, 
at  the  very  time  he  was  professing  himself  a  warm  friend  to  the 
Charter ;  That  the  establishment  of  a  standing  army  in  this  colony, 
in  time  of  peace,  is  an  invasion  of  the  natural  rights  of  the  people, 
1  August  2,  1769. 


156  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

and  of  those  which  they  claim  as  free-born  Englishmen,  confirmed  by 
Magna  Charta,  the  Bill  of  Rights,  and  the  Charter  of  this  province ; 
That  a  standing  army  is  not  knoiun  as  a  part  of  the  British  con- 
stitution in  any  of  the  King's  dominions,  and  any  attempt  to  establish 
it  manifestly  tends  to  the  enslavement  of  the  people;  That  the 
representations  of  the  Governor  have  been  the  cause  why  this  force 
was  sent ;  That  whoever  gave  orders  for  quartering  common  soldiers 
and  camp  women  in  the  Court  House  of  Boston,  and  in  the 
Representatives'  Chamber  (where  some  of  the  principal  archives  of 
the  government  have  been  deposited),  and  the  placing  a  main-guard 
with  cannon  pointed  near  the  door,  designed  "  a  high  insult,"  and 
an  indication  that  the  military  power  was  supreme;  That  his 
Excellency  General  Gage,  in  his  letter  to  Lord  Hillsborough  of 
October  31,  among  other  exceptional  things,  said,  "From  what  has 
been  said  your  Lordship  will  conclude  that  there  is  no  government 
in  Boston;  and  in  truth,  there  is  very  little  at  present,  and  the 
constitution  of  this  province  leans  so  much  to  the  side  of  democracy, 
that  the  government  has  not  the  power  to  remedy  the  disorders  that 
happen  in  it;"  That  this  letter  displays  as  much  ignorance  as 
malice,  for  that  great  prince  William  in  gave  us  our  Charter,  and 
this  ought  to  have  placed  it  above  the  General's  reprehension,  and 
led  him  to  ask  whether  the  disorders  have  not  arisen  from  the 
arbitrary  disposition  of  the  Governor,  and  not  from  too  great  a 
spirit  of  democracy  in  our  constitution ;  That  this  House  expresses 
their  deep  concern  that  too  many  in  power  at  home  and  abroad  so 
clearly  avow  the  most  rancorous  enmity  to  "the  free  part"  of  the 
British  constitution,  "and  are  trying  to  render  the  monarchy 
absolute  in  every  part  of  the  British-Empire." 

Then  follow  particular  instances  of  encroachment — the  extension 
of  the  powers  of  the  Court  of  Admiralty,  the  frequent  instances  of 
Nolle  prosequi  by  the  Attorney  and  Advocate-General,  etc.1 

Who  first  dared  think  of  Separation?  The  precise  date  at 
which  the  idea  of  Independence  arose  has  often  been  discussed. 
Tories,  unable  to  understand  a  hatred  of  tyranny  per  se,  have 
always  maintained  that  the  whole  trouble  with  America  was  the 
work  of  a  handful  of  agitators,  who  made  political  capital  out  of 
the  blunders  of  the  British  Government ;  the  grievances  were  mere 
pretexts — the  real  reason  was  the  desire  to  be  independent.  At 
the  same  time  they  are  unanimous  in  assuring  us  that  neither 
rebellion  nor  separation  was  desired  by  more  than  this  handful. 
This  view  was  maintained  up  to  the  very  end  of  the  business,  and 
Tory  historians  have  continued  to  maintain  it. 

1  The  Resolves  are  dated  July  8,  1769. 


GOVERNOR  BERNARD'S  DEPARTURE      157 

The  question  can  be  decided  as  well  now  as  at  the  time.  We 
still  possess  the  only  evidence  worth  anything  on  such  a  question — 
the  sort  of  language  used  by  contemporaries,  and  the  general  prob- 
abilities of  the  situation.  As  to  the  first,  there  can  be  no  possible 
doubt  that  Englishmen  were  the  first  to  talk  of  separation.  They 
talked  about  it  from  the  moment  they  learned  that  America  meant 
to  resist  the  Stamp  Act.  It  is  the  staple  argument  against  any 
concession,  the  bogey  which  is  trotted  out  to  scare  and  silence  those 
who  take  part  with  the  colonists.  "Don't  pay  any  attention  to 
what  they  say — they  are  only  trying  to  cast  off  our  rule."  We 
may  indeed  be  said  to  have  put  the  idea  into  their  heads.  And 
we  not  only  put  it  into  their  heads — we  seemed  resolved  to  show 
them  that  they  had  better  carry  it  into  effect.  From  George  111 
and  his  Ministers  down  to  the  most  scurrilous  scribbler  hired  to 
support  Government,  we  told  them  that  there  was  nothing  for 
them  between  docile  submission  to  whatever  taxes  and  trade 
restrictions  we  chose  to  impose,  and  complete  independence  of  us. 

There  is  every  evidence  to  show  that,  for  many  years  after  the 
dispute  began,  the  Colonists  neither  wished  to  stand  alone  nor 
believed  themselves  capable  of  doing  so.  Within  historical  memory, 
Europe  had  not  seen  a  colony  become  a  people.  Our  Colonies 
felt  themselves  to  be  children,  unable  to  stand  alone.  As  long  as 
France  was  a  power  in  North  America,  they  were  too  thankful 
for  the  protection  afforded  to  their  infant  condition  by  Britain's 
mighty  arm  to  complain  much  of  her  interference  with  their  trade. 
Any  foreign  Power  into  whose  hands  they  might  fall,  once  that 
protection  withdrawn,  would  do  the  same.  The  day  we  won 
Canada,  we  destroyed  this  motive  for  submission  and  loyalty. 
And  the  Seven  Years'  War  did  more  than  this — it  taught  the 
colonists  war.  Almost  every  officer  who  led  the  provincial  troops 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  had  learned  war  at  Quebec  or 
Cape  Breton. 

The  more  we  consider  the  language  used  on  both  sides,  the 
less  necessary  does  it  seem  to  suspect  the  Americans  of  hypocrisy 
in  their  protestations  of  loyalty  to  George  in.  Every  time  they 
used  such  language  they  were  acknowledging  afresh  the  sovereignty 
which  we  are  told  they  were  preparing  to  reject.  They  were 
putting  themselves  in  the  wrong,  they  were  also  strengthening 
those  feelings  of  general  loyalty  in  which  we  are  entreated  to 
believe.  If  they  were  not  sincere  in  these  expressions,  why  did 
they  take  such  excessive  care  to  prevent  even  the  "  implication " 
of  an  acknowledgment  of  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to  tax  them  ? 
Why  so  profuse  in  acknowledging  one  claim,  and  so  stubborn  in 


158  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

rejecting  the  other?  Hillsborough's  was  not  the  only  hint  given 
them  that  Ministers  would  repeal  the  obnoxious  Acts,  if  the  colonists 
would  acknowledge  the  right,  and  confine  their  remonstrances  to 
questions  of  expediency.  Throughout  the  years  which  pre- 
ceded the  resort  to  arms,  Great  Britain  placed  herself  in  the 
ridiculous  position  of  offering  to  amend  her  blunders,  if  the 
aggrieved  party  would  admit  her  right  to  make  such  blunders. 
Why  did  not  these  unscrupulous  plotters,  who  were  trying  to 
deceive  the  British  people  by  professions  of  sham  loyalty — why 
did  not  they  accept  repeal  on  these  terms,  and  get  ready  to  demand 
a  like  repeal  next  time  ?  The  agitator  rejoices  in  an  occasion  for 
agitation.  But  these  agitators  behaved  exactly  as  persons  behave 
who  wish  to  avoid  a  next  time  for  agitation. 

If  the  British  Government  had  followed  Pitt's  advice, — given 
up  the  right  of  taxation,  and  put  the  Colonial  Assemblies  on  the 
footing  they  demanded,  and  on  which  they  had  been  practically 
ever  since  the  Charter  of  King  William, — we  might  have  gone  on 
for  another  half-century,  forbidding  them  to  manufacture  tilt- 
hammers,  or  sell  in  one  colony  the  hats  and  woollen  goods  made 
in  another.  But  though  a  timely  modification  of  our  claim  would 
have  deferred,  it  could  not  have  prevented  the  American  Colonies 
from  out-growing  us.  In  the  inevitable  course  of  Nature  they 
must  have  become  a  nation.  The  more  nominal  our  sovereignty, 
the  longer  it  would  have  lasted — that  is  all.  And  to  keep  it  by 
force  would  have  cost  us  even  more  than  it  did  to  lose  it. 

Probably  the  first  American  to  face  the  possibility  of  separate 
existence  was  Samuel  Adams.  His  frail  body  held  a  fearless 
soul.  Long  before  any  of  the  other  leaders  looked  beyond  the 
redress  of  present  grievances,  his  keen  intellect  had  perceived 
that  one  British  people  can  never  remain  subject  to  another.  He 
had  perceived,  too,  that,  as  Thomas  Paine  was  soon  to  say, 
"England  and  America  belong  to  different  systems.  England  to 
Europe,  America  to  itself."  But  even  Samuel  Adams  did  not 
suppose  it  would  come  so  soon ;  and  to  the  vast  majority  of  the 
colonists  the  idea  would  have  seemed  absurd,  much  later  than 
1769.  Only  when  we  forced  them  to  realise  that  they  must 
choose  between  the  position  of  a  subject  race  and  this  tremendous 
experiment,  did  the  idea  of  Independence  take  root — and,  perhaps, 
but  for  Thomas  Paine,  the  men  of  that  generation  would  hardly 
have  found  courage  to  begin  the  world  again,  alone. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  LONDON 

"By  a  letter  from  Lancaster,  the  violences  committed  on  account  of  the 
ensuing  election  at  that  town  and  at  Preston,  exceed  belief ;  murdering,  maim- 
ing, pulling  down  of  houses,  destroying  places  of  public  worship,  and  breaking 
the  furniture  and  burning  the  effects  of  each  other,  are  among  the  acts  of  the 
enflamed  mob."1 — Gentleman's  Magazine,  March  7,  1768. 

On  the  27th  of  January,  1769,  Wilkes'  petition  was  considered.2  It 
recited  all  the  proceedings  taken  against  him  since  April,  1763, 
when  he  was  apprehended  for  No.  45,  and  his  house  entered 
and  searched  under  a  General  Warrant.  It  also  charged  Philip 
Carteret  Webb,  Solicitor  to  the  Treasury,  with  having  used  public 
money  to  bribe  one  Michael  Curry  to  steal  the  Essay  on  Woman^ 
and  Lord  Mansfield  with  having  altered  the  record  the  day  before 
the  trial.  North  adroitly  moved  that  petitioner's  counsel  be  heard 
only  on  these  two  points — the  altering  of  the  record,  and  the 
suborning  of  evidence  —  thus  avoiding  the  great  constitutional 
issue.  Next  day,  the  House  sat  till  midnight  on  this  motion,  and 
carried  it  by  278  to  131. 

On  the  31st,  Wilkes  was  brought  up  again  by  the  Marshal  of  the 
King's  Bench.  He  proved  the  altering  of  the  indictment,  and  he 
got  the  word  "  blasphemy "  taken  out  of  the  endorsement ;  but 
very  late  on  the  night  of  February  1,  the  House  voted  his 
complaint  frivolous  and  his  aspersions  groundless. 

Next  morning,  he  was  brought  up  again  on  another  matter.  He 
had  somehow  got  hold  of  a  copy  of  the  letter  written  by  Lord 
Weymouth — just  before  the  riot  in  St.  George's  Fields — to  Mr.  Ponton, 
Chairman  of  the  Lambeth  Quarter   Sessions,  the   letter  to  which 

1  Colonel  Burgoyne  was  the  ministerial  candidate.  He  was  alleged  to  have 
gone  to  the  hustings  with  a  pistol  in  each  hand.  He  was  fined  ^"iooo,  but  it  is 
not  clear  that  the  fine  was  ever  paid. 

2  "  I  declare  for  the  right  of  petitioning,  as  established  at  the  Revolution  .  .  . 

you  are  so  afraid  of  the  weight  of  this  argument,  that  you  will  not  have  it  heard." 

— Speech  of  the  Right  Hon.  George  Grenville,  January  26,  1769. 

159 


160  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Justice  Gillam  had  alluded,  as  his  "orders  from  the  Ministry." 
Wilkes  had  sent  this  letter  to  the  St.  James1  Chronicle,  with 
comments  by  himself.1  Asked  what  defence  he  could  make, 
Wilkes  replied  that  he  gloried  in  what  he  had  done — he  thought 
it  his  duty  to  bring  to  light  "  that  bloody  scroll,"  and  only  wished 
he  could  impeach  the  noble  lord  who  wrote  it.  The  debate  which 
followed  became  in  the  hands  of  ministerialists  a  defence  of 
Weymouth,  rather  than  an  indictment  of  Wilkes.  They  urged 
the  state  of  London,  the  dangerous  mobs,  the  civil  magistrates 
afraid  to  execute  the  laws,  the  constables  only  a  part  of  the  mob. 
There  was  thus  no  remedy  but  the  military.  Accordingly,  the 
House  resolved,  by  239  to  136,  that  the  introduction  to  the  copy  of 
Lord  Weymouth's  letter,  "  of  which  John  Wilkes,  Esq.,  a  member 
of  this  House,  has  confessed  himself  the  author  and  publisher,  is 
an  insolent,  scandalous  and  seditious  libel,  tending  to  inflame  the 
minds  of  his  Majesty's  subjects,  and  to  subvert  good  order  and 
legal  government."  Next  day,  Lord  Barrington  moved  the 
expulsion  of  John  Wilkes.  Rigby,  Bedford's  henchman,  seconded 
the  motion.  Burke,  Dowdeswell,  Beckford,  Cornwall,  Thomas 
Pitt,  all  spoke  against  it,  but  the  great  speech  was  George  Grenville's. 
He  pointed  out  the  danger  of  such  a  precedent,  and  bade  the 
House  consider  that,  though  it  might  begin  against  the  odious  and 
the  guilty,  once  established,  it  was  easily  applied  to  the  meritorious 
and  deserving — the  most  eminent  members  of  the  State  might 
thus  be  ostracised  "  by  the  worst  species  of  ostracism."  Especially 
he  insisted  on  the  injustice  of  handing  on  a  punishment  from  one 
Parliament  to  another,  and  so  making  it  perpetual.  Wilkes  had 
been  punished  by  fine  and  imprisonment,  and  expulsion  from 
another  Parliament,  and  now  it  is  sought  to  punish  him  again  ! 

By  219  to  137,  the  House  again  expelled  Wilkes,  and  issued  a 
writ  for  a  new  election  ;  on  February  1 6,  Wilkes  was  re-elected 
without  opposition,  and  next  day  the  House  again  declared  his 
election  void.  Ministers  brought  up  the  precedent  of  Sir  Robert 
Walpole,  who  was  expelled  for  bribery ;  and,  being  re-elected,  the 
House  determined  he  could  not  be  returned  for  the  same 
Parliament  as  that  which  expelled  him.  Dowdeswell  fastened 
on  this,  and  proposed  they  should  expel  Mr.  Wilkes  over  and  over 
again — to  be  sure,  this  would  open  such  a  door  for  expulsions 
that  no  man's  seat  would  be  safe.  You  expel  the  worst  man  in 
the  House.  There  is  always  a  "  worst "  man — where  will  you 
stop  ?     And  as  for  obscenity  and  impiety,  do  half  a  dozen  members 

1  It  was  printed  in  the  Chronicle  of  December  10,  1768.  Weymouth's  letter 
was  dated,  "St.  James',  Ap.  17,  1768." 


THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  LONDON         161 

of  this  House  ever  meet  over  a  bottle,  that  their  discourse  is 
entirely  free  from  it  ?  Even  in  the  Cabinet — "  that  pious  reform- 
ing society" — who  is  to  throw  the  first  stone  at  Wilkes?  The 
House  listened,  and  thought  it  wiser  not  to  expel  Wilkes  again — 
it  only  declared  him  incapable,  by  235  to  89.  And  as  there  had 
been  a  riot  at  Brentford,  the  new  writ  was  delayed  for  a  month. 

It  was  of  no  use.  On  March  16,  Wilkes  was  returned  un- 
opposed for  the  third  time.  Next  day  the  House  for  the  third  time 
declared  his  election  void,  and  issued  a  new  writ.  In  an  angry 
debate  on  April  7,  Burke  charged  Ministers  with  contriving  the 
riots  they  pretended  to  fear — they  had  employed  one  Captain  Fall, 
who  led  the  sailors'  riots,  and  had  given  him  a  pension  for  what 
he  had  done. 

There  had  been  so  many  demonstrations  by  Mr.  Wilkes'  friends, 
that  Ministers  felt  it  necessary  to  get  up  a  counter-demonstration 
of  their  own.  A  meeting  was  called  at  the  King's  Arms  Tavern, 
to  consider  of  a  Loyal  Address  to  the  King,  but  the  Wilkesites 
turned  out  the  others,  and  held  the  meeting  themselves.  The 
loyal  party  had  to  leave  their  Address  for  signature  at  a  public 
office  over  the  Royal  Exchange.  Six  hundred  "  merchants  and 
tradesmen  "  affixed  their  names — induced,  as  was  freely  alleged,  by 
money  from  the  Treasury.  And  what  sort  of  "merchants  and 
tradesmen  "  ?  Thomas  Whately  told  Grenville  that  he  saw  among 
the  names  that  of  an  ex-footman  of  his  father's,  now  set  up  as  a 
broker,  and  was  assured  there  were  not  fifty  names  better  than  Tom 
Broughton's — and  many  were  worse,  for  they  were  names  of 
men  "used"  to  seeing  their  names  in  the  Gazette,  having  been 
bankrupt  more  than  once. 

On  March  22,  a  cavalcade  set  out  in  coaches  for  St  James' 
Palace,  but  two-thirds  of  them  never  got  beyond  Temple  Bar. 
"A  desperate  mob"  so  insulted,  pelted,  and  maltreated  them, 
that  several  coaches  turned  back  ;  others  proceeded  by  "  by-ways." 
In  the  Strand,  a  hearse  with  two  white  and  two  black  horses 
(said  to  be  driven  "by  a  gentleman")  took  the  lead  of  the 
procession.  On  one  side  of  the  hearse  were  portrayed  the  soldiers 
firing  at  young  Allen,  and  on  the  other  McQuirk  knocking  old 
Mr.  Clark  on  the  head  at  Brentford.  At  the  Palace-gate,  there 
was  a  terrible  scene — an  attempt  was  made  to  drive  the  hearse 
into  the  Courtyard,  but  Lord-Steward  Talbot,  with  great  courage, 
though  "deserted  by  his  own  servants,"  arrested  two  rioters 
himself.  But  his  staff  of  office  was  broken  in  his  hand,  and  his 
friends  pulled  and  his  foes  pushed  him  back  into  the  Palace. 
Meanwhile  the  Riot  Act  had  been  read,  and  the  military — who 
vol.  1. — 11 


1 62  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

behaved  this  day  with  great  moderation — secured  fifteen  of  the 
more  pertinacious.  The  hearse  drove  off  to  Carlton  House  (the 
Princess  of  Wales')  and  thence  to  Lord  Weymouth's — "at  which 
places  the  driver  made  a  particular  kind  of  compliment,  and  then 
retired." 

Mr.  Bohem,  Chairman  of  the  meeting  at  the  King's  Arms,  was 
so  severely  handled  that  he  had  to  quit  his  coach  and  take  refuge 
in  Nando's  Coffee  House.  The  coach  was  rifled,  and  he  very 
nearly  lost  the  Address — it  was  recovered  with  great  difficulty,  and 
those  who  had  already  arrived  at  the  Palace  waited  in  the  utmost 
anxiety.  When  their  unfortunate  Chairman  did  arrive,  he  was 
so  covered  and  blinded  with  mud — so  "  drenched  and  coated,"  that 
he  could  not  enter  the  Presence  Chamber,  where  the  King,  his 
Ministers  and  Courtiers,  had  been  kept  waiting  for  him  for  hours. 
But  at  last  the  Address  got  upstairs,  and  was  read  to  the  indignant 
Monarch. 

Only  five  of  the  rioters  were  detained  in  custody,  and  the 
Grand  Jury  of  Middlesex  threw  out  the  bills.1 

On  April  13  a  fourth  election  was  held  at  Brentford.  This 
time  Ministers  had  got  two  candidates  of  their  own  in  the  field — 
Colonel  Luttrell,2  brother  of  Lord  Irnham,  and  Mr.  Sergeant 
Whitaker.  It  was  remarked  that  the  electors  all  gave  their  votes 
singly,  and  not  by  four  at  a  time,  as  before,  so  that  the  poll  went 
on  very  slowly.  This  arrangement  was  no  doubt  intended  to 
relieve  ministerial  voters  from  finding  themselves  one  to  three. 
Wilkes  was  re-elected;  he  had  1143  votes,  Luttrell  296,  and 
Whitaker  5.  After  the  poll — which  closed  at  five  o'clock — a 
number  of  horsemen  with  colours  flying,  attended  by  several 
thousand  people,  rode  through  St.  James'  Street,  the  Strand,  and 
over  London  Bridge  to  the  King's  Bench,  to  congratulate  Wilkes. 
Next  day  the  House  sent  for  the  Sheriffs  with  the  return ;  but  the 
Sheriffs  were  so  long  in  coming  that  the  House  "  got  into  confusion 

1  On  April  12  there  was  a  procession  of  freeholders  on  horseback,  through 
Charing  Cross,  Pall  Mall  and  Piccadilly.  It  lasted  two  hours.  Some  com- 
panies were  several  hundred  strong.  All  marched  with  bands  playing  and 
colours  flying,  and  blue  ribbons  in  their  hats,  with  "Magna  Charta,"  and  "  Bill 
of  Rights  "  inscribed. — Annual  Register. 

2  Luttrell  was  a  Colonel  of  horse — said  to  be  too  ready  with  his  sword  (he  is 
infamous  for  his  brutality  in  the  Irish  Rebellion).  He  sat  for  a  Cornish  borough 
with  11  voters — 10  of  them  excisemen.  He  infuriated  the  mob  still  more  by 
using  Lord  Holland's  house  for  his  committee,  and  by  issuing  an  advertisement 
calling  on  "gentlemen"  to  join  him  in  giving  a  lesson  to  the  mob.  But  when 
the  day  came,  the  few  gentlemen  who  had  responded  thought  it  more  prudent 
to  go  to  Brentford  by  back  ways.     Fox  canvassed  for  Luttrell. 


THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  LONDON  163 

and  riot  for  two  hours,  and  then  the  night  was  so  far  advanced 
that  it  became  improper  to  enter  into  any  new  debate  that 
night "  ;  so,  they  adjourned  till  to-morrow,  though  it  was  a  Saturday, 
and  Parliament  never  did  anything  of  importance  that  day,  since 
the  time  when  it  used  to  adjourn  that  Sir  Robert  might  go 
a-hunting. 

There  was  a  warm  debate  that  Saturday  morning.  Mr.  Onslow 
moved  that  Henry  Lawes  Luttrell  ought  to  have  been  returned  a 
knight  of  the  shire  for  the  county  of  Middlesex — if  the  person  at 
the  head  of  the  poll  was  incapable,  the  next  was  always  chosen. 
The  Attorney-General  abused  the  Sheriffs,  and  talked  about  the 
late  infamous  riot;  North  "spoke  long,  but  chiefly  to  the  passions" 
— Wilkes  had  given  the  Ministry  great  trouble,  and  unless  an  end 
was  put  to  this  the  whole  kingdom  would  be  in  confusion — "  though 
he  owned  he  did  not  think  this  measure  would  put  an  end  to 
the  distraction."  Beckford  reminded  Government  of  Rehoboam; 
Burke  showed  that  this  quarrel  was  not  between  the  House  and 
the  Freeholders  of  Middlesex,  but  between  the  House  and  all 
England;  and  Grenville  made  an  even  greater  speech  than  his 
first — the  gist  of  it,  that  Parliament  is  not  above  the  law,  and  that 
a  vote  of  the  House  bound  the  House  for  the  session  it  was  made, 
but  could  not  bind  the  people.  "If  the  ministry  will  take  such 
headstrong  measures,  the  vengeance  of  a  deluded,  injured  people 
must  fall  on  them." 

The  House,  by  197  against  143,  voted  that  Luttrell  was  legally 
returned,  and  he  took  his  seat.  The  Freeholders  of  Middlesex  met 
at  Mile  End,  and  drew  up  a  petition,  which  was  heard  by  Counsel  at 
the  bar  of  the  House,  on  May  8.  The  House  reaffirmed  Luttrell's 
election  by  221  to  152,  and  next  day  Parliament  was  prorogued. 

The  famous  dinner  at  the  Thatched  House  took  place  that 
same  night.  Seventy-two  members  of  Opposition  dined  together, 
and  the  great  toast  of  the  evening  was  a  sentence  from  Mr.  Henry 
Cavendish's  speech  the  night  before — it  was  called  fondly,  "Mr. 
Cavendish's  creed,"  and  it  ran :  "  I  do,  from  my  soul,  detest  and 
abjure,  as  unconstitutional  and  illegal,  that  damnable  doctrine  and 
position,  that  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  can  make, 
alter,  suspend,  abrogate,  or  annihilate,  the  Law  of  the  Land." 

The  year  1769  was  not  entirely  taken  up  with  riots  and  petitions, 
nor  was  Mr.  Wilkes'  business  the  only  unpleasant  one  for  the 
Thirteenth  Parliament.  On  the  28th  of  February  his  Majesty 
sent  a  message  to  say  that  he  was  in  debt  to  the  tune  of 
;£  5 13,311,  and  relied  on  the  zeal  and  affection  of  his  faithful 
Commons  to  pay  it.      Now  the   Civil   List  used  to  be  reckoned 


1 64  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

at  ^800,000  a  year,  more  or  less,  but,  as  it  often  was  less,  the 
King  at  his  accession  had  compounded  for  ^800,000  a  year 
fixed,  and  the  Civil  List  had  been  supposed  to  be  on  a  better 
footing  than  ever  before.  So  the  House  was  not  pleased.  Papers 
were  called  for,  and  questions  were  asked,  especially  how  it 
was  that  with  the  revenues  of  Wales  and  the  Duchy  of 
Cornwall,  and  the  new  duties  laid  in  the  new  West  India  Islands, 
— all  this  in  addition  to  a  clear  ^800,000  a  year, — so  virtuous 
a  prince  was  so  deep  in  debt?  Ministers  replied  indignantly, 
that  nobody  ought  to  ask  questions  about  so  virtuous  a  prince, 
who  besides  had  given  up  to  the  nation  more  than  .£700,000 
— his  share  of  the  prize-money  in  the  late  war.  Decency  demanded 
the  instant  supply  of  his  Majesty's  wants.  So  the  House 
agreed  to  pay  first,  and  ask  questions  afterwards,  though  Colonel 
Barre  said  this  was  never  done  anywhere  but  in  Ireland — there, 
certainly,  we  paid  the  bill  first,  and  then  examined  if  we  really 
owed  it. 

On  the  2 1  st  of  January,  Junius'  first  letter  appeared  in  the 
Public  Advertiser.  It  was  a  masterly  review  of  the  situation  from 
the  King's  accession,  ending  with  a  savage  attack  on  the  Cabinet. 
We  could  have  got  better  secretaries,  if  we  had  chosen  them  by  lot ! 
It  asked  how  the  debt  on  the  Civil  List  was  to  be  paid — "  anyhow 
let  it  not  be  by  a  lottery,  like  the  repairs  of  a  country  bridge  or  a 
decayed  hospital."  For  three  years  these  terrible  letters  fell  like 
bombshells  into  the  ministerial  camp.1 

Again  it  rained  petitions,  remonstrances,  meetings,  until 
Administration,  in  self-defence,  got  up  more  counter-demonstrations. 
"Addresses"  to  his  Majesty  were  presented  from  four  English 
Counties,2  from  the  two  Universities,  and  the  cities  of  Bristol, 
Liverpool,  and  Coventry.  But  the  "petitions"  and  "remon- 
strances " — Middlesex  leading  the  way — poured  in  from  seventeen 
Counties,  and  were  signed  by  more  than  60,000  electors.  Many 
of  them — Yorkshire,  Westminster,  and  others — prayed  for  an 
immediate  dissolution.     All  declared  that  no  mere  vote  of  Parlia- 

1  "Junius,  and  such  writers  as  himself,  occasion  all  the  mischief  complained 
of.  .  .  .  How  are  any  man's  friends  to  be  provided  for,  but  from  the  influence 
and  protection  of  the  patron?" — Sir  William  Draper's  reply  to  Junius,  Jan.  26, 
1769.  Towards  the  close  of  his  letter,  Junius  attacked  the  Marquis  of  Granby, 
then  Commander-in-Chief— he  had  provided  at  the  public  expense  "for  every 
creature  that  bears  the  name  of  Manners,"  and  neglected  the  rest.  Sir  William 
Draper  hereupon  took  up  the  cudgels  for  Granby.  Junius  retorted  by  accusing 
Draper  of  having  dropped  his  agitation  about  the  Manilla  Ransom,  as  soon 
as  he  had  got  the  Bath  and  the  colonelcy  of  the  16th  Foot. 

2  Surrey,  Kent,  Essex,  and  Salop. 


THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  LONDON         165 

ment  can  change  the  law  of  the  land — if  the  law  is  altered,  it  must 
be  by  an  Act,  not  a  vote.  There  were  plain  and  unvarnished 
assertions  that  the  country  was  being  governed  by  bribery  and 
corruption,  and  that  the  King  was  influenced  by  evil  counsellors. 
As  for  the  Middlesex  Petition,  it  might  have  been  drawn  up  in 
Boston.  It  even  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  evil  counsellors  "  had 
produced  the  same  grievances  and  apprehensions  in  America  as 
here." 

The  present  Parliament  had  cost  so  much  more  than  usual, 
that  Administration  was  very  loath  to  lose  it  so  soon,  especially  as  it 
appeared  but  too  probable  that  the  next  might  contain  still  fewer 
of  the  "King's  Friends."  The  King  looked  on  all  petitions  as 
incipient  rebellion.  It  was  said  that  he  laughed  rudely  in  Lord 
Mayor  Ladbroke's  face,  when  he  presented  the  petition  of  the 
Livery.  It  was  a  fact  that  he  made  no  reply,  but  handed  the 
paper  to  a  lord-in-waiting,  and  turned  away  to  converse  with  the 
Danish  Minister. 

And  all  this  while  the  terrible  letters  of  Junius  went  on,  holding 
up  Ministers  to  the  hatred  and  contempt  of  the  nation,  and  con- 
ferring on  them  an  immortality  which  even  their  own  misdeeds 
would  never  have  given  them.1 

The  custom  of  public  meeting  in  England  dates  from  the 
summer  of  1769,  and  the  meetings  held  all  over  the  country  to 
protest  against  the  Middlesex  Election,  and  to  demand  "a  new 
choice  of  representatives."  The  custom  of  publishing  parlia- 
mentary debates  dates  from  the  time  when  Mr.  Grenville  cor- 
rected Mr.  Henry  Cavendish's  notes  of  his  great  speech,  and 
sent  it  to  the  papers.  As  Wilkes  truly  said  in  his  address  to  the 
Freeholders  of  Middlesex,  "This  contest  is  between  the  present 
administration  and  all  the  electors  of  Great  Britain.  There  is 
nothing  personal  in  it.     The  cause  is  national."2 

The  Company's  affairs  were  again — or  perhaps  still — in  an  acute 
stage.  On  November  21,  1768,  the  Select  Committee  had  had 
to  tell  the  Directors  that  they  could  not  pay  their  debts.  The 
Treasury  is  exhausted.     It  can  only  be  replenished  by  letting  those 

1  The  multitude,  in  all  countries,  are  patient  to  a  certain  point  ...  the 
original  fault  is  in  government.  Perhaps  there  never  was  a  change,  in  the 
circumstances  and  temper  of  a  whole  nation,  so  sudden  and  extraordinary  as 
that  which  the  misconduct  of  Ministers  has,  within  these  few  years,  produced 
in  Great  Britain." — Junius,  Jan.  21,  1769. 

2  "As  we  are  Englishmen,  the  least  considerable  man  among  us  has  an  interest 
equal  to  the  proudest  nobleman  in  the  laws  and  constitution  of  his  country."— 
Ibid. 


1 66  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

who  have  made  their  fortunes  in  India  pay  their  money  into  the 
Company's  government  in  India,  to  be  repaid  by  the  Company 
in  England,  with  bills  payable  in  English  money.  But  the  pay- 
ment of  these  loans  became  very  inconvenient,  the  sole  source  of 
ready  money  was  the  sale  of  the  investment,  or  the  goods  sent 
home  from  India  and  China.  If  the  value  of  these  goods  happened 
to  be  less  than  the  amount  of  the  bills  drawn,  there  was  a  deficit ; 
if  too  many  goods  came,  there  was  a  glut.  A  great  deal  of  money 
was  absorbed  in  the  task  of  governing  the  territorial  possessions. 
Then  in  May  came  bad  news  by  the  Valentine  indiaman.  The 
most  conflicting  rumours  disturbed  the  proprietors  and  the  money- 
market.  By  this  time  the  proprietors  were  at  open  war  with  the 
governing  body,  and  very  interesting  revelations  were  made.  The 
proprietors  accused  Clive  of  putting  about  the  entirely  false  report 
that  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Bengal  meant  to  set  up  Shaw 
Alum  on  the  throne  of  the  Great  Mogul — they  also  said  that  he  had 
lately  wasted  at  least  a  million  sterling,  and  was  always  multiplying 
expenses  to  gain  influence  and  votes.  They  described  how  the  "  old, 
steady,  permanent  proprietors  "  were  become  the  dupes  of  the  bulls 
and  bears,  who  told  them  one  day  that  the  Company  was  flourish- 
ing, and  the  next  that  its  affairs  were  desperate — that  China  cargoes 
are  falling  off,  and  yet  that  there  must  be  more  ships ;  that  it  is  not 
for  want  of  men  and  officers  that  the  Company  can't  beat  Hyder, 
and  then  a  day  or  two  after  that  there  must  be  440  officers  more. 
And  so  "  the  innocent  dupes,  male  and  female,  are  hurried  into  the 
India  House  by  their  leaders,  to  vote  away  the  little  property  they 
possess."  A  "  piece  of  jockeyship  "  had  been  played  at  the  April 
election, — the  greatest  contest  ever  known, — ^13,000  worth  "of 
capital  stock,"  issued  out  to  qualify  one  set  of  gentlemen,  was  used 
for  the  other  by  the  person  to  whom  the  money  was  entrusted,  and 
so  the  election  was  turned  the  wrong  way !  Angry  writers  in  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine  lamented  the  days  when  the  Company  had 
neither  place-men  nor  stock-grabbers,  but  merchants  who  knew 
India  were  at  the  head  of  affairs — markets  were  studied,  and 
changes  allowed  for ;  whereas  now,  for  six  years  the  lists  of  orders 
have  been  simply  copied — there  is  "  no  assortment,  no  taste, 
nothing  new,"  and  so  sales  vhave  fallen  off.  Then  the  arrange- 
ment about  remittances  has  been  so  made  as  to  throw  all  the  cash 
into  the  hands  of  the  Dutch,  Danes,  and  French, — the  French 
got  so  much  ready  cash  in  Bengal,  that  they  were  able  to  send  home 
twelve  ships  laden  with  the  choice  of  Bengal  and  Coromandel, 
besides  two  million  pounds  of  China  teas.  At  such  a  moment, 
the  Company  could  not  afford  to  have  any  military  disasters. 


THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  LONDON         167 

In  June,  when  some  inkling  of  the  truth  got  out,  Stock  fell 
to  242.  The  Directors  divided  their  correspondence  into  three 
parts — that  relating  to  Bengal,  that  relating  to  the  war  with  Hyder, 
and  that  relating  to  the  treaty  between  him  and  the  Mahrattas. 
They  were  preparing  a  statement  for  Government,  and  there 
was  much  in  the  correspondence  which  Government  must  not 
see.  But,  with  all  their  care,  things  leaked  out,  and  in  July 
dreadful  tales  began  to  be  circulated,  of  misgovernment,  rapacity, 
injustice,  cruelty — even  of  the  poisoning  of  inconvenient  persons; 
and,  along  with  these,  persistent  rumours  of  military  disaster.  On 
the  5th  the  Directors  proposed  to  send  out  "Supervisors,"  who 
were  to  examine  into  all  things,  and  to  have  powers  superseding 
those  of  all  other  officials.  There  were  furious  battles  at  General 
Courts  over  this.  The  "  old "  proprietors  complained  of  this  new 
expense, — ^200,000  a  year  on  annihilating  the  Company's  present 
governments  in  India, — if  we  are  to  prosper  in  this  fashion,  there 
will  soon  be  no  dividend  at  all !  Meanwhile  the  wrangle  about 
the  fortifications  continued.  Were  they  to  be  regarded  as  assets, 
since  they  could  not  be  sold  ?  Ought  they  not  to  be  so  regarded, 
since  they  protected  the  Factories  ? 

On  July  7,  an  event  took  place  which  would  once  have 
transported  the  nation  with  joy — which  even  now  produced  a 
great  sensation.  Chatham  had  recovered,  and  was  at  the  lev&e, 
where  the  King  received  him  most  graciously  —  still  afraid  to 
offend  him.1 

The  East  India  Directors,  too,  must  have  trembled,  for  Chatham 
was  the  great  enemy  of  their  territorial  power,  and  that  power  was 
just  now  bringing  them  into  sore  straits.  There  was  a  new  com- 
plication, and  an  unfortunate  accident  let  the  cat  out  of  the 
bag. 

At  the  Court  of  August  n,  the  inadvertent  reading  of  a 
passage  intended  to  be  omitted  from  a  letter  betrayed  the  fact 
that  the  Company's  affairs  in  the  Gulf  of  Persia  were  in  a  "very  em- 
broiled state  " — a  matter  wholly  unknown  except  to  the  Committee 
of  Secrecy;  "a  stop  was  put  to  the  further  elucidation  of  it,  for 
fear  of  affecting  the  Company's  stock."  All  through  the  month 
there  were  hot  debates  as  to  how  far  the  military  and  naval  officers 
to  be  lent  to  the  Company  were  to  be  under  the  Company's  orders, 

1  "  You  desired  me  to  write,  if  I  knew  anything  particular.  How  particular 
would  content  you  ?  Come,  would  the  apparition  of  my  Lord  Chatham  satisfy 
you  ?  Don't  be  frightened,  it  was  not  his  ghost.  He,  he  himself,  in  proprid 
persond,  walked  into  the  King's  closet  this  morning,  and  was  in  the  closet  twenty 
minutes  after  the  levee." — Horace  Walpoleto  Conway,  July  7,  1769. 


168  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

and  what  powers  the  Supervisors  should  have.  Meanwhile  every 
indiaman  that  arrived  brought  bad  news,  until  the  climax  came 
on  September  26,  when  the  Dutton  arrived  with  letters  dated 
March  8.  The  Directors  boldy  declared  that  "affairs  on  the 
coast  of  Coromandel "  were  "  much  in  the  same  situation  " ;  but  it 
was  of  no  use.  So  circumstantial  a  report  got  about  that  Hyder 
was  actually  at  the  gates  of  Madras,  and  that  his  demands  were  so 
exorbitant  it  was  thought  they  could  not  be  complied  with,  that 
East  India  Stock  fell  to  212.  Now  the  powers  of  the  Super- 
visors and  the  control  of  the  frigates  were  hurriedly  settled.  On 
October  1,  the  Hake  and  the  Stag  sailed  from  Spithead,  and  next 
day,  the  three  Supervisors — Henry  Vansittart,  late  Governor  of 
Bengal,  Mr.  Scrafton,  of  the  Bengal  Council,  and  Colonel  Ford — 
embarked  on  the  Aurora.  The  frigates  parted  company  on  the 
voyage.  The  Hake  and  the  Stag  came  safe  to  port,  but  the  Aurora 
was  never  heard  of  more.1 

On  November  13,  the  £ssex,  from  Bombay,  brought  alarming 
accounts  of  dissensions  in  the  Councils,  injustice  and  rapacity  on  the 
part  of  the  officials,  and  such  mismanagement  and  oppression  that 
there  had  been  a  general  desertion  of  sepoys.  Even  some  officers 
had  gone  over  to  Hyder !  It  was  true  that  Hyder  had  appeared 
before  Madras.  The  Council  had  made  a  treaty  with  him — all 
forts  to  be  restored,  each  side  to  pay  its  own  expenses,  prisoners 
to  be  mutually  exchanged,  and — astonishing  and  fatal  condition — 
a  perpetual  league,  offensive  and  defensive,  with  Hyder.  A  week 
after  the  Directors  confirmed  this  treaty,  and  so  the  year  ended 
for  the  Company. 

If  the  news  from  the  East  was  bad,  the  news  from  the  West 
was  not  good.  In  August  the  country  learned  that  Boston  had 
refused  to  provide  for  the  troops,  and  had  sent  a  petition  to  the 
King  praying  for  Bernard's  removal.2 

Lord  Mayor's  Day,  1 769,  was  more  exciting  than  usual.  Beckford 
was  Mayor  a  second  time.     He  was  now  so  much  out  of  favour  at 

1  With  the  Supervisors  sailed  William  Falconer  of  The  Shipwreck.  He 
was  in  the  merchant  service,  when  by  dedicating  his  poem  to  the  Duke  of 
York  he  obtained  the  rank  of  midshipman  in  the  Royal  Navy.  At  the  Peace, 
he  began  his  Universal  Marine  Dictionary,  and  had  just  finished  it,  when  he 
accepted  the  office  of  purser  to  the  Aurora,  and  private  secretary  to  the  Super- 
visors. The  First  John  Murray, — then  Lieutenant  MacMurray,  and  just  starting 
as  a  publisher — offered  Falconer,  his  old  friend  and  brother- Edinburghian, 
a  partnership  in  the  new  concern.  Falconer  received  the  letter  on  board  the 
Aurora. 

2  This  petition  was  not  presented  until  after  the  Governor  had  arrived  in 
England. 


THE  OCCURRENCES  IN  LONDON  169 

Court,  that  Lord  Chancellor  Camden  was  the  only  great  officer  of 
State  who  attended  the  banquet,  with  only  five  of  the  Judges  and  five 
of  the  Aldermen.  Earl  Temple  was  there,  with  his  Countess — her 
diamonds  and  jewels  estimated  at  ^"150,000.  Also  Lord  Shelburne 
and  Lord  Effingham.  Mr.  Boswell  was  in  the  Stationers'  barge. 
Next  day,  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  a  jury  found  a  verdict  for 
Mr.  Wilkes  against  Lord  Halifax,  for  the  seizure  of  his  papers  and 
the  imprisonment  of  his  person.  The  damages  were  cast  at  ^4000, 
but  the  mob  thought  they  should  be  ^20,000,  and  the  jury  had 
to  be  withdrawn  privately — lest  they  should  be  "insulted" — a 
euphemious  expression.  The  story  went  that  those  of  the  jury 
who  were  for  higher  damages  were  brought  down  by  being  assured 
his  Majesty  had  declared  his  intention  of  defraying  all  Lord  Halifax's 
costs. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 
THE  HORNED  CATTLE  SESSION 

' '  When  Junius  began  to  write,  the  state  of  parties  was  very  singular.  There 
were  no  less  than  four. — The  first  may  be  called  the  ministerial  party,  officially 
so. — The  second  consisted  of  a  number  of  persons  who  called  themselves  the 
king's  friends ;  and  being  entirely  under  the  direction  of  the  interior  cabinet, 
could  be  transferred  to  the  support  of  either  the  ministry,  or  the  opposition, 
according  as  it  suited  the  secret  views  of  the  court.  This  dreadful  system  began 
with  the  present  reign,  under  the  auspices  of  Lord  Bute  ;  and  gave  to  the  court 
the  complete  control  of  parliament,  by  having  the  power  to  throw  this  weight 
into  either  scale.  There  is  nothing  so  dangerous  in  all  the  history  of  the 
Stuarts." — Almon's  Preface  to  the  Letters  of  Junius,  1806. 

"  My  Lords  and  Gentlemen, — It  is  with  much  concern  that  I  find 
myself  obliged  to  open  this  session  with  acquainting  you,  that  the 
distemper  among  the  horned  cattle  has  lately  broke  out  in  this 
kingdom." 

These  words,  with  which  the  King  opened  Parliament  on  the 
9th  of  January,  1770,  raised  such  a  storm  of  ridicule,  that  the 
session  is  known  as  "the  Horned  Cattle  Session."  It  became  a 
test  of  loyalty  to  believe  in  the  sufferings  of  the  horned  cattle 
— Opposition  maintaining  that  the  cattle  had  the  plague  only  to 
spare  Ministers  the  embarrassment  of  mentioning  Mr.  Wilkes.  The 
speech  contained  but  one  passage  which  was  not  pure  verbiage — 
that  relating  to  America.  It  called  the  measures  of  the  colonists 
"unwarrantable." 

The  Address  expressed  much  concern  for  the  horned  cattle, 
said  a  little  in  a  good  many  words  on  our  foreign  policy, — just  then 
extremely  critical, — and  ended  by  lamenting  the  failure  of  his 
Majesty's  endeavours  to  bring  back  his  subjects  in  America  to  a 
just  sense  of  their  duty.  Their  lordships  also  promised  to  avoid 
all  heats  and  animosities  among  themselves ;  but  the  debate  which 
followed  was  a  very  angry  one.  The  moment  the  Address  was 
seconded,  Chatham  rose.  The  Duke  of  Portland  had  lately  written 
to  Rockingham   that  Chatham  was   high  in  spirits,  and  in  fury? 

1  Chatham  would  not  join  Opposition  properly  so-called.  "  The  Marquis  is 
an  honest  and  honourable  man,  but  '  moderation,  moderation  ! '  is  the  burden 

170 


THE  HORNED  CATTLE  SESSION  171 

and  his  first  words  showed  that  he  meant  to  give  Ministers 
all  the  trouble  he  could.  But  he  spoke  calmly,  and  with  great 
effect.  He  said  that  his  age  and  infirmities  might  have  excused 
his  continuing  in  retirement,  but  he  came  there  to  urge  the 
hereditary  counsellors  of  the  Crown  to  lay  the  true  state  of  the 
nation  before  their  Sovereign — the  distress,  the  discontents  and 
grievances.  As  for  the  cattle,  there  was  sufficient  power  in  the 
Crown  to  deal  with  any  sudden  emergency — he  himself  had  once 
used  it  to  save  a  starving  people  from  famine.  Then,  after  touching 
on  foreign  policy,  he  came  to  America.  Unhappy  measures  had 
divided  the  colonists  from  the  mother-country,  and  drawn  them 
into  excesses,  but  these  excesses  ought  to  be  treated  with  tender- 
ness, for  they  were  "  the  ebullitions  of  liberty  " — signs  of  a  vigorous 
constitution.  He  did  not  know  how  things  were  now  going ;  but 
it  had  been  a  maxim  with  him,  when  he  had  lost  his  way,  to  stop 
short,  lest  by  advancing  (as  he  feared  a  noble  duke  had  done)  from 
one  false  step  to  another,  he  should  "wind  himself  into  an  inextric- 
able labyrinth,"  and  never  be  able  to  recover  the  right  road.  As 
yet  the  House  did  not  know  enough  to  say  whether  the  proceedings 
of  the  colonists  were  "unwarrantable"  or  no — they  were  passing 
sentence  before  they  had  heard  the  cause,  or  knew  the  facts.  The 
combination  to  supply  themselves  with  goods  of  their  own 
manufacture  had  indeed  alarmed  him  much  for  the  commercial 
interests  of  this  country,  but  how  could  it  be  called  illegal  ?  Better 
say  "dangerous."  The  discontent  of  two  millions  of  people 
deserved  consideration — the  foundation  of  it  ought  to  be  removed  ; 
that  was  the  true  way  to  stop  such  combinations.  Now  he  would 
only  say  that  liberty  was  a  plant  that  deserved  to  be  cherished. 
"  I  love  the  tree,  and  wish  well  to  every  branch  of  it.  Like  the 
vine  in  Scripture,  it  has  spread  from  east  to  west,  embraced  whole 
nations  with  its  branches,  and  sheltered  them  under  its  leaves." 
And  the  Americans  have  purchased  their  liberty  dear,  since  they 
quitted  their  native  country,  and  went  in  search  of  freedom  to  a 
desert.  Then  he  came  to  the  encroachments  on  British  liberty, 
and  particularly  to  the  case  of- Mr.  Wilkes.  The  discontents  of 
the  nation  arose  from  his  expulsion ;  the  Address  ought  to  say  so. 
He  moved  as  an  Amendment  a  promise  to  consider  the  proceedings 
whereby  the  Middlesex  electors  were  deprived  of  their  free  choice 
of  a  representative. 

of  the  song  among  the  body.  For  myself,  I  am  resolved  to  be  in  earnest  for  the 
public,  and  shall  be  a  scarecrow  of  violence  to  the  gentle  warblers  of  the  grove, 
the  moderate  Whigs  and  temperate  statesmen." — Chatham  to  John  Calcraft^ 
July  28,  1770. 


172  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Camden,  who  followed,  said  he  had  accepted  the  Seals  without 
conditions — he  meant  not  therefore  to  be  trammelled  by  his 
Majesty — "I  beg  pardon,  by  his  Ministers."  He  had  suffered 
himself  to  be  so  too  long — for  some  time  he  had  beheld  with 
silent  indignation  the  arbitrary  measures  pursued  by  the  Ministry ; 
he  had  often  "  drooped  and  hung  down  his  head  in  Council,"  and 
disapproved  by  his  looks  those  steps  which  he  knew  his  avowed 
opposition  could  not  prevent.  But  now  he  would  openly  and 
boldly  speak  his  sentiments.  As  to  the  incapacitating  vote,  he  con- 
sidered it  a  direct  attack  upon  the  first  principles  of  the  Constitu- 
tion ;  and  if,  as  a  Judge,  he  was  to  pay  any  regard  to  that  vote,  or 
any  other  vote  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  opposition  to  the 
known  and  established  laws  of  the  land,  he  should  look  upon 
himself  as  a  traitor  to  his  trust,  and  an  enemy  to  his  country.  In 
a  word,  he  accused  the  Ministry,  if  not  in  express  terms,  yet  by 
direct  implication,  of  having  formed  a  conspiracy  against  the 
liberties  of  their  countrymen. 

Mansfield  began  his  speech  in  such  a  manner  that  many  thought 
he  would  make  the  same  declaration.  He  owned  he  was  "  per- 
fectly of  the  same  opinion,"  and  that  if,  as  Judge,  he  "  was  to  have 
an  eye  to  the  incapacitating  vote  of  the  Commons,  he  should  look 
upon  himself  as  the  greatest  of  tyrants,  and  the  greatest  of  traitors.'' 
Nevertheless,  with  regard  to  this  vote,  in  another  view,  he  would 
say  nothing ;  he  had  often  been  asked  his  opinion  of  it,  in  public, 
and  in  private,  by  friends  and  strangers,  within  doors  and  without ; 
had  never  given  his  opinion,  would  not  now  give  it,  and  did  not 
know  but  he  might  carry  it  to  the  grave  with  him.  If  the  Commons 
had  passed  an  unjustifiable  vote,  it  was  a  matter  between  God  and 
their  own  consciences — nobody  else  had  anything  to  do  with  it. 
The  Lords  had  no  right  to  enquire  into  it,  and  any  attempt  to  do 
so  would  be  a  gross  attack  on  the  privileges  of  the  Commons,  and 
would  throw  the  whole  country  into  a  flame.  A  Conference  of 
the  Houses  would  never  be  consented  to  by  the  Commons.  If 
the  King  dissolves  Parliament,  the  new  House,  "if  they  know 
anything  of  their  own  privileges,  or  the  laws  of  this  country,"  will 
declare  our  proceedings  to  be  a  violation  of  the  rights  of  the 
Commons. 

It  was  a  specious  argument,  but  it  proceeds  on  the  assumption 
that  however  illegal  any  action  of  one  House  may  be,  the  other 
must  affect  not  to  observe  it.  And  if  the  Lords  must  not  enquire 
into  a  usurpation  of  the  Commons,  the  Commons  must  not 
enquire  into  a  usurpation  of  the  Lords.  Chatham  perceived  this, 
and  rose  a  second  time,  in  one  of  those  bursts  of  indignation  which 


THE  HORNED  CATTLE  SESSION  173 

inspired  many  of  his  finest  speeches.     "  My  lords,"  he  exclaimed, 
"I  thought   the   slavish   doctrine  of  passive  obedience   had   long 
since  been  exploded,  and  when  our  kings  were  obliged  to   confess 
that  their  title  to  the  Crown  had   no  other  foundation   than   the 
known   laws   of  the   land,    I    never   expected    to   hear    a    divine 
infallibility  attributed  to  any  other  branch  of  the  legislature.  .  .  . 
Power  without  right  is  the  most  odious  and  detestable  object  that 
can  be  offered  to  the  human  imagination  :  it  is  not  only  pernicious 
to  those  who  are  subject  to  it,  but  tends  to  its  own  destruction.  .  . 
I  affirm  that  the  House  of  Commons  have  betrayed  the  rights  of 
their   constituents,  and   violated   the   Constitution ! "     What   have 
we  gained  by  all  the  glorious  efforts  of  our  ancestors,  if  "  instead 
of  the  arbitrary  power  of  a  King,  we  must  submit  to  the  arbitrary 
power  of  a  House  of  Commons?     Tyranny,  my  Lords,  is  detest- 
able  in   every   shape;    but   in   none   so  formidable  as  when  it  is 
assumed  and  exercised   by  a  number   of  tyrants."     Then   he  laid 
down    the    purest   principles   of  democracy — decisions   of  Courts 
are  an  evidence  of  law,  but  they  are  not  law ;  and  before  they  can 
arrive  at  even  the  authority  of  evidence,  it  must  appear  that  they 
are  founded  in  and  confirmed  by  reason ;  that  they  are  submitted 
to  without  reluctance  by  the  people  ;   and — most  important  thing 
of  all — they  must  not  violate  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution.     "  This 
is  not  a  vague  expression — we  all  know  what  the  Constitution  is  ; 
we  all  know  that  its  first  principle  is,  that  the  subject  shall  not  be 
governed  by  the  arbitrium  of  any  one  man,  or  body  of  men  (less 
than  the  whole  legislature),  but  by  certain  laws,  to  which  he  has 
virtually  given   his  consent,  which   are   open  to  him  to   examine, 
and   not   beyond    his    ability  to   understand.  .  .  .  What !    If  the 
Commons  should  pass   a   vote  abolishing   this    House,  abolishing 
their  own  House,  and  surrendering  to  the  Crown  all  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  people,  would  it  only  be  a  matter  between  God  and 
their   own  consciences,  and  would  nobody   else  have  anything  to 
do  with  it  ?     You  would  have  to  do  with  it — I  would  have  to  do 
with   it — every  man   in  the  kingdom  would  have  to  do  with  it  ! " 
Then  he  called  on  Mansfield   to   declare   his   opinion,    unless   he 
would  lie  under  the  imputation  of  being  conscious  of  the  illegality 
of  the  vote  against  Wilkes,  but  restrained  by  some  unworthy  motive 
from  avowing  it  to  the  world. 

Mansfield    did    not    reply.       Thirty-six   Peers    voted   for    the 

Amendment.     After   the   division,1  Rockingham   moved    that   the 

Lords   should   meet   next   day,   as    he    had   a   proposal   of    great 

national  importance  to  make.     Lord  Pomfret  very  rudely  said  he 

1  The  numbers  were  203  to  36. 


174  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

would  be  glad  to  hear  the  Marquess  at  a  proper  time,  but  now  had 
a  previous  motion  to  make — that  the  House  adjourn  till  that  day 
sen'night.  Earl  Temple  said  the  House  knew  the  purpose  of  this 
adjournment — it  was  to  settle  Administration,  now  shattered  and 
falling  to  pieces,  and  particularly  to  dismiss  the  Chancellor,  and 
appoint  some  obsequious  tool  in  his  place,  who  would  do  as  he 
was  commanded.  Shelburne  said,  when  the  present  worthy 
Chancellor  was  dismissed,  the  Seals  "would  go  a-begging";  he 
hoped  there  would  not  be  found  in  the  kingdom  a  wretch  so  base 
and  mean-spirited  as  to  accept  them  on  the  terms  on  which  they 
must  be  offered. 

It  was  known  instantly  in  the  Commons  that  Chatham  had 
made  his  greatest  speech  since  the  Stamp  Act.1  There,  a  debate 
as  angry  was  going  on.  The  King's  Friends  brandished  the  horned 
cattle  in  the  forefront;  but  Dowdeswell  bluntly  declared  that  the 
distemper  was  an  invention  of  Lord  Northington's  tenants  in 
Hampshire,  to  procure  a  quick  sale  for  their  cattle — an  imaginary 
terror,  designed  to  prevent  our  noticing  real  ones — an  artifice  to 
divert  our  minds  from  the  violation  of  our  rights.  He  moved 
as  an  Amendment,  the  addition  of  these  words  to  the  Address  : 
"  To  acquaint  his  Majesty  of  the  necessity  there  is  of  immediately 
enquiring  into  the  Causes  of  the  unhappy  Discontents  which  at 
present  prevail  in  every  part  of  his  Majesty's  Dominions."  Beckford 
said  Ministers  were  trying  to  conceal  fire  with  smoke.  Lord  Clare 
said  he  had  just  returned  from  a  tour  through  the  country,  and  had 
heard  of  no  discontents.  Mr.  Cornwall  had  also  been  on  a  tour, 
and  had  heard  nothing  about  the  cattle. 

The  Attorney-General  scoffed  at  the  petitions.  "This  House 
has  passed  a  judicial  vote,  the  Petitions  complain  of  that  vote.  This 
House,  once  chosen,  is  to  all  legal  intents  "  the  people  collectively  " 
— to  oppose  its  judicial  proceedings  is  to  subvert  our  Constitution  by 
the  root.  His  brother,  Thomas  de  Grey,  said  that  the  Westminster 
Petition  only  contained  the  names  of  two  persons  "of  the  rank  of 
gentlemen."  A  ferment  was  kept  up  by  a  few  despicable  mechanics, 
headed  by  base-born  people,  booksellers  and  broken  tradesmen, 
and  the  petition  was  signed  by  the  scum  of  the  earth,  the  refuse 
of  the  people,  unworthy  to  enter  the  gates  of  his  Majesty's  palace. 
Here  Sergeant  Glynn  called  him  to  order,  and  de  Grey  had  to 
explain  that  he  only  meant  those  who  signed  were  not  men  of 
consequence,  and  that  their  chairman  was  a  bookseller.  George 
Onslow  explained  that  he  meant  the  petitioners  were  not  men 
of  property,  or  in  the  commission  of  the  peace.     He  boasted  of 

1  These  speeches  of  Chatham's  were  not  published  till  1792. 


THE  HORNED  CATTLE  SESSION  175 

having  introduced  Luttrell — a  worthy  in  place  of  an  unworthy 
member.  In  the  midst  of  an  exceedingly  stormy  scene — many 
gentlemen  rising  to  speak  for  the  feeling  of  their  own  counties, 
and  the  Marquess  of  Granby  declaring  that  he  regarded  his  vote 
for  Luttrell  as  the  greatest  misfortune  of  his  life,1 — Sir  George 
Savile  said  he  had  now  had  time  to  cool,  and  he  said  again,  as 
he  had  said  before,  that  in  voting  for  Luttrell,  that  House  had 
betrayed  the  rights  of  its  constituents.  In  great  anger,  Sir  Alexander 
Gilmour  sprang  up  and  cried  that  men  had  been  sent  to  the  Tower 
for  less.  Glynn  said  debates  could  not  be  honest  if  the  tongue 
was  shackled  by  a  slavish  fear  of  giving  offence  to  a  majority.  North 
hoped  neither  the  gentleman  who  mentioned  the  Tower,  nor  the 
gentleman  who  spoke  the  hasty  words,  would  think  any  more  about 
either.  But  the  debate  continued  to  be  very  angry,  until  Colonel 
Barre  created  a  diversion  by  demanding  of  Lord  Hawke  an  account 
of  the  dispute  between  the  Courts  of  Great  Britain  and  France. 

North  assured  the  House  that  there  was  no  probability  of 
war,  and  that  he  would,  "as  minister  or  no-minister,"  make  no 
servile  submissions  to  France  or  any  other  Power.  From  this 
it  was  an  easy  transition  to  America,  and  Barre  passionately  com- 
plained of  the  words  of  the  King's  Speech  of  November,  1768, 
which  declared  that  Boston  was  manifesting  a  disposition  to  throw 
off  dependence  on  Great  Britain.  The  debate  went  on  with 
great  acrimony — America  and  the  Middlesex  Election  were  tossed  to 
and  fro  like  shuttlecocks.  Burke — who  began  with  grossly  personal 
remarks  on  Lord  North  2 — defended  the  right  of  petitioning.  "  If  it 
is  a  fault  to  persuade  by  writing,  meeting,  and  speaking,  let  Lord 
North  tell  us  what  means  of  persuasion  more  eligible  he  has  dis- 
covered. The  Ministers  of  the  unhappy  Charles  the  First  told  the 
same  tales — when  the  people  were  ready  to  tear  the  crown  from  his 
head,  they  persuaded  him  that  there  was  no  discontent  but  among 
those  who  endeavoured  to  open  his  eyes.  In  America  and  here,  the 
same  baleful  influence  has  been  working.  And  when  we  want  to 
redress  public  grievances,  and  guard  the  liberty  of  election,  we  are 
recommended  to  suppress  an  infection  among  the  horned  cattle — 
as  though  this  House  possessed  only  the  qualification  of  cow- 
doctors  ! " 

1  "  I  now  see  the  Middlesex  Election  in  another  light ;  I  now  see,  that  though 
this  House  has  an  unquestionable  and  long-established  right  to  expel,  a  right  to 
incapacitate  is  lodged  only  in  the  legislature  collectively. " 

2  "  Sir,  the  noble  lord  who  spoke  last,  after  extending  his  right  leg  a  full  yard 
before  his  left,  rolling  his  flaming  eyes,  and  moving  his  ponderous  frame,  has  at 
length  opened  his  mouth." 


176  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Young  Charles  Fox  made  his  first  recorded  speech  in  this  debate. 
He  complained  of  the  licence  gentlemen  had  taken  in  their  language 
that  day.  Meredith  had  said  that  the  sentence  in  the  Address, 
thanking  the  King  for  approving  the  conduct  of  the  House,  "  would 
be  construed  out  of  doors"  as  meaning  that  the  King  approved 
their  conduct  in  the  matter  of  the  Middlesex  Election — whereas 
every  endeavour  should  be  used  to  keep  the  King  out  of  present 
disputes.  Fox  said  it  did  not  mean  any  particular  measure,  or 
every  measure.  Burke  retorted  that  he  was  very  glad  to  hear  the 
House  meant  nothing  by  their  Address.  At  last  the  division  was 
taken,  and  the  Amendment  was  lost  by  254  to  138. 

The  great  struggle  with  Wilkes  had  now  entered  upon  its  second 
stage,  and  had  become  a  constitutional  question,  involving  the 
foundations  of  democratic  government.  By  the  irony  of  fate,  it 
was  waged  simultaneously  with  the  other  great  constitutional 
struggle  on  the  other  side  of  the  world.  The  retorts  of  Opposition 
to  the  sneers  of  Administration  are  worth  noting.  They  spoke  of 
their  duty  to  their  constituents,  and  when  twitted  with  having 
drawn  the  graziers  and  clothiers  of  Yorkshire  into  a  quarrel  which 
only  concerned  Middlesex,  they  replied  that  those  who  see 
oppression  approaching  must  give  warning  of  it.  As  for  hunting 
for  petitioners,  as  they  were  accused  of  doing — there  was  no 
need  for  that — the  petitioners  sought  them  ;  every  independent 
freeholder  in  the  kingdom  was  filled  with  alarm.  As  to  the 
majority  of  gentlemen  of  large  fortunes  not  having  signed  the 
petitions — this  was  not  altogether  the  fact.  But  many  gentlemen 
were  much  influenced ;  justices  were  appointed  by  the  Crown ; 
and  no  body  of  men  were  under  greater  influence  than  the  clergy 
— yet  even  some  of  them  had  signed.  And  are  the  bulk  of  the 
freeholders  of  no  account?  Is  their  opinion  of  no  weight,  when 
they  are  in  fact  the  least  amenable  of  all  to  menace,  fear,  and 
influence  ? 

The  last  relics  of  the  Patchwork  Cabinet  were  falling  to  pieces. 
Granby  had  already  resigned.  Chatham  was  urging  Camden  not 
to  commit  "the  unpardonable  weakness  to  resign  in  such  a  crisis." 
Camden's  colleagues  had  almost  ceased  to  hold  any  communication 
with  him,  even  before  his  speech  on  the  9th.  The  King  was 
only  waiting  to  find  a  new  Chancellor.  On  the  16th  the  Marquess 
of  Granby  resigned  all  his  offices,  except  the  command  of  the 
Blues.  On  the  9th  he  had  voted  for  the  Amendment,  and  had 
expressed  his  repentance  for  having  voted  the  incapacity  of  Wilkes. 
Junius'  "  Letter  to  the  King,"  which  had  appeared  in  the  Public 
Advertiser  on  December  19th,  had  made  a  tremendous  sensation — 


THE  HORNED  CATTLE  SESSION  177 

every  copy  being  sold  in  a  few  hours ;  and  in  other  letters,  which 
scorched  and  flayed,  the  Invisible  One  was  pursuing  Grafton.1 
These  letters  threw  the  nominal  head  of  the  Cabinet  into  such 
agonies  of  mind,  that  he  was  sometimes  for  days  together  too 
unnerved  to  transact  business.  At  last,  on  the  17th,  word  was 
brought  to  Camden  to  attend  at  the  Palace  that  evening,  and 
deliver  up  the  Great  Seal.  That  morning  the  King  had  provided 
himself  with  a  new  Chancellor.  Charles  Yorke,  the  second  son 
of  Lord  Chancellor  Hardwicke,  was  an  amiable  man,  of  brilliant 
literary  talents,  very  ambitious,  but  weak.  He  had  been  in  Pitt's 
first  Administration,  and  had  remained  on  with  Bute  and  Grenville. 
He  had  declined  the  Chancellorship,  when  offered  by  Rockingham 
— as  was  said,  because  he  believed  that  Administration  would  be 
unstable — but  had  consented  to  be  Attorney-General.  Since  then 
he  had  identified  himself  with  the  Rockinghams.  On  the  16th 
11  he  received  hourly  invitations  from  the  ministry  to  accept  the  seals  ; 
but  he  declined,  and  assured  several  members  of  Opposition,2 
particularly  Lord  Rockingham  himself,  that  he  never  would  or  could 
accept,  on  terms  which  he  could  not  but  look  on  as  derogatory  to 
his  particular  sentiments,  as  well  as  the  interest  of  his  country." 
On  the  morning  of  the  17  th,  he  received  a  message  from  the  King 
desiring  him  to  attend  immediately  at  the  Queen's  House.  There, 
"he  was  so  warmly  solicited  by  him  in  person,  that  unable  to 
withstand   such   repeated   requisitions,  he   assented.     On  his  way 

home,  he  called  at  Lord  R m's,  when  meeting  several  members 

of  the  Opposition,  he  told  them  what  had  happened,  at  which  they 
one  and  all  upbraided  him,  in  such  poignant  terms,  of  his  infidelity, 
that  he  was  instantly  taken  ill;  from  whence  he  was  immediately 
removed  to  his  own  house,  where  he  continued  so  till  Saturday 
evening  (the  20th)  when  he  died."  It  was  given  out  that  he  had 
broken  a  blood-vessel,  but  everyone  believed  that  he  committed 
suicide.  After  this  tragic  event,  Shelburne's  extraordinary  prediction 
was  fulfilled — the  Great  Seal  went  a-begging,  and  was  put  in  a 
Commission  of  three  Judges !  Mansfield,  who  had  refused  it, 
consented  to  sit  on  the  Woolsack,  as  Speaker  ad  interim  of  the 
House  of  Lords.  What  must  have  been  the  conditions  of  slavish 
submission  which  made  it  impossible  to  find  an  ambitious  lawyer 
willing  to  accept  the  second  great  office  of  state  in  England  ?  Nor 
was  a  Commander-in-Chief  appointed  in  Granby's  room.  The 
King  had  made  his  best  servants  afraid  or  ashamed  to  serve  him  ! 
A  brilliant  lawyer,  son  of  a  Lord  Chancellor,  had  died  a  natural  or 

1  A  copy  of  the  "  Letter  to  the  King  "  was  found  stuck  up  in  the  Palace. 

2  Letter  in  the  London  Evening  Post,  January  30,  1770. 

VOL.  I. — 12 


178  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

unnatural  death  of  mortification  at  having  been  persuaded  to  accept 
the  Chancellorship  of  England  ! 

Two  days  after  Yorke's  death,  came  on,  in  the  Lords,  the  great 
debate  on  the  State  of  the  Nation,  introduced  by  Lord  Rockingham's 
motion.  Rockingham  showed  that  the  present  state  of  things  did 
not  arise  from  any  immediate  and  temporary  cause,  but  "had 
grown  upon  us  by  degrees  from  the  moment  of  his  Majesty's 
accession  to  the  throne."  The  persons  in  whom  his  Majesty  had 
confided  "had  introduced  a  total  change  in  the  old  system  of 
English  government — adopting  the  fatal  maxim  that  the  royal 
prerogative  alone  was  sufficient  to  support  government,  to  whatever 
hands  the  Administration  should  be  committed."  Among  the 
abuses  he  complained  of  was  one  which  does  not  appear  in  the 
histories, — "  the  general  sweep  through  every  branch  and  department 
of  Administration," — removes,  "  not  merely  confined  to  the  higher 
employments,  but  carried  down,  with  the  minutest  cruelty,  to  the 
lowest  offices  of  state";  so  that  "numberless  innocent  families," 
which  had  subsisted  on  salaries  from  .£50  to  .£200  a  year,  "  had 
been  turned  out  to  misery  and  ruin,"  with  as  little  regard  to  justice  as 
compassion.  At  the  same  time,  the  increase  of  offices  in  America 
— since  it  was  admitted  that  the  revenue  to  be  expected  was  very 
inconsiderable — was  evidently  dictated  by  the  desire  to  strengthen 
the  prerogative,  by  having  a  greater  number  of  officers  there. 
Rockingham  then  spoke  of  the  debt  on  the  Civil  List — no  account 
offered,  no  enquiry  permitted  to  be  made,  not  even  the  decent 
assurance  that  such  extraordinary  expenses  should  be  avoided  in 
future.  On  the  contrary,  there  had  been  a  pretty  plain  hint  that 
the  expenses  of  the  King's  civil  government  could  not  be  confined 
within  the  revenue  granted  by  Parliament.  Then  the  attempt  to 
assert  the  King's  right  in  perpetuity — as  in  the  late  case  of  the 
Duke  of  Portland,  in  order  to  serve  the  purposes  of  an  election. 
Ireland's  affairs  were  in  confusion.  In  America,  violent  measures 
had  been  adopted — and  not  even  consistently,  for  while  the  King's 
Speeches  and  the  language  of  the  Ministry  at  home  denounced 
nothing  but  war  and  vengeance,  his  Majesty's  Governors  out  there 
were  instructed  to  promise  relief  and  satisfaction.  Here  he  quoted 
Lord  Botetourt's  speech 1  to  the  Assembly  of  Virginia,  last  May,  in 

1  Botetourt  died  of  a  fever  in  1770.  The  Virginians  liked  him.  He  was 
conciliatory,  and  was  much  chagrined  that  Ministers  wrote  saying  the  grievances 
should  be  redressed,  and  then  left  the  tea-duty  unrepealed.  Dunmore,  who 
succeeded  him,  was  haughty.  He  let  the  province  see  that  he  found  Williamsburg 
dull  after  New  York — of  which  he  was  Governor  for  a  short  time.  Washington 
was  on  very  friendly  terms  with  Dunmore. 


THE  HORNED  CATTLE  SESSION  179 

which  he  assured  that  House,  from  Lord  Hillsborough,  that  the 
present  Administration  "  never  intended  to  lay  any  further  taxes  on 
America,  and  meant  to  take  off  the  duties  on  paper,  glass,  etc.,  on 
consideration  that  such  duties  were  contrary  to  the  true  spirit  of 
commerce." 

Before  Chatham  could  second  the   motion,  Grafton  rose,  and 
said  he  would  second  it,  though  he  knew  it  was  aimed  at  himself. 
His  feeble  denials  only  sufficed  to  show  that  Rockingham's  indict- 
ment was  true ;   his  still  feebler  excuses,  that  Administration  had 
really  no  excuse  to  offer.     Then  Chatham  rose,  and  made  one  of 
his  boldest  speeches.     He  said  that  the  foundation  of  our  political 
existence  was  corrupted.    The  Constitution  had  been  grossly  violated. 
Until  that  wound  was  healed,  it  was  vain  to  recommend  union  to 
Parliament — unless  grievances  were  redressed  he  would  never  wish 
to  see  the  nation  united  again.     "  If  the  breach  in  the  Constitution 
be  effectually  repaired,  the  people  will  of  themselves  return  to  a  state 
of  tranquillity — if  not,  may  discord  prevail  for  ever  !  "     "  When  the 
liberty  of  the  subject  is  invaded,  and  all  redress  denied  him,  resist- 
ance is  justified."     "  Magna  Charta,  the  Petition  of  Right,  the  Bill 
of  Rights,  form  that  Code  which  I  call  the  Bible  of  the  English 
Constitution."     He  alluded  to  Corsica;   and   combated   Grafton's 
contention  that  only  an  immediate  attack  on  the  interest  of  this 
nation  can  authorise  interposition  in  defence  of  weaker  States.     He 
thought  we  ought  to  have  interposed  on  behalf  of  Corsica.     Next, 
he  referred  to  the  Civil  List — the  waste  of  the  public  money  was 
not  so  important  as  the  pernicious  purpose  to  which  we  had  reason 
to  suspect  that   money  had   been   applied.     For  some  years  past 
there  had  been  an  influx  of  wealth  into   this  country,  which  had 
been  attended  with  many  fatal  consequences,  because  it  had  not 
been  the  regular,  natural  produce  of  labour  and  industry.     "The 
riches  of  Asia  have  been  poured  upon  us,  and  have  brought  with 
them   not   only  Asiatic  luxury,  but,  I   fear,    Asiatic   principles   of 
government — the  importers  of  foreign  gold  have  forced  their  way 
into  Parliament,  by  such  a   torrent   of  private   corruption  as   no 
private   hereditary   fortune   could   resist.     The   corruption   of    the 
people  is  the  great  original  cause  of  the  discontents  of  the  people 
themselves,  of  the  enterprise  of  the  Crown,  and  the  notorious  decay 
of  the  internal  vigor  of  the  constitution."     He  then  digressed  into 
some  remarks   on   rotten   boroughs,  at  strange  variance  with   his 
general  principles.     He  thought  these  boroughs,  "corrupt  as  they 
are,  must  be  considered  as  the  natural  infirmity  of  the  Constitution 
— like  the  infirmities  of  the  body,  we  must  bear  them  with  patience. 
The  limb   is   mortified,   but   amputation    might   be  death."     He 


1 86  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

thought  there  were  gentler  remedies.  The  representation  of 
the  counties  was  on  the  whole  pure  and  uncorrupted.  That 
of  the  great  cities  was  equally  respectable,  "  and  there  are  many  of 
the  larger  trading  towns  which  still  preserve  their  independence — it 
is  in  these  that  the  strength  of  the  constitution  lies,  not  in  the  little 
dependent  boroughs."  He  would  increase  that  strength,  "  because 
I  think  it  is  the  only  security  we  have  against  the  profligacy  of  the 
times,  the  corruption  of  the  people,  and  the  ambition  of  the 
Crown." 1 

On  the  28th,  the  Duke  of  Grafton  resigned,  and  Lord  North 
became  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury — an  office  he  was  to  hold  for 
twelve  years.2  The  last  remains  of  the  Whigs  were  cleared  out. 
The  only  names  of  note  among  their  successors  were  the  truculent 
bully,  Thurlow,  who  now  became  Solicitor-General,  and  Charles  Fox, 
now  a  Junior  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  The  work  of  Bute  and  the 
King  was  complete.  For  twelve  years  the  King  was  to  be  his  own 
Minister.  If  his  nominal  Ministers  had,  as  Burke  said,  no  "  kind 
of  system,  right  or  wrong;  but  only  invented  occasionally  some 
miserable  tale  for  the  day,  in  order  meanly  to  sneak  out  of  difficulties 
into  which  they  had  proudly  strutted,"  it  was  because  they  had  no 
policy  but  the  King's  will.  To  please  the  King  they  strutted  into 
those  dangers,  and,  to  cover  that  this  was  their  motive,  they  invented 
those  miserable  tales.  North's  speeches  are  so  often  a  tissue  of 
transparent  sophistries,  because  he  had  nothing  better  to  say.  His 
own  judgment  told  him  that  the  policy  was  what  Opposition  said  it 
was ;  but  he  had  to  please  the  King. 

Yet  even  now,  with  the  King  supreme  in  the  Cabinet,  and  with 
a  venal  House  of  Commons,  whose  support  had  been  bought  and  sold 
for  two  millions  sterling,  Opposition  kept  up  a  stubborn  fight — always 
worsted,  but  always  returning  to  the  assault.  On  January  24  there 
had  been  another  acrimonious  debate  in  the  Commons,  on  a  Motion 
for  Redress  of  Grievances  before  granting  Supply.  Next  day  the 
famous  motion  was  moved  by  Dowdeswell,  "  That  in  matters  of 

ELECTION  THIS  HOUSE  IS  BOUND  TO  JUDGE  ACCORDING  TO  THE  LAW  OF 

the  Land."  The  motion  put  the  House  into  a  dilemma — to  deny  the 
principle  was  to  give  Parliament  "  a  monstrous  and  alarming  power  "  ; 
there  was  indeed  no  limit  to  what  a  House  packed  with  King's  Friends 
might  vote.  But  to  admit  it  would  inevitably  lead  to  the  rescinding 
of  the  vote  on  the  Middlesex  Election.     So  North,  who  was  good 

1  Chatham  was  for  a  "  more  equal  representation,  by  additional  knights  of 
the  shire." — Letter  of  177 1. 

2  "Your  Grace  was  the  firm  minister  of  yesterday ;  Lord  North  is  the  firm 
minister  of  to-day.  "—-Junius  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  February  14,  1770. 


THE  HORNED  CATTLE  SESSION  181 

at  such  expedients,  proposed  as  a  rider,  "  And  that  the  judgment  of 
the  House,  declared  in  the  expulsion  of  John  Wilkes,  was  agreeable 
to  the  said  Law  of  the  Land."  And  so  the  motion  passed,  by  224 
to  180. 

In  the  Lords,  Rockingham  moved  the  same  declaration,1  and 
Chatham  made  a  powerful  speech.  After  the  division,  though  it  was 
now  past  midnight,  Lord  Marchmont  moved,  "  That  any  Resolution 
directly  or  indirectly  impeaching  a  judgment  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  in  a  matter  where  their  Jurisdiction  is  Final,  would  be  a 
violation  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  that  House."  Opposition 
said  that  "  the  Scotch  kept  this  motion  in  their  pockets  " — as  neither 
Marchmont  nor  Mansfield  (who  supported  it)  had  opened  their 
mouths  till  now.  Marchmont  on  this  occasion,  with  insolence 
scarcely  credible,  threatened  Opposition  that  if  they  went  but  one 
step  farther  they  would  justify  the  calling  in  "  foreign  assistance." 
The  Duke  of  Richmond  asked  him  [what  he  meant  by  "foreign 
assistance,"  but  Marchmont  shuffled  it  off.  Egmont  said  the 
petitions  were  treasonable — the  people  had  no  right  to  present 
them.  Chatham  in  vain  pleaded  for  an  adjournment,  if  but  for  two 
days — "  If  the  Constitution  must  be  wounded,  let  it  not  receive  its 
mortal  stab  at  this  dark  and  midnight  hour."  But  at  half-past  one 
in  the  morning  this  monstrous  proposition  was  put  and  carried. 
Thus  the  Lords  gave  the  Commons  a  sort  of  royal  prerogative, 
whereby  they  must  never  be  said  to  do  wrong.  They  trusted 
always  to  have  a  Lower  House  as  venal  as  this. 

In  the  debate  on  Lord  Craven's  motion 2  for  steps  to  be  taken 
"for  an  increase  of  seamen  in  the  Navy,  to  protect  the  trade  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects,"  Chatham  made  a  speech  which  sheds  a 
curious  light  on  the  early  years  of  the  reign  of  George  111,  and 
partly,  no  doubt,  accounts  for  some  inconsistencies  in  Chatham's 
own  conduct.  After  condemning  the  conduct  of  the  Ministry  in 
almost  every  particular  concerning  the  Navy,  he  went  on  to  speak 
of  secret  influence,  which  "  had  subsisted  from  the  first  moment  of 
his  Majesty's  accession."  He  called  it  dangerous,  base,  uncon- 
stitutional and  wicked.  It  had  undermined  and  overturned  every 
administration,  however  "constituted  or  supported."  He  spoke  of 
"  an  invisible,  irresponsible  influence — of  the  pernicious  counsels  of 
a  favourite,  who  had  occasioned  all  the  unhappiness  and  disturbances 
in  the  nation,"  and  whose  agents  had  extended  his  pernicious 
politics  and  principles  to  the  government  of  the  colonies.  Though 
this  favourite  was  at  that  moment  abroad,  his  influence,  by  his 
confidential  agents,  was  as  potent  as  if  he  were  present.  "Who 
1  February  2.  2  March  2. 


1 82  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

does  not  know  the  Mazarinade  of  France — that  Mazarin  absent  was 
Mazarin  still  ?  "  The  late  Peace  showed  his  influence.  Then  raising 
his  voice,  he  said  deliberately,  "  This  country  was  sold  at  the  late 
Peace ;  we  were  sold  by  the  Court  of  Turin  to  the  Court  of 
France  " 1 — he  would  not  then  say  what  other  persons  were  concerned, 
but  what  he  had  stated  was  a  fact.  He  himself  had  been  duped  by 
this  influence  when  he  least  suspected  treachery — in  particular  at  the 
time  when  he  was  taken  ill,  and  obliged  to  go  to  Bath  "  for  a  short 
week."  Before  he  set  out,  he  had  formed  some  plans  with  great  care — 
they  were,  he  believed,  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  country — they 
had  been  approved  in  Council;  the  King  himself  had  given  his 
approbation.  But  when  he  returned,  he  found  his  plans  were  all 
vanished  into  thin  air.  He  was  going  on,  when  Grafton  rose,  "  to 
defend  the  King — though  if  I  understand  rightly  the  words  which 
have  been  spoken,  they  are  only  the  effects  of  a  distempered  mind, 
brooding  over  its  own  discontent."  Chatham  replied,  "  I  rise 
neither  to  deny,  to  retract,  nor  to  explain  away,  the  words  I  have 
spoken."  His  Majesty  had  always  been  "  every  thing  gracious  and 
amiable  in  the  closet  " — the  obstacles  of  which  he  complained  came 
from  the  secret  influence,  working  first  by  secret  treachery,  then  by 
official  influence,  then  in  public  councils.  "A  long  train  of  these 
practices  has  at  length  unwillingly  convinced  me  that  there  is 
something  behind  the  throne  greater  than  the  King  himself."  As 
to  the  noble  duke,  as  soon  as  I  was  taken  ill,  he  gradually  deviated 
from  everything  that  had  been  settled  and  solemnly  agreed  to — 
"  till  at  last  there  were  not  left  two  planks  together  of  the  ship 
which  had  been  originally  launched.  As  to  a  distempered  mind,  I 
have  a  drawer  full  of  proofs  that  my  principles  have  never  given  way 
to  any  disease." 

Next  day,  in  the  debate  on  the  Civil  List,  Chatham  spoke  in 
support  of  a  motion  for  Enquiry.     "  I  can  never  consent  to  increase 

1  Wraxall  (Own  Times)  says  that  John  Ross  Mackay,  who  had  been  private 
secretary  to  Bute,  and  afterwards  for  seventeen  years  Treasurer  of  the  Ordnance, 
once  after  dinner  at  Lord  Besborough's,  in  Cavendish  Square,  in  1790,  said  that  the 
Peace  of  1 763  was  carried  by  money — he  was  the  channel.  "  With  my  own  hand 
I  secured  above  120  votes  on  that  vital  question  to  Ministers.  Eighty  thousand 
pounds  were  set  apart  for  the  purpose.  Forty  members  of  the  House  of  Commons 
received  from  me  a  thousand  pounds  each.  To  eighty  others  I  paid  five  hundred 
pounds  apiece. "  Wilkes  knew  this  in  1 764,  and  that  this  caused  the  debt  on  the  Civil 
List.  Robinson,  and  under  him  Brummell,  did  this  business  during  the  American 
War  (Bradshaw  did  it  for  Grafton).  But  Wraxall  thinks  that  towards  the  close 
of  North's  Ministry  the  practice  declined,  or  at  any  rate  became  more  decent ; 
members  were  no  longer  paid  in  bank-notes,  out  of  "the  minister's  pocket-book," 
as  in  the  time  of  Walpole,  Pelham,  and  most  others. 


THE  HORNED  CATTLE  SESSION  183 

fraudulently  the  civil  establishment,  under  pretence  of  making  up 
deficiencies,  nor  will  I  bid  so  high  for  royal  favour:  and  the 
minister  who  is  bold  enough  to  spend  the  people's  money  before 
it  is  granted  (even  though  it  were  not  for  the  purpose  of  corrupting 
their  representatives),  and  thereby  leaving  the  people  of  England 
no  alternative,  but  either  to  disgrace  their  Sovereign,  by  not  paying 
his  debts,  or  to  become  the  prey  of  every  unthrifty  or  corrupt 
minister — such  minister  deserves  death."  Then — apparently  on 
some  sudden  impulse,  for  the  words  have  no  connection  with  what 
goes  before  or  follows — he  made  the  well-known  allusion  to 
George  11.  "  The  late  good  old  King  had  something  of  humanity, 
and  amongst  other  royal  and  manly  virtues,  he  possessed  justice, 
truth,  and  sincerity  in  an  eminent  degree ;  so  that  he  had  something 
about  him  by  which  it  was  possible  to  know  whether  he  liked  you 
or  disliked  you."  Then  he  spoke  of  pensions.  "  I  have  been  told 
I  have  a  pension,  and  that  I  have  recommended  others — It  is 
true,  and  here  is  a  list  of  them — you  will  find  the  names  of 
General  Amherst  and  Sir  Edward  Hawke — they  were  given  as 
rewards  for  real  services — they  were  honourably  earned  in  a  different 
sort  of  campaigns  than  those  at  Westminster." 

Next  he  spoke  of  Camden,  whose  public  and  private  virtues 
only  "  made  his  station  more  precarious."  "  My  suspicions  have 
been  justified.  His  integrity  has  made  him  once  more  a  poor 
and  a  private  man ;  he  was  dismissed  for  the  opinion  he  gave  in 
favour  of  the  right  of  election  by  the  people."  Here  Marchmont 
called  Chatham  to  order — some  lords  even  cried,  "To  the  bar, 
to  the  bar  ! "  Marchmont  moved  that  the  Earl  of  Chatham's  words 
be  taken  down.  Chatham  promptly  seconded  the  motion.  "I 
neither  deny,  retract,  nor  explain  the  words.  I  do  re-affirm  the 
fact,  and  I  desire  to  meet  the  sense  of  the  House;  I  appeal  to 
the  honour  of  every  lord  in  this  House,  whether  he  has  not  the 
same  conviction."  Rockingham,  Temple,  and  many  other  lords 
"did  upon  their  honour  affirm  the  same."  Sandwich  and 
Weymouth  would  have  withdrawn  the  motion;  but  Marchmont, 
encouraged  by  Mansfield,  persisted,  and  moved  that  nothing 
had  appeared  to  justify  such  an  assertion.  Then  it  was  moved 
to  adjourn.  The  clerk  read  the  words  spoken  by  Chatham — 
"  That  the  late  Lord  Chancellor  was  dismissed  for  giving  his  vote 
in  this  House."  Then  Marchmont's  second  motion  was  moved 
and  carried.  But  Chatham  continued.  "My  words,"  he  said, 
"remain  unretracted,  unexplained,  and  re-affirmed.  I  desire  to 
know  whether  I  am  condemned  or  acquitted  ?  "  No  answer  being 
given,  he  went  on :  "  If  I  am  to  go  off  acquitted,  I  do  now  declare 


1 84  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

to  you,  that  there  are  many  men  to  impeach,  and  many  measures 
to  arraign;  and  by  God's  blessing,  I  will  arraign  and  impeach 
them."  He  was  reproached  for  having  advised  the  King 
to  take  Grafton — he  had  pushed  him  on,  forced  him  on 
the  King,  as  First  Minister.  "  I  did  indeed  recommend  him 
for  the  Treasury,"  said  Chatham  ;  "  but  I  never  could  be  sup- 
posed to  have  thought  of  that  boy  as  the  First  Minister  of 
a  great  nation.  I  advised  his  Majesty  to  take  him,  but  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  time  as  well  as  tide ;  and  the  conduct  of 
the  noble  duke  has  convinced  me,  that  I  am  as  likely  to  be 
deceived  as  any  other  man,  that  I  am  as  fallible  as  my  betters." 
Then  reverting  to  the  question,  he  quoted  Walpole's  words, 
"Those  who  gave  the  power  of  blood,  gave  blood."  So  those 
who  gave  the  means  of  corruption,  gave  corruption.  "I  will 
trust  no  sovereign  in  the  world  with  the  means  of  purchasing  the 
liberties  of  the  people."  The  King  had  assured  him  he  never 
intended  to  exceed  the  allowance  made  by  Parliament ;  therefore, 
"at  a  time  when  there  are  no  marks  of  personal  dissipation  in 
our  King,"  and  "no  marks  of  any  considerable  sums  having 
been  expended  to  procure  the  secrets  of  our  enemies,"  it  is 
most  extraordinary  that  a  request  for  enquiry  should  be  refused. 
"  Does  the  King  mean,  by  undrawing  the  purse-strings  of  his 
subjects,  to  spread  corruption  through  the  people,  to  procure 
a  Parliament,  like  an  infamous  packed  jury,  ready  to  acquit  his 
Ministers  at  all  adventures  ?  I  do  not  say,  my  lords,  that  corruption 
lies  here,  or  that  corruption  lies  there,  but  if  any  gentleman  in 
England  was  to  ask  me  whether  I  thought  both  Houses  of 
Parliament  were  bribed,  I  should  laugh  in  his  face,  and  say, 
'Sir,  it  is  not  so.'"  "An  enquiry  into  the  Civil  List  is 
expedient,  proper,  and  just;  a  refusal  of  it  at  this  time  will  not 
add  dignity  to  disgrace — it  will  only  add  ridicule  and  folly  to 
enormity." 

The  Lords  rejected  the  motion  for  Enquiry. 

Nothing  was  less  desired  than  the  asking  of  questions. 
Especially  must  the  allusion  to  "  the  late  Peace  "  have  made  some 
quake  who  heard  Chatham,  for  on  the  24th  of  January,  Dr. 
Musgrave  had  been  examined  at  the  Bar  of  the  Commons,  on 
his  statements  as  to  the  means  whereby  the  late  Peace  was  obtained. 
The  doctor  had  been  told  in  Paris  that  eight  million  livres  had 
been  sent  into  England  to  buy  a  peace,  and  that  the  money  was 
divided  between  Lord  Bute,  Henry  Fox,  and  the  Princess 
Dowager !  That  mysterious  personage  the  Chevalier  d'Eon 
was   closely   connected  with   this   story,   which    the    House  pro- 


THE  HORNED  CATTLE  SESSION  185 

nounced  to   be  "in  the  highest   degree  frivolous   and   unworthy 
of  credit." 1 

1  The  mysterious  Frenchman  (later  called  M.  le  Beau)  seems  to  have 
denied  that  the  Princess'  was  the  third  name.  "  All  he  knew  was  that  it  was 
a  lady,  mistress  of  a  man  of  great  quality."  Madame  de  Pompadour  was 
mentioned  as  being  bribed  on  the  French  side.  No  doubt  there  was  something 
in  it.  Persons  of  great  importance  were  brought  in  by  Musgrave's  informant, 
and  we  never  hear  that  any  of  them  complained  of  the  use  made  of  their  names 
by  Musgrave.  Both  English  and  French  seem  to  have  been  anxious  not  to 
enquire  too  closely  into  the  matter. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  REVENUE  ACT 

"  A  greater  misfortune  cannot  befall  a  trading  Nation  than  to  have  a  Minister 
at  the  head  of  its  Finances  totally  ignorant  of  the  Nature,  the  History,  and 
the  general  State  of  Commerce,  yet  at  the  same  Time  so  all-sufficient,  so 
self-enamoured,  as  to  prefer  his  own  reveries  to  the  soundest  Advice." — "  Anglo- 
Americanus,"  in  the  Public  Advertiser,  Feb.  8,  1766. 

' '  They  never  had  any  kind  of  system,  right  or  wrong :  but  only  invented 
occasionally  some  miserable  tale  for  the  day,  in  order  meanly  to  sneak  out  of 
difficulties  into  which  they  had  proudly  strutted.  .  .  .  They  were  put  to  all  these 
shifts  and  devices,  full  of  meanness  and  full  of  mischief,  in  order  to  pilfer 
piecemeal  a  repeal  of  an  act  which  they  had  not  the  generous  courage,  when 
they  found  and  felt  their  error,  honorably  and  fairly  to  disclaim.  By  such 
management  ...  so  paltry  a  sum  as  three-pence  in  the  eyes  of  a  financier,  so 
insignificant  an  article  as  tea  in  the  eyes  of  a  philosopher,  have  shaken  the 
pillars  of  a  commercial  empire  that  circled  the  whole  globe." — Burke  on  American 
Taxation,  April  19,  1774. 

"The  body  of  the  English  people  must  assert  their  own  cause  .  .  .  they  will 
not  surrender  their  birthright  to  ministers,  parliaments,  or  kings. 

' '  We  can  never  be  really  in  danger,  till  the  forms  of  parliament  are  made  use 
of  to  destroy  the  substance  of  our  civil  and  political  liberties ;  till  parliament 
itself  betrays  its  trust,  by  contributing  to  establish  new  principles  of  government." 
—Junius,  on  the  City  Address  and  his  Majesty's  answer,  March  19,  177°* 

Three  days  after  this  scene  in  the  Lords,  the  affairs  of  America 
came  before  the  Commons,  in  the  shape  of  a  petition  from  the 
merchants  of  London  trading  to  North  America.1  Its  presenta- 
tion was  made  the  opportunity  for  the  long-promised  Bill  to  repeal 
the  Revenue  Act.  As  soon  as  the  petition  had  been  read,  Lord 
North  moved  the  repeal  of  all  duties  laid  on  by  that  Act,  with  the 
exception  of  that  on  tea.2  In  his  speech  he  said  of  the  Revenue 
Act,  that  it  "must  astonish  every  reasonable  man  to  think  how 
so   preposterous   a   law   could   originally   obtain  existence  from  a 

1  March  5. 

2  "I  see  nothing  uncommercial  in  making  the  Americans  pay  a  duty  upon 

tea.     I  give  no  opinion,  one  way  or  the  other,  what  it  may  be  right  to  do  in 

a  future  session ;   provided  America  shall  have  behaved  with  duty  and  proper 

respect,  and  take  no  undue  steps  to  enforce  the  repeal  of  this  act." — Lord  North, 

April  19,  1774. 

186 


THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  REVENUE  ACT  187 

British  legislature."1  He  knew  how  extremely  unacceptable  to 
many  gentlemen  any  favour  to  America  would  be,  but  in  the 
vehemence  of  their  resentment  against  their  fellow-subjects  beyond 
the  Atlantic,  they  must  not  forget  the  prosperity  of  this  kingdom. 
As  to  the  duty  on  tea,  he  did  not  see  the  Americans  had  any 
mighty  reason  to  find  fault — we  are  taking  off  another  tax  of  a 
shilling  in  the  pound.  This  is  only  threepence,  so  they  will 
save  ninepence  on  every  pound  they  buy.  They  can't  call  that 
oppression  !  If  we  abolish  this  tax,  they  will  only  think  we  are 
frightened,  and  we  shall  be  giving  up  our  just  right  to  tax  them. 
"The  properest  time  to  exert  our  right  of  taxation,  is  when 
the  right  is  refused."  They  will  soon  be  tired  of  doing  without 
our  goods.  It  is  true  our  exports  to  North  America  have  fallen 
off — in  1768  they  were  ^2,378,000,  and  in  1769,  only  ;£i, 634,000; 
but  this  is  not  as  bad  as  it  looks,  because,  foreseeing  the  non- 
importation scheme,  the  importers  laid  in  a  double  quantity 
in  1768. 

Governor  Pownall  urged  complete  repeal,  not  "  as  an  American 
measure,"  for  the  leading  people  there  do  not  now  wish  it  to  be 
repealed.  The  measure  has  had  the  effect  of  making  them  look  to 
their  own  internal  native  supplies,  and  has  raised  a  spirit  for  labour 
and  manufacture  within.  "It  has  placed  their  commerce  on 
economy,  instead  of  luxury."  Their  leaders  think  this  state  of 
things  salutary,  and  wish  it  to  continue.  Then  he  went  minutely 
into  the  state  of  British  trade  to  North  America — "  It  is  in  an  alarm- 
ing suspense."  He  took  the  rise  and  fall  of  exchange,  all  over  the 
colonies — this  rise  and  fall  is  your  commercial  barometer!  The 
exchange  has  fallen,  and  in  proportion  as  it  has  fallen  so  has  your 
trade  diminished.  Then  he  showed  them  the  folly  they  had  com- 
mitted in  taxing  articles  of  our  own  trade ;  how,  at  first,  having  no 
other  shop  to  go  to,  the  colonists  had  been  obliged  to  allow  us  to 
put  our  own  prices  on  commodities  we  supplied ;  but  we  had  gone 
still  farther,  and  taxed  them  on  these  commodities.  "You  have 
treated  us  as  the  overseers  of  great  works  and  manufactures  treat 
the  poor  labourers  under  their  direction.  You  set  the  price  of  our 
labour,  and  you  set  also  the  price  of  those  supplies  which  we  must 
purchase  by  the  fruits  of  our  labour ;  while  you  are  enabled  to  con- 
fine us  to  the  purchasing  them  from  you  alone — and  would  you 

1  "When  we  consider  this  law  as  a  measure  of  finance,  the  fact  upon  your 
table  proclaims  its  insufficiency,  for  the  sum  returned,  as  its  whole  net  produce, 
amounts  but  to  £29$  and  a  few  shillings.  ...  It  lays  a  duty  upon  painters' 
colours.  .  .  .  Can  anyone  imagine  that  there  is  no  red  or  yellow  ochre  on  that 
great  continent  ? " — Pownall. 


1 88  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

superadd  a  tax  to  all  this  ?  "  Then  the  tea.  By  your  bargain  with 
the  East  India  Company,  you  have  made  it  no  longer  the  interest 
of  this  great  corporate  merchant  to  export  teas  to  North  America. 
For  as  there  is  a  drawback  of  25  per  cent,  on  every  pound  of  tea 
exported  from  this  island,  and  the  Company  is  bound  by  the  agree- 
ment to  make  good  every  deficiency  caused  by  this  drawback,  it 
would  rather  not  export.  It  would  rather  the  Dutch  supplied 
North  America  with  tea.  This  case  is  infinitely  more  anti-com- 
mercial than  any  trifling  duty  laid  on  your  own  manufactures.  In 
the  first  place  this  drawback  of  25  per  cent,  does  not  amount  to  a 
shilling  (as  has  been  said),  but  only  to  7d.,  or  thereabout,  in 
the  pound  —  so  it  can  only  operate  as  a  bounty  of  4d.  But 
it  is  no  bounty  at  all;  because  whatever  duty  the  East  India 
Company  pays  originally  at  the  Custom  House,  on  importing  teas 
from  Asia,  that  sum  is  added  to  the  price  of  their  tea  in  their  sales. 
So  the  exporter  to  America  draws  back  only  that  sum  he  has 
already  paid  in  the  price  of  his  purchase ;  "  by  which  means,  there 
is  an  advantage  in  favour  of  the  Dutch  teas  imported  into  the 
colonies  against  the  British  teas,  of  25  per  cent,  difference — 
surely  more  anti-commercial  than  the  duties  you  propose  to 
repeal ! "  And  the  tea  will  not  raise  enough  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
collection — it  won't  raise  more  than  ^7000  a  year,  if  that.  And  all 
this,  to  keep  up  your  claim  to  a  right  you  cannot  enforce ! 

Pownall  also  showed  that  if  there  was  not  "  that  suspense  of 
trade  in  this  country  "  of  which  merchants  complained,  they  would 
not  be  obliged  to  remit  specie  instead  of  goods  to  America — the 
balance  of  trade  in  our  favour  would  supply  all  that  was  wanted 
there,  whereas,  as  was  shown  by  the  "  accounts  of  extraordinaries  " 
now  lying  on  the  table,  ^76,000  had  been  advanced  to  the  con- 
tractors to  enable  them  to  purchase  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
bullion. 

George  Grenville,  always  so  intensely  sore  on  the  question  of 
America,  said  he  felt  called  on  to  speak,  "because  the  principal 
confusions  of  that  country  are  supposed  to  originate  with  me."  But 
if  the  Stamp  Act  was  injudicious  in  mode,  it  was  at  least  salutary 
in  intention,  and  meant  for  the  common  good  of  both  countries — 
the  Revenue  Act  was  "  diametrically  repugnant  to  the  principles  of 
commerce,"  yet  did  us  no  good — "it  does  not  bring  in  ,£16,000  a 
year."  He  could  not  suppose  partial  repeal  would  "reduce  the 
colonies  to  temper,"  and  yet  a  total  repeal  would  not  "  sufficiently 
provide  for  the  dignity  of  the  nation."  "  I  shall  not  therefore  give 
my  voice  on  the  present  question." 

Barre"  said  we  were  undoing  with  one  hand  what  we  did  with  the 


THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  REVENUE  ACT    r8g 

other — having  promised  the  East  India  Company  to  put  its  teas 
upon  the  same  level  as  those  of  the  Dutch  ("  whose  moderation  in 
price  obtains  a  preference  at  every  market "),  we  laid  a  fresh  duty  on 
tea,  and  laid  it  so  that  it  must  act  as  an  absolute  prohibition  to  the 
sale  of  the  Company's  teas  throughout  English  North  America.  In 
1768,  the  teas  sent  to  America  amounted  to  ^132,000,  whereas  in 
1769  they  were  only  ^44, 000,  "and  probably  this  year  will  not 
exceed  a  quarter  of  that  sum,"  as  the  colonists  are  daily  more  angry 
at  our  proceedings,  and  agreements  have  been  entered  into  for  the 
absolute  disuse  of  tea. 

But  no  argument  could  prevail.  The  anti-commercial  Act, 
admitted  to  be  preposterous,  was  repealed  partially,  with  the  avowed 
object  of  retaining  the  power  of  passing  other  anti-commercial  Acts. 
By  204  to  142  the  tax  on  tea  was  retained.  The  204  were  voting 
the  Independence  of  America. 

Governor  Bernard  was  largely  responsible  for  the  retention  of 
the  tea-duty.  He  it  was  who  persuaded  Ministers  that  the  Non- 
importation Associations  were  breaking  up — America  was  in  the 
greatest  distress  for  want  of  our  goods,  could  no  longer  subsist 
without  them,  and  must  submit  to  any  terms  we  chose  to  impose. 
It  was  pretended  that  the  duty  on  tea  was  left  to  serve  the  East 
India  Company;  in  reality,  it  was  left — as  was  frankly  admitted 
later — to  preserve  the  right  to  tax.  If  the  intention  had  been  to 
serve  the  Company,  the  duty  would  have  been  taken  off  Singlo. 
America  drank  Bohea ;  but  it  was  not  Bohea,  it  was  "  the  sort  called 
Singlo"  which  lay  so  heavy  on  the  Company's  hands,  and 
Ministers  hoped  to  tempt  the  Americans  by  the  offer  of  good  tea, 
not  of  the  inferior  sort.  Bohea  was  the  more  saleable.  If  the 
duty  had  been  taken  off  Singlo,  and  those  millions  of  pounds  thus 
worked  off  on  America,  the  Company  could  have  got  rid  of  its 
Bohea.  The  Company  must  be  supposed  to  have  understood  its 
own  business,  and  the  Company  was  earnest  for  the  removal  of  the 
duty. 

It  seemed  as  though  an  evil  fate  pursued  Administration  in  all 
its  dealings  with  America.  On  the  21st  of  April — less  than  six 
weeks  after  the  Repeal  of  the  Revenue  Act — very  ugly  news  came 
from  America  of  a  riot  in  Boston.  The  soldiers  had  fired  on  the 
people,  the  alarm-bells  had  been  rung,  the  inhabitants  had  taken  up 
arms.  Captain  Preston,  whose  men  fired,  was  in  custody.  Next 
day  more  than  3500  men,  well-armed,  had  marched  into  Boston, 
and  as  many  more  were  expected — lastly,  the  people  had  compelled 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  to  remove  all  the  troops  to  the  Castle. 

Strange  to  say,  Ministers  now  seemed  in  no  hurry  to  do  any- 


190  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

thing.     It  was  near  the  time  for  Parliament  to  be  prorogued,  and 

they   were   willing    to  wait    till    it   was    gone.     But    on    May   8 

Governor  Pownall  moved  for  an  Address  to  the  Throne,  setting 

forth  all   the   disputes   in   America,   since   the   appointment  of  a 

Commander-in-Chief.     He  asked  for  an  enquiry,  to  see  whether 

the   Crown   had   been  misinformed,  whether   Ministers   had  "by 

secret  narratives,  which  have  been  suppressed  among  a  few,"  made 

suggestions  of  treasons,  and  told  his  Majesty  that  America  will 

not  be  subject  to  lawful  authority.     Also  to  know  what  strange 

cause   can  have  produced  so  strange  an   effect,  and  brought  so 

total  a  change  in  the  temper  of  subjects  as  loyal  and  affectionate 

as   any   his    Majesty   has   within    his    dominions — especially   the 

people  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  whom  Pownall  had  the  honour  to 

know  "  in  their  better  days,"  when  his  Majesty's  Government  there 

was  in  a  very  different  state  from  what  it  was  now.     There  was 

never   a   more   affectionate   colony.     "They  have   no  other  idea 

of  this  country  than  as  their  home;  they  have  no  other  word  to 

express  it,  and  till  of  late,  it  has  been  constantly  expressed  by  the 

name  of  home."     Think  of  the  services  of  that  province  in  the 

expedition  to  Quebec,  think  of  the  Siege  of  Louisburg,  think  of 

Crown   Point.     When  they  were  only  asked  to  raise  2300  men, 

as   a   "quotha"   of   7000,    they   raised    the   whole    7000.     They 

kept  up  a  ship  of  war,  and  an  armed  sloop,  to  protect  the  trade  in 

those  seas.     And  for  these  expenses  they  raised  during  the  war 

^80,000  per  annum.     Now  they  are  changed,  and  I  will  tell  you 

why.     We   suspended    the    Assembly   of  New  York,   because  it 

"would  not  will  as  we  had  willed,  and  this  spread  an  alarming 

apprehension  throughout  the  continent,  which  we  have  confirmed 

by   threatening    to   dissolve    other    Assemblies,   if  they   will   not 

rescind  resolutions  come  to  in  their  deliberative  capacity." 

The  Boston  Council  has  been  represented  as  totally  democratic — 
formed  and  directed  by  the  will  of  the  people;  but  "as  it  hath 
more  authority  within  the  province  than  any  other  council,  in  any 
other  part  of  his  Majesty's  American  dominions,"  so  it  has  always 
been  more  ready  to  comply  with  every  matter  where  the  honour 
or  interest  of  his  Majesty's  government  there  could  be  concerned, 
than  any  other  council,  formed  on  any  other  plan. 

The  whole  of  this  careful  and  learned  speech  was  a  protest 
against  the  appointment  of  a  military  officer,  over  whom  two 
Governors  had  successively  declared  they  had  no  command. 
This  martial  law  it  is  which  has  caused  this  state  of  confusion; 
this  is  what  has  alarmed  the  people. 

The  same  day   the  House   debated   on  Burke's  Resolutions. 


THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  REVENUE  ACT  191 

They  were  to  the  effect  that  the  disorders  in  America  had  been 
caused  by  "ill-judged  and  inconsistent  Instructions;  by  dissolving 
Assemblies,  and  yet  allowing  the  new  Assemblies  to  sit  without 
disavowing  their  former  acts."  Also  that  it  is  "unwarrantable, 
dangerous,  and  an  high  breach  of  the  privilege  of  this  House," 
to  promise  to  the  American  Assemblies  the  interposition  or 
influence  of  his  Majesty,  or  of  his  confidential  servants,  with 
this  House.  That  the  faith  of  the  Crown  ought  not  to  be 
pledged  to  the  said  Assemblies,  for  the  laying  on,  or  laying  off 
of  any  taxes  or  duties  whatsoever.  And  that  to  lay  before  this 
House  suggestions  of  treason,  or  misprisions  of  treason,  in 
America,  in  order  to  bring  this  House  into  a  plan  for  punishing 
such  supposed  treasons,  when  in  reality  no  such  treason  exists, 
is  an  audacious  insult  to  the  dignity  of  Parliament. 

But  all  this  came  to  nothing.  A  majority  of  more  than  a 
hundred  negatived  the  Resolutions.  Nor  had  the  debates  in  the 
Lords  any  better  fortune.  On  May  14  Chatham's  motion  for 
an  Address  to  the  King  to  dissolve  Parliament  was  negatived 
without  a  division.  In  the  debate  of  the  18th  the  American 
papers  were  read — among  them  some  of  Hillsborough's  letters. 
The  Duke  of  Richmond  charged  Ministers  with  shameful  neglect 
of  a  situation  hourly  growing  more  alarming.  He  moved  a  set 
of  Resolutions  blaming  particular  actions — especially  Hillsborough's 
letter  to  Governor  Bernard  with  the  order  to  dissolve  the  Assembly ; 
and  his  letter  to  Lord  Botetourt,  Governor  of  Virginia,  which 
personally  involved  his  Majesty  in  the  measures  of  his  Ministers. 
He  also  severely  blamed  the  "suggestions"  of  treasons  which  did 
not  exist,  and  to  punish  which  no  steps  had  been  taken,  even  if 
they  did  exist. 

Hillsborough  hinted  that  the  noble  duke  thought  it  criminal 
to  vindicate  the  supremacy  of  the  Mother  Country.  "My 
criminality  is  my  principal  boast.  The  star  of  America  shall 
never  have  my  voice,  to  shine  either  upon  the  destruction  or  the 
disgrace  of  Englishmen.  The  colonies  are  our  subjects."  I  trust 
we  shall  "  beg  our  subjects  to  condescendingly  yield  obedience  to 
our  inherent  pre-eminence."  It  is  entirely  the  fault  of  Opposition 
that  we  have  not  come  to  an  accommodation  of  these  unfortunate 
dissensions — they  are  continually  exciting  the  Colonies  to  demand 
concessions  which  the  Mother  Country  cannot  consistently  allow. 
They  deplore  the  loss  of  trade,  and  advise  the  Americans  not 
to  deal  with  us.  "In  fact,  my  lords,  their  whole  patriotism  is 
a  despicable  avarice  of  employment" — they  want  to  distress 
Administration,  not  to  serve  their  country.     So  this  poor  kingdom 


192  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

must  be  sacrificed  to  her  dependencies,  and  the  British  Parliament 
must  rescind  its  laws  at  the  bidding  of  a  provincial  assembly. 
Can  you,  my  lords,  restrain  your  indignation  at  this  abject  pro- 
position? "Is  not  the  whole  Englishman  maddened  in  your 
bosoms,  at  the  remotest  thought  of  crouching  to  the  creatures  of 
your  formation  ?     Have  you  erected  colonies  to  be  your  masters  ?  " 

Here  there  was  a  cry  of  "  Adjourn ! "  but  Rockingham  re- 
minded the  House  that  the  Mother  Country  herself  was  not  always 
able  to  restrain  the  spirit  of  her  own  populace,  "upon  particular 
occasions."  She  should  therefore  learn  to  make  the  same  excuses 
for  the  Americans,  which  she  requires  for  herself.  "  Few  popular 
insurrections  have  ever  taken  place  in  an  English  government, 
without  having  a  strong  appearance  of  justice,  if  they  were  not 
originally  justified  by  the  error  of  the  governors."  Temple  said 
Ministers  were  afraid  of  their  conduct  being  examined,  lest  their 
mismanagement  should  come  to  light.  Especially  they  tell  us, 
in  Speeches  from  the  Throne,  to  consider  the  state  of  America, 
and  when  we  try  to  consider  it,  they  call  for  an  adjournment. 
On  the  last  day  but  one  of  the  session,  we  are  no  farther  on  than 
when  it  began — everything  is  still  unsettled  and  alarming.  Gower 
said  if  the  session  had  not  been  taken  up  with  the  Middlesex 
Election,  something  might  have  been  done  with  America — 
Opposition  said  that  the  Middlesex  Election  was  an  affair  of  the 
last  moment  to  the  British  Empire,  and  now  they  are  angry  that 
we  have  spent  so  much  time  on  it  that  we  cannot  attend  to 
America.  Majorities  are  always  called  corrupt  by  Opposition ;  and 
the  kingdom  is  always  on  the  brink  of  destruction  according  to 
them — he  hoped  the  same  remarks  would  be  made  in  succeeding 
ages,  when  "the  public-spirited  worthies  of  the  present  hour  are 
either  consigned  to  oblivion,  or  hung  up  to  the  ridicule  of 
posterity."  Then  the  House  adjourned,  and  next  day  Parliament 
was  prorogued. 

The  excitements  of  1770  did  not  concern  America.  Far  other 
questions  absorbed  attention,  and  sometimes  aroused  fury.  The 
first  was  the  expulsion  of  Wilkes. 

On  the  1  st  of  March  a  memorial  was  presented  to  the  Court  of 
Common  Council,  setting  forth  that  the  petition  of  last  June  had 
never  been  answered.  "  The  subjects  of  the  most  despotic  prince 
on  earth,  when  they  humbly  petition  their  sovereign  on  the  score  of 
grievances,  at  least  expect  an  answer."  Six  of  the  Livery  signed 
this  memorial.  Great  debates  followed;  but  by  a  very  great 
majority  the  Memorial  was  received.  A  meeting  of  the  Common 
Hall  was  then  called ;  Beckford  took  the  chair,  and  in  the  course 


THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  REVENUE  ACT  193 

of  his  speech,  said  he  would  tell  the  Livery  his  political  creed.  It 
was  "that  the  number  of  little  paltry  rotten  boroughs,  the  number 
of  placemen  and  pensioners,  and  the  corruption  of  the  electors  as 
well  as  elected,  were  the  instruments  that  would  in  time  prove  the 
ruin  of  the  state.  There  must  be  a  more  equal  representation  of 
the  people,  the  number  of  placemen  must  be  limited  by  law,  and 
the  servants  of  the  Crown  must  be  obliged  to  show  fuller  accounts 
of  the  money  they  spent  —  a  million  of  money  must  not  be 
accounted  for  in  one  line  ! " 

Then  an  "  Address,  Remonstrance  and  Petition  "  was  produced, 
and  read  to  the  meeting.  It  spoke  with  extreme  plainness  of  "  the 
same  secret,  malign  influence,  which  through  each  successive 
administration,  has  defeated  every  good,  and  suggested  every  bad 
intention " ;  and  under  which  the  majority  of  the  House  of 
Commons  "had  done  a  deed,  more  ruinous  in  its  consequences 
than  the  levying  of  ship-money  by  Charles  the  First,  or  the 
dispensing  power  assumed  by  James  the  Second.  The  forms  of 
the  Constitution,  like  those  of  religion,  were  not  established  for 
form's  sake,  but  for  the  substance."  "  We  do  not  owe  our  liberty  to 
nice  and  subtle  distinctions,  and  we  will  not  be  cheated  of  it  by 
them."  This  Remonstrance  was  twice  read,  and  was  received  with 
"  long  and  continued  acclamations." 

The  next  thing  was  to  present  it,  and  next  day  the  Sheriffs  went 
to  St.  James'  to  know  when  his  Majesty  pleased  to  be  waited  on. 
They  had  to  wait  till  the  levee  was  over.  Then  Lord  Denbigh 
came  and  spoke  to  them.  He  asked,  among  other  questions, 
whether  the  City  had  ever  presented  a  remonstrance  to  a  King 
before  ?  Mr.  Sheriff  Townsend  asked  whether  a  King  of  England 
had  ever  before  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  petition  of  60,000 
freeholders?  At  last  they  were  admitted  to  the  closet,  and  his 
Majesty  told  them  he  would  take  time  to  consider  and  to  consult 
his  Secretary  of  State.1  The  day  after,  Weymouth  wrote  to  the 
Sheriffs,  to  ask  how  the  remonstrance  was  authenticated,  and  what 
was  the  assembly  which  had  adopted  it  ?  The  Sheriffs  went  again 
to  the  palace,  and  again  saw  the  King — Lord  Bolingbroke  pushing 
back  the  City  Remembrancer,  as  he  would  have  followed  the  others 
into  the  closet.  The  Sheriffs  told  his  Majesty  that  the  remonstrance 
was  adopted  by  the  Livery  of  the  City  of  London,  in  Common  Hall 
assembled.  Again  his  Majesty  took  time,  but  finally  consented  to 
receive  it.  So  on  the  14th,  Lord  Mayor  Beckford,  the  Sheriffs,  the 
Committee  of  the  Livery,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  of.  the 
Common  Council,  went  in  their  coaches  to  St.  James',  attended  by 

1  March  8,  1770. 
VOL.  I.  — 13 


i94  ENGLAND   AND  AMERICA 

all  the  City  officials,  from  the  Common  Sergeant  and  the  Common 
Clerk,  down  to  the  Common  Crier.  The  King  received  them  on  the 
throne.  The  Common  Sergeant  began  to  read  the  Remonstrance, 
but  was  "in  too  much  confusion  to  proceed,"  so  the  Common 
Clerk,  Sir  James  Hodges,  read  it  to  his  Majesty,  "very  properly 
and  distinctly,  with  a  suitable  and  judicious  emphasis."  In  his 
answer  (written  by  Dyson),  the  King  said  the  Remonstrance  was 
disrespectful  to  himself,  and  injurious  to  his  Parliament.  Next 
day  the  Public  Advertiser  said  that  the  King  had  turned  to  his 
courtiers  and  burst  out  laughing. 

The  "  Catilines  of  the  City "  were  not  abashed.  They  pre- 
pared a  second  Remonstrance — this  time  they  called  it  humble. 
It  implored  his  Majesty  in  very  affectionate  terms  to  dissolve  this 
present  Parliament,  remove  his  "  evil  ministers,"  and  extinguish 
"that  fatal  influence  which  had  caused  so  much  national 
discontent."  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  presenting  this  second 
remonstrance  that  Beckford  horrified  the  King  and  his  courtiers  by 
making  a  speech.1  Beckford  maintained  it  was  very  humble  and 
dutiful.  The  courtiers  called  it  "impudent,  insolent  and  un- 
precedented." 2  It  is  engraved  on  the  pedestal  of  his  statue  in  the 
Guildhall.3 

The  King  was  very  angry.  He  said  to  Conway,  that  sooner  than 
consent  to  a  dissolution  he  "  would  have  recourse  to  this  " — laying 
his  hand  on  his  sword.  And  when  on  the  29th  of  May  the  City 
had  to  approach  him  again  with  the  compliments  of  the 
Corporation  on  the  birth  of  a  princess,  he  stipulated  for  no  ex- 
temporaneous speeches. 

It  was  Beckford's  last  appearance.  He  died  of  a  fever  on  the 
2 1  st  of  June,  leaving  the  bulk  of  his  enormous  fortune  to  his  only 
legitimate  son,  the  author  of  Vathek. 

On  the  2nd  of  June,  John  Almon,  the  bookseller,  was  tried  in 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench  before  Lord  Mansfield  for  selling  Junius' 
"  Letter  to  the  King  "  in  the  London  Museum,  a  magazine  which  he 
did  not  print,  nor  did  he  know  that  it  contained  the  Letter.     The  two 

1  June  1,  1770. 

2  Unprecedented  it  certainly  was ;  and  it  was  improper,  because,  if  the  King 
can  do  no  wrong,  he  must  always  be  supposed  to  act  under  the  advice  of  his 
Ministers,  which  he  cannot  do  if  he  is  drawn  into  replying  to  an  extemporary 
address.  It  has  been  said  that  the  words  on  the  pedestal  are  not  those  Beckford 
actually  spoke,  but  were  written  after  his  death  by  Home  Tooke.  It  is,  however, 
evident  that  Beckford  said  something  to  the  same  effect,  even  if  not  in  these 
precise  words.  Chatham's  letter  to  him,  of  May  25,  which  says,  "  the  spirit  of 
Old  England  spoke,"  proves  this  beyond  a  doubt. 

3  It  was  said  that  Chatham  drew  up  this  Remonstrance. 


THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  REVENUE  ACT  195 

messengers  sent  to  buy  it,  said  they  received  it  from  "  somebody  " 
— adjuged  by  the  Court  to  be  Almon's  servant.  He  was  therefore 
found  guilty,  but  the  Court  took  time  to  consider  sentence.  No 
doubt  Almon  was  selected  on  account  of  his  active  political 
partisanship.  All  the  magazines  contained  the  Letter,  and  all  the 
booksellers  sold  it. 

On  the  13th,  Henry  Sampson  Woodfall,  printer  of  the  Public 
Advertiser,  appeared  before  the  same  Court,  "for  a  seditious 
printing  and  publishing  of  a  paper  signed  Junius"  Mansfield  told 
the  jury  they  had  only  to  consider  the  printing  and  publishing — not 
the  nature  of  the  paper.  He  "did  not  leave  it  to  the  jury  whether 
the  paper  was  innocent  or  not."  The  jury  retired  a  little  before 
noon,  and  at  four,  when  the  Court  rose,  were  not  agreed.  It  was 
nearly  nine  when  they  delivered  their  verdict  at  Lord  Mansfield's 
own  house.  They  found  Woodfall  "  Guilty  of  Printing  and 
Publishing  only."  It  was  reported  that  a  verdict  of  "Not  Guilty" 
would  have  been  given  at  five  o'clock,  but  two  jurymen — the  King's 
plasterer  and  a  baker — stood  out. 

The  verdict  was  ambiguous.  Two  motions  were  made  in 
Court — Thurlow,  for  the  Crown,  claiming  it  as  one  of  "  Guilty  "  ; 
Sergeant  Glynn,  for  Woodfall,  demanding  why  defendant  should 
not  be  discharged.  Mansfield's  influence  was  not  sufficient  to 
prevent  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  deciding  that  there  must  be 
another  trial. 

Almon  was  not  sentenced  till  November — when  he  was  fined 
ten  marks  (£6,  13s.  4d.)  and  ordered  to  find  sureties  for  his  good 
behaviour  for  two  years — himself  to  be  bound  in  ,£400,  and  his 
sureties  in  ^"200  each.  Mansfield  left  another  Judge  to  pronounce 
this  sentence.  Woodfall's  second  trial  ended  in  a  fiasco.  Thurlow, 
in  proving  publication,  said  he  had  not  a  copy  of  the  original 
newspaper.  "That's  not  my  fault,  Mr.  Attorney,"  said  Mansfield 
— and  so  the  trial  broke  down  !  The  fact  was,  the  foreman  of  the 
first  jury  had  pocketed  the  copy,  and  had  afterwards  destroyed  it. 
Junius  wrote  terrible  letters  to  Mansfield,  and  Camden  asked  him 
in  the  House  of  Lords  a  string  of  questions  which  he  refused  to 
answer ;  while  in  the  Commons,  Sergeant  Glynn  told  the  House  that 
in  the  reign  of  Alfred  the  Great  forty  judges  were  hanged  !  "  This 
precedent  I  do  not  mention  as  an  example  for  your  imitation." 

The  trial  of  Almon  was  the  inspiring  cause  of  the  important 
debate  of  November  27,  1770,  "On  the  Power  of  the  Attorney- 
General  to  file  Informations  Ex-Officio."  Captain  Constantine  Phipps 
made  a  vigorous  speech.  He  called  this  power  "a  cousin-german 
of  the  Star-chamber."     Its  very  nature   is  arbitrary,  incompatible 


196  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

with  the  spirit  of  free  government.  An  Attorney-General  is  always 
the  creature  of  the  Ministry — he  is  their  shuttle-cock,  all  his  hopes 
depend  upon  them.  He  must  do  what  they  tell  him,  or  good-bye  to 
his  hopes  of  ^"3000'a  year  pension,  and  of  the  office  of  Chief  Justice 
in  Eyre ;  "  he  must  bid  the  King's  bench  and  the  Chancellorship 
adieu  for  ever."  By  this  ex-officio  power,  he  can,  of  his  own 
motion,  or  at  the  bidding  of  a  Secretary  of  State,  "christen  any 
paper  by  what  name  he  chooses."  He  can  call  it  "  an  infamous, 
seditious,  or  treasonable  libel."  And  then  he  can  file  an  information 
and  commence  a  prosecution,  without  hearing  any  evidence,  or 
examining  a  single  witness.  "Sir,  can  anything  savour  more  of 
tyranny  and  despotism?"  Even  if  a  man  can  clear  himself,  he 
may  be  ruined  by  the  expense.  Thus  any  person  obnoxious  to  a 
Minister  or  an  Attorney-General  "may  be  unjustly  suppressed." 
He  read  the  Act  4  &  5  of  William  and  Mary,  made  to  prevent 
"  malicious  informations  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,"  and  moved 
for  a  Bill  to  explain  and  render  it  more  effectual.  His  motion  was 
lost  by  164  to  72. 

The  Opposition  which  fought  these  great  constitutional  battles 
of  this  period  has  left  an  indelible  mark  on  English  history  and 
English  politics.  The  great  speeches  of  its  great  orators  are  a  part 
of  the  glory  of  England.  Could  they  be  blotted  out  of  our  memory, 
half  of  our  boasting  would  be  vain.  When  we  talk  about  Britons 
never  being  slaves,  we  do  so  as  the  political  heirs  of  the  men 
who  fought  a  losing  battle  in  their  time — almost  invariably  swept 
down  by  the  overwhelming  numbers  of  the  "  King's  Friends,"  but  even 
in  defeat  handing  on  the  sacred  fire  of  liberty  to  generations  yet 
unborn.  It  is  good  for  us  to  remember  that  the  most  famous  of  all 
English  Oppositions,  since  party  government  came  into  existence, 
hardly  ever  carried  a  single  motion,  and  yet  saved  English  Liberty. 
And  among  this  goodly  company  of  patriots  must  be  reckoned  the 
name  of  George  Grenville,  who,  in  spite  of  his  one  grand  mistake, 
was  always  true  to  the  great  principles  of  the  Constitution.  He  was 
very  unfortunate  as  a  Minister;  and  that  he  came  into  office  as 
Bute's  nominee  is  one  of  the  many  perplexing  facts  of  this  period. 
But  he  lost  office  because  he  would  not  further  the  King's  un- 
constitutional attempt  to  make  his  Ministers  literally  his  "  servants." 
He  took  the  constitutional  side  on  all  the  great  questions  which 
agitated  the  country  in  the  next  few  years.  He  withstood  the 
arbitrary  power  of  Ministers  in  the  matter  of  General  Warrants — first 
cousins  to  lettres  de  cachet  and  orders  of  the  Star  Chamber.  He 
did  what  was  harder — he  withstood  the  arbitrary  power  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  in  the  matter  of  the  Middlesex  Election.     His 


THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  REVENUE  ACT  197 

great  Bill  for  Settling  Controverted  Elections  put  an  end  to  the  old 
system  of  secret  (and  packed)  Committees,  and  ensured  a  disin- 
terested tribunal.1  He  consistently  opposed  the  increase  of 
military  power,  whether  in  England  or  Ireland.  After  his  first 
great  mistake  as  to  America  he  took  up  the  unassailable  position  that 
something  like  consistency  ought  to  mark  our  policy ;  and  that  if 
we  meant  to  conciliate,  we  ought  to  do  so  generously — if  to  assert 
our  authority,  to  do  so  effectually;  but  all  his  speeches  on  this 
subject  show  that  he  was  against  proceeding  to  extremities.  Nor, 
in  blaming  him  for  the  initial  error,  must  we  forget  that  that  error 
would  have  been  repaired  but  for  the  still  greater  errors  of  the 
Revenue  Act. 

George  Grenville  died  on  the  13th  of  November,  1770,  and  with 
his  death  Opposition  almost  dissolved.  The  differences  which 
divided  it  became  more  paralysing  than  ever.  The  more  honourable 
lost  heart,  and  talked  of  ceasing  to  attend  debates  and  provoke 
divisions  which  only  revealed  their  weakness.  The  more  ambitious, 
seeing  nothing  to  be  made  out  of  Opposition,  reconciled  themselves 
with  Administration.  Of  these  were  several  of  the  Bedford  Whigs, 
and  Wedderburn,  who  now  joined  the  Cabinet  as  Solicitor-General. 
He  owed  his  conversion — and  his  promotion — to  Charles  Fox,  who 
on  the  19th  of  February,  1770,  when  the  House  had  been  for  hours 
debating  the  Middlesex  Election,  and  Wedderburn  had  convinced 
even  ministerialists  that  there  was  no  precedent  for  annulling  an 
election,  suddenly  produced  a  precedent,  so  recent  that  it  disposed 
of  Wedderburn's  argument.  The  House  roared  with  applause,  and 
the  King  made  Fox  a  Junior  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.2 

Wedderburn  had  been  thought  unlike  all  other  parliamentary 
lawyers — he  appeared  to  speak  because  he  himself  was  convinced. 
In  May  of  1770  he  denounced  the  attempt  to  tax  the  Colonies  in 
words  which  thousands  in  America  quoted  to  each  other,  as 
showing  that  at  last  the  English  people  saw  they  had  been  in  the 
wrong.  He  had  predicted — he  had  all  but  justified  rebellion.  He 
became  worth  buying,  and  let  it  be  known  he  could  be  bought — 
after  which  he  fell  foul  of  Ministers  more  fiercely  than  ever.  He 
even  deceived  Chatham.  When,  on  January  25,  1771,  it  was 
announced  that  Alexander  Wedderburn,  Esq.,  had  become  Solicitor- 
General,  the  impression  was  profound.     Feeling  that  he  must  say 

1  Grenville,  who  knew  that  he  was  dying,  asked  the  House  to  cheer  his  last 
days  by  passing  the  Bill.  It  went  easily  through  the  House.  He  then  brought 
in  the  Bill  for  an  Enquiry  into  the  Civil  List.  North  jested  this  down,  and  when 
other  members  asked  for  an  explanation,  "  the  House  yelped  it  down." 

2  February  28,  1770. 


198  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

something,  he  said  that  he  had  been  a  follower  of  Mr.  Grenviile — 
Mr.  Grenville's  death  had  set  him  free.  When  the  writ  for  his  re- 
election was  read,  there  was  a  deep  groan.  When  he  had  to  walk 
up  the  floor  between  men  he  used  to  denounce,  "he  blushed  as 
red  as  fire."  Years  after,  when  North  said  the  Whigs  talked  of 
patriotism  and  justice,  when  they  meant  pensions  and  places,  all 
eyes  turned  to  Wedderburn — sitting  at  North's  elbow,  pale  as 
death. 

There  was  a  tremendous  excitement,  at  the  end  of  this  year, 
about  the  seizure  of  the  Falkland  Isles  by  Spain,  and  the  tame 
conduct  of  Ministers  in  accepting  restitution  without  an  explicit 
acknowledgment  of  our  right  to  the  islands.  In  this  debate 
Chatham  made  a  powerful  speech,  which  the  King  must  have 
rejoiced  to  know  was  made  in  that  House,  and  not  the  other.  At 
one  moment  he  diverged  from  foreign  to  home  politics.  "  There 
are  men,  my  lords,  who  if  their  own  services  were  forgotten  ought 
to  have  an  hereditary  merit  with  the  House  of  Hanover.  .  .  .  There 
are  other  men,  my  lords — looking  sternly  and  shaking  his  fist  at 
Lord  Mansfield — who,  to  speak  tenderly  of  them,  were  not  quite  so 
forward  in  the  demonstrations  of  their  zeal  to  the  reigning  family ; 
there  was  another  Cause,  my  lords,  and  a  partiality  to  it,  which 
some  persons  had  not  at  all  times  discretion  enough  to  conceal.  I 
know  I  shall  be  accused  of  attempting  to  revive  distinctions.  My 
lords,  if  it  were  possible,  I  would  not  wish  the  favours  of  the  Crown 
to  flow  invariably  in  one  channel.  But  there  are  some  distinctions 
which  are  inherent  in  the  nature  of  things.  There  is  a  distinction 
between  right  and  wrongs — between  Whig  and  Tory." 

On  the  ioth  of  December,  just  as  Camden  had  been  putting  his 
very  awkward  questions  to  Mansfield  about  his  charge  to  the  jury 
in  The  King  v.  IVoodfa/i,  the  Duke  of  Manchester  began  to  speak 
about  the  defenceless  state  in  which  Ministers  had  left  the  country 
(and  only  two  ships  at  Gibraltar,  and  one  of  them  leaky);  when 
Lord  Gower  desired  the  House  might  be  cleared — such  things 
ought  not  to  be  publicly  divulged — in  so  crowded  a  House,  there 
might  be  emissaries  from  Spain — persons  were  admitted  who  took 
notes — a  noble  lord  had  said  his  speech  was  in  print.  Richmond 
protested — people  would  say  the  Lords  were  afraid  of  their  pro- 
ceedings being  known.  Then  there  arose  such  an  uproar  that 
Chatham  spoke  for  some  time  without  being  heard.  He  sent 
Richmond  to  Mansfield  (still  acting  as  Speaker)  to  tell  him  he 
wanted  to  speak  to  a  point  of  order.  But  it  was  of  no  use,  and  at 
last  he,  with  eighteen  other  lords,  left  the  House.  It  happened 
that  there  were  some  members  of  the  Commons  present,  come  to 


THE  REPEAL  OF  THE   REVENUE  ACT    199 

deliver  a  Bill.  They  were  promptly  "  hooted  out  of  the  House." 
They  hastened  back  to  the  Commons,  and  informed  the  Speaker 
of  the  affront  put  upon  them,  and  through  them  on  that  House ; 
and  one  of  them  moved  that  the  House  be  cleared,  Peers  and  all. 
A  majority  was  against  this,  but  under  the  Rule  l  all  were  ordered 
to  withdraw  —  among  them  Richmond  and  Rockingham.  The 
Commons  were  very  angry,  but  their  wrath  soon  cooled,  and  the 
chief  result  of  it  all  was  a  duel  between  Lord  George  Germaine  and 
Governor  Johnstone;  and  this  was  only  important  because  in  a 
manner  it  rehabilitated  Germaine's  personal  courage,  and  so  paved 
the  way  for  his  taking  office.2 

1  A  member  had  only  to  say,  "Mr.  Speaker,  I  espye  strangers!"  and  the 
House  must  be  cleared.  In  our  time,  there  must  be  a  vote  of  the  House. 
Upon  some  clamour  a  day  or  two  afterwards,  the  Speaker  said,  "  Pray,  gentle- 
men, be  orderly  ;  you  are  almost  as  bad  as  the  other  House  !  " 

2  It  was  allowed  that  Germaine  showed  great  coolness  at  this  meeting  with 
the  fire-eating  ex-Governor  ;  and  the  belief  of  his  apologists  was  strengthened, 
that  his  conduct  at  Minden  was  prompted  only  by  temper  and  rancour  against 
Prince  Ferdinand. 

About  1773  or  1774  Burke  thought  of  inviting  Lord  George  Germaine  to  lead 
the  Opposition  in  the  House  of  Commons. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THOMAS  HUTCHINSON 

"  The  town  of  Boston  met,  and  passed  a  number  of  weak  but  very  criminal 
votes ;  and  as  the  governor  declined  calling  an  assembly,  they  sent  circular 
letters  to  all  the  towns  and  districts,  to  send  a  person  each  that  there  might  be  a 
consultation  at  so  extraordinary  a  crisis.  They  met  and  spent  a  week,  and 
made  themselves  ridiculous,  and  then  dissolved  themselves  ;  after  a  message  to 
the  governor,  which  he  refused  to  receive  ;  a  petition  to  the  King,  which  I 
daresay  their  agent  will  never  be  allowed  to  present,  and  a  resolution  which 
they  have  published,  ill-natured  and  impotent.  .  .  ." — Letter  of  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Hutchinson^  Oct.  4,  1 768. 

"  America  was  in  such  a  state,  that  it  seems  to  have  been  good  policy  to  abstain 
wholly  from  further  taxes  of  any  kind." — Hutchinson,  History  of  Massachusetts. 

"  In  the  first  place,  gentlemen,  you  are  to  consider,  that  a  great  empire,  like 
a  great  cake,  is  most  easily  diminished  at  the  edges.  Turn  your  attention, 
therefore,  first  to  your  remotest  provinces  ;  that,  as  you  get  rid  of  them,  the 
next'may  follow  in  order." — Franklin's  Rules  for  Reducing  a  Great  Empire  to 
a  Small  One. 

Thomas  Hutchinson  had  been  left  to  face  the  storm  from  which 
Bernard  had  escaped.  He  had  represented  Boston  for  ten  years, 
and  it  had  once  been  proposed  to  make  him  the  Agent  for  the 
province  to  London,  but  he  had  declined  to  leave  his  place.  To 
say  the  truth,  he  had  had  too  many  places — no  one  had  ever  held 
so  many  at  one  time  before.1  He  had  been  at  the  same  time, 
Lieutenant-Governor,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court,  a  Judge 
of  Probate  in  the  Suffolk  Court,  and  a  Councillor.  As  long  ago  as 
1762  the  Assembly  had  protested  against  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
sitting  on  the  Council,  or  the  Chief  Justice  holding  any  other 
judgeship.  Both  he  and  his  sons  were  in  business  as  tea-merchants. 
His  attitude  at  the  time  of  the  Stamp  Act  had  caused  great 
indignation,  and  the  destruction  of  his  house,  and  of  many 
invaluable  documents  he  had  spent  his  life  in  collecting,  had 
embittered  his  temper  and  shaken  his  nerves.  He  was  no  ordinary 
man,  but  he  probably  was  less  courageous  and  less  firm  of  will  than 

1  It  is  only  just  to  say  that  the  salary  of  a  Judge  was  only  about  ^120  a  year, 
with  some  fees,  said  not  to  cover  travelling  expenses. 

200 


THOMAS  HUTCHINSON  201 

he  appeared.  He  had  clear  vision,  strong  sense,  and  strong  ani- 
mosities— he  was  obstinate  rather  than  firm — he  advocated  extreme 
measures,  began  to  carry  them  out,  exasperated  his  opponents  to 
the  highest  point — and  then  quailed  before  the  storm  himself  had 
raised.  It  was  natural  that  he  should  resent  the  abominable 
outrage  he  had  suffered.  A  wise  Home  Government  would  have 
provided  for  a  capable  but  unconciliatory  official,  in  some  other 
way  than  by  giving  him  the  government  of  the  colony  he  had  so 
grievously  offended,  and  which  had  so  grievously  offended  him. 
Conway  had  been  deluded  into  making  him  Lieutenant-Governor, 
but  by  the  time  Bernard  left,  the  British  Cabinet  knew  it  was 
appointing  the  most  unpopular  man  in  Massachusetts. 

Except  for  the  murderous  assault  on  James  Otis,  things  were 
pretty  quiet  till  the  new  year.  Otis — Hutchinson's  old  enemy — 
had  already  shown  signs  of  the  excitement  which  finally  overset 
his  reason.  He  had  been  lately  in  a  controversy  with  the  revenue 
officers,  and  had  attacked  them  in  the  Boston  Gazette.  A  few  days 
afterwards,  as  he  was  sitting  in  the  British  Coffee  House,  he  was 
set  upon  by  Robinson,  a  Commissioner  of  Customs,  and  several 
army  and  navy  officers.  He  was  savagely  beaten,  and  received  a 
sword-cut  on  the  head,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  never  really 
recovered,  though  he  lived  many  years,  and  actually  took  part  in 
the  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill. 

Early  in  October  a  ship  arrived  with  English  goods.  She 
belonged  to  two  of  the  principal  merchants  in  Boston — Messrs. 
Greene  and  Boylstone.  They  had  not  signed  the  Agreement. 
The  Committee  was  on  the  watch,  and  Greene  and  Boylstone 
thought  it  wise  to  consent  to  sell  nothing  till  the  time  had  expired. 
Among  the  consignments  were  eighteen  chests  of  tea  for  Thomas 
and  Elisha  Hutchinson,  sons  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor.  He 
advised  them  to  sign,  but  he  wrote  privately  to  Grenville,  Jenkinson, 
and  Hillsborough,  urging  that  Parliament  should  immediately 
change  the  municipal  government  of  Boston.  Meanwhile  he  gave 
large  orders  for  more  tea  for  his  sons,  and  sent  instructions  for  its 
being  so  sent  as  to  escape  the  vigilance  of  the  Committee. 

And  yet  it  was  true  that  the  agitation  seemed  to  be  dying  down. 
At  the  next  election,  five  towns,  Springfield,  Hatfield,  Hardwicke, 
Norwich,  and  Sheffield,  elected  rescinders ;  and  at  New  York,  in 
the  hotly-contested  election  of  1769, — the  last  ever  held  under  the 
Crown, — the  Government  candidates  were  returned,  instead  of  John 
Morin  Scott  and  the  Sons  of  Liberty.  The  whole  de  Lancey 
family  was  on  the  Tory  side.  Sir  Henry  Moore  was  dead — one  of 
those  "show  governors"  who,  knowing  their  own  total  unfitness, 


202  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

always  acted  on  the  advice  of  old  Cadwallader  Colden,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  virtual  governor  of  New  York  for  so  many  years. 
Lord  Dunmore  was  appointed,  but  long  before  he  could  arrive, 
the  de  Lanceys  got  a  vote  in  the  Assembly  for  two  thousand  pounds 
to  pay  the  troops.  In  a  few  months  Botetourt  died,  Dunmore  was 
transferred  to  Virginia,  and  General  Tryon,  Governor  of  North 
Carolina,  came  to  New  York. 

The  Non- importation  Agreement,  too,  was  wearing  itself  out. 
Nothing  kept  it  up  but  the  knowledge  that  the  British  Government 
was  determined  at  all  costs  to  maintain  the  right  to  tax.  People 
were  beginning  to  hanker  after  European  goods.  New  Hampshire 
stood  out  altogether ;  but  Rhode  Island  was  privately  importing, 
"to  their  very  great  gain."  Virginia  and  Maryland  had  sent  two 
gentlemen  to  Boston,  intimating  that  the  Southern  Colonies  were 
not  prepared  to  go  as  far  as  Massachusetts.  Pennsylvania  and 
New  York  even  disapproved  the  repeal  of  all  the  Revenue  Acts — 
they  were  for  retaining  some  which  happened  to  favour  themselves. 
But  the  omission  of  Tea  from  the  duties  to  be  repealed  displeased 
all,  and  more  than  counter-balanced  any  good  effect.  The 
retention  of  the  duty  on  tea  showed  that  Great  Britain  still  insisted 
on  her  right  to  play  tricks  with  American  commerce.  A  Committee 
was  appointed  to  examine  all  cargoes,  and  publish  the  names  of 
importers,  unless  they  gave  up  the  goods  at  once  to  the  Committee. 
This  new  Merchants'  Meeting  was  still  sitting  when  Bernard  sailed. 

The  Agreement  expired  at  the  end  of  the  year,  and  immediately 
some  merchants  began  to  sell.  As  they  would  thus  forestall  the 
others,  the  Committee  interposed,  insisting  that  no  one  should  sell 
until  goods  ordered  from  England  after  January  i,  1770,  should 
arrive.  Hesitating  patriotism  was  quickened  by  the  fear  of  being 
named  in  the  Boslon  Gazette.  Some  cargoes  were  held  over, 
others  were  reshipped. 

Meanwhile  the  presence  of  the  soldiers  was  a  constant  irritation. 
Frays  became  frequent  in  Boston  during  -the  winter.  The  people 
would  hiss  at  the  soldiers,  and  though  the  officers  tried  to  keep  the 
peace,  there  was  ill-feeling  on  both  sides.  The  news  from  New 
York  did  not  tend  to  abate  it.  There,  the  military  were  more 
insolent  than  in  Boston.  On  January  21  the  soldiers  cut  down 
the  Liberty  Tree  once  more,  after  it  had  stood  safely  nearly  three 
years.  They  were  thrice  repulsed  before  they  succeeded.  Next 
day  the  people  assembled  in  the  fields,  and  passed  resolutions 
never  to  employ  a  soldier,  and  to  treat  as  enemies  to  the  Con- 
stitution any  except  sentinels  found  after  dark  with  arms,  or  after 
roll-call  without  arms.     The  soldiers  replied  by  an  insolent  placard. 


THOMAS  HUTCHINSON  203 

Two  days  of  affrays  followed,  in  which  the  citizens  had  the 
advantage.  Boston  highly  applauded  the  spirit  shown  by  the 
"Yorkers."1 

The  ill-feeling  increased.  A  bookseller,  also  proprietor  of  a 
newspaper,  not  only  persisted  in  selling,  but  opposed  the  Non- 
importation movement  in  his  paper.  He  even  ridiculed  the 
political  Evening  Club,  and  gave  the  members  ludicrous  nicknames. 
Worse  still,  he  let  out  the  fact  that  some  of  the  principal  merchants 
who  had  promised  not  to  import  were  departing  from  their 
engagement.  One  day  he  was  coming  up  King  Street  with  his 
partner,  when  he  met  a  person  he  had  thus  charged.  From  words 
they  came  to  blows.  A  mob  collected.  The  two  obnoxious 
persons  had  each  a  pistol  in  his  pocket,  and  it  was  said  that  the 
partner's  went  off  as  he  fell  in  the  scuffle.  This  enraged  the  mob. 
The  bookseller  fled  to  the  mainguard,  the  people  followed  and 
demanded  him.  Both  regiments  were  placed  under  arms.  By 
an  unfortunate  coincidence  the  bookseller's  mob  was  joined  by 
another,  which  had  just  tarred  and  feathered  an  unlucky  seaman, 
under  the  mistaken  belief  that  he  was  an  informer.  For  some 
hours  things  looked  serious.  The  two  mobs  coalesced,  and 
paraded  the  streets  till  late  in  the  evening — still  dragging  with  them 
their  wretched  victim  in  his  tar  and  feathers,  and  compelling  the 
inhabitants  to  put  lights  in  their  windows.  At  last  they  let  the 
poor  seaman  go,  and  dispersed.  This  was  the  first  riot  since  the 
soldiers  came.  Hutchinson  summoned  the  Council,  but  it  refused 
to  call  out  the  military.  The  bookseller  hid  for  some  days,  then 
gave  up  his  business  and  left  the  province. 

Hutchinson  himself  was  involved  in  the  next  affair.  His  two 
elder  sons,  Thomas  and  Elisha,  had  been  obliged  to  sign  the 
agreement,  and  to  allow  the  Committee  to  put  a  padlock  on  the 
warehouse  where  they  kept  their  tea.  Now  that  the  term  had 
expired,  they  demanded  the  tea,  but  were  refused — they  must  wait, 
and  start  fair.  They  took  off  the  padlock,  removed  the  tea,  and 
began  to  sell.  Others  did  the  same.  At  once  a  Merchants' 
Meeting  was  called,  the  Committee  again  demanded  the  tea,  and 
when  it  was  refused  the  whole  body  of  the  meeting  went  to  the 
house  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor — his  sons  being  of  his  household 
— to  make  the  demand  in  form.  Hutchinson  harangued  them  out 
of  a  window,  and  required  them  to  disperse,  as  if  they  were  rioters. 
But  next  morning — as  he  says,  being  persuaded  by  seeming  friends, 
who  represented  the  possibility  of  personal  danger  to  Thomas  and 
Elisha — he  sent  for  William  Phillips,  Moderator  of  the  meeting,  and 

1  Bancroft. 


204  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

engaged  that  his  sons  should  deposit  the  price  of  the  tea  sold,  and 
return  the  rest.  He  speaks  with  bitter  regret  of  this  "  error  in  his 
public  trust,"  and  says  he  felt  "  more  trouble  and  distress  of  mind 
from  it,  than  he  had  done  when  his  house  and  great  part  of  his 
property  were  destroyed.  He  was  triumphed  over,  and  reproached 
for  the  concession  by  the  men  who,  under  colour  of  friendship, 
advised  him  to  it.     The  peace  of  the  town  was  not  restored." 

Again  he  summoned  the  Council ;  again  they  refused  to  act. 
He  sent  for  all  the  Justices  within  fifteen  miles,  but  after  consulta- 
tion with  each  other  they  advised  him  that  there  were  times  when 
irregularities  could  not  be  restrained — the  people  were  agitated 
from  a  sense  of  danger  to  their  just  rights  and  liberties;  they 
declined  to  take  any  measures  for  stopping  the  merchants'  meetings. 
Several  of  the  Justices  even  attended  those  meetings,  and  voted  for 
the  resolutions.  Lastly,  Hutchinson  sent  the  Sheriff  to  read  a  paper 
to  the  meeting,  desiring  it  to  disperse,  as  it  was  illegal.  The  meeting 
sent  back  a  written  message 1  that  they  believed  their  meeting  was 
warranted  by  law,  and  that  they  were  determined  to  keep  consciences 
void  of  offence  towards  God  and  man. 

Still  some  merchants  refused  to  comply,  and  rabbles  took  to  collect- 
ing outside  their  shops  to  prevent  customers  from  entering.  Posts 
were  set  up,  with  hands  pointing  in  derision.  Theophilus  Lillie,  who 
had  begun  to  sell,  found  such  a  post  before  his  door.  A  neighbour, 
one  Richardson,  a  tide-waiter,  and  informer  for  the  Customs,  asked 
a  countryman  to  drive  his  cart-wheel  against  it.  It  would  seem  that 
some  boys  came  by,  carrying  coarse  paper  paintings — figures  of 
importers.  Whether  Richardson  attacked  them  or  no  was  disputed, 
but  a  crowd  collected,  the  boys  hooted,  threw  snowballs  and 
stones,  and  drove  Richardson  into  his  house.  Some  said  he  fired 
instantly — others  that  the  mob  were  forcing  their  way  into  his 
house  before  he  fired.  The  shot  killed  a  boy  of  eleven,  the  son  of 
a  poor  German.  The  mob  were  for  hanging  Richardson  then  and 
there,  and  had  got  a  halter,  but  were  persuaded  to  take  him  to  a 
Justice.  A  grand  funeral  was  given  to  the  poor  boy.  Hutchinson, 
whose  mind  always  ran  on  the  most  ill-omened  precedents  he  could 
find,  compares  it  to  that  of  Sir  Edmundbury  Godfrey,  and  of 
"  young  Allen,  killed  in  St.  George's  Fields." 

A  great  deal  of  pains  has  been  taken  to  prove  and  to  disprove  a 
very  early  intention  on  the  part  of  the  Colonies  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  of  Great  Britain.  Half  as  much  pains  bestowed  on  examining 
into  what  we  were  making  that  yoke  mean,  must  convince  every 

1  Bancroft  says  that  Hutchinson  kept  this  message,  which  was  in  Hancock's 
handwriting,  intending  to  make  use  of  it  if  Hancock  were  brought  to  trial. 


THOMAS  HUTCHINSON  205 

student  of  human  nature  that  nothing  but  overwhelming  physical 
force  could  maintain  any  government  as  impossible  as  the  British 
had  become  in  North  America.  The  only  wonder  is  that  they  so 
long  endured  the  restrictions  on  their  trade.  But  they  knew  no 
better — restrictions  were  the  fashion  of  the  time ;  and  as  long  as  the 
French  were  in  America  the  British  flag  was  a  defence  from  foreign 
conquest. 

All  the  evidence  shows  that  if  the  Home  Government  had  not 
flaunted  its  right  to  make  more  of  these  acknowledged  "  anti- 
commercial"  laws,  whenever  it  might  feel  disposed;  if  the 
soldiers  had  been  removed  before  blood  had  been  shed ;  if  the 
whole  of  the  Revenue  Act  had  been  repealed— things  would  have 
quieted  down,  and  separation  might  have  been  deferred  for  a 
generation.  But  it  must  have  come — at  the  latest  when  the  popula- 
tion of  the  Colonies  overtook  that  of  Great  Britain.  And  long 
before  that  it  would  have  become  impossible  to  control  a  people 
beyond  the  sea,  so  like  us  in  political  sentiment  and  stubborn 
independence,  so  unlike  in  outward  conditions.  As  Paine  soon 
after  said,  England  and  America  belong  to  different  spheres. 
Already  the  provinces  counted  one-third  as  many  inhabitants  as 
these  islands.  The  only  possible  end  was  separation.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  privilege  of  a  titled 
Governor,  and  a  few  decorations  to  prominent  citizens,  would  have 
counted  as  nothing  compared  with  the  priceless  right  of  a  nation  to 
work  out  its  destiny  on  the  lines  marked  by  Nature. 

The  Stamp  Act,  taken  alone,  might  have  been  forgotten,  as  an 
isolated  mistake.  But  we  left  nothing  undone  to  show  that  it  was 
part  of  a  policy.  We  appeared  determined  to  teach  the  colonists 
what  government  from  a  distance  means,  and  how  intolerably  it 
hampers  a  country's  energies.  Not  content  with  this,  we  carefully 
impressed  on  them  that  our  chief  object  was  to  get  as  much  money 
out  of  them  as  possible — even  though  the  loss  to  them  might  be 
very  great,  and  the  gain  to  ourselves  very  small.  It  was  the  height 
of  imprudence  to  retain  the  tea-tax  at  the  very  moment  we  were 
filling  Boston  wTith  soldiers — it  seemed  as  though  we  wished  them 
to  realise  that  their  money  was  being  extorted  from  them  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  And  to  do  this  about  a  threepenny  duty  was 
the  most  conspicuous  way  of  showing  them  that  above  all  things 
else  we  desired  to  keep  them  in  subjection. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 
THE  5TH  OF  MARCH,  1770 

"A  military  force  should  be  employed  in  the  last  extremity,  not  in  the  first 
instance." — George  Grenville. 

"  Something  may  and  must  be  done  to  humble  the  leaders  of  the  people  of  this 
town,  and  so  keep  the  inhabitants  in  order.  I  have  tried  the  Council,  and  re- 
presented to  the  Judges  the  illegality  of  the  town-acts.  They  say  there  is  no 
possibility  of  helping  it — the  body  of  the  people  are  all  of  a  mind,  there  is  no 

stemming  the  torrent.  .   .  .  tells  me,  he  is  fully  convinced  that  nothing  but 

sharp  external  force  will  bring  Boston  into  a  state  of  subordination." — Hutchinson' s 
Letter,  marked  "Secret  and  Confidential"  March  25,  1 770. 

As  each  succeeding  mail  from  England  made  it  more  certain  that 
the  tea-duty  would  be  continued,  the  movement  for  non-consumption 
revived.  The  women  were  joining.  "One  week  300  wives  of 
Boston,  the  next  no  more,  with  126  of  the  young  and  un- 
married,"1 renounced  tea  till  the  Act  should  be  repealed.  The 
Superior  Court  of  Suffolk  County  found  bills  of  indictment 
against  Sir  Francis  Bernard,  Thomas  Gage,  Esq.,  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  his  Majesty's  forces  on  the  Continent,  the  Five 
Commissioners  of  Customs,  and  the  Collector  and  Comptroller 
for  the  Port  of  Boston,  "foi  slandering  the  Province  to  the 
King's  Ministers."  And  though,  of  course,  nothing  came  of  this, 
the  boldness  of  the  Judges  was  startling.  It  was  even  said  that 
Samuel  Adams  had  ended  a  speech,  "  Independent  we  are,  and 
independent  we  will  be." 

As  the  winter  wore  on,  the  insolence  of  the  soldiers,  and 
the  friction  between  them  and  the  townspeople,  increased.  It 
would  perhaps  be  unjust  to  say  that  Hutchinson  wished  for  a 
collision  as  an  excuse  for  more  extreme  measures ;  but  he  wished 
for  the  more  extreme  measures;  and  at  a  most  critical  moment, 
when  fully  warned  that  the  soldiers  were  in  a  dangerous  temper, 
he  took  no  precautions — he  did  not  even  tell  the  colonels  they 
must  confine  their  men  to  barracks.  The  blood  shed  on  the 
5th  of  March,   1770,  must  therefore  for  ever  be  on  his  head. 

1  Bancroft. 


THE   5TH  OF  MARCH,   1770  207 

Hutchinson's  own  account,  as  he  gives  it  in  his  History, 
must  be  taken  as  the  best  case  he  could  make  out  for  himself. 
He  admits  that  "the  two  regiments  were  a  continual  eyesore" 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  and  that  "  there  appeared  a  rooted 
enmity  on  both  sides."  He  says  that  the  officers  took  pains  to 
keep  the  men  from  showing  their  resentment,  but  admits  they 
found  this  impossible;  and  he  intimates  that  the  disturbances 
at  New  York,  about  the  cutting  down  of  the  Liberty  Tree  there, 
"tended  to  encourage  the  people  in  Boston."  Discontent,  he 
says,  was  evidently  increasing  all  the  month  of  February.  On 
Saturday,  March  3,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carr,  who  commanded 
the  29th,  made  complaint  to  Hutchinson  of  the  frequent  abuse 
offered  to  his  men,  and  particularly  of  a  fray  the  morning  before, 
at  Gray's  Ropewalk,1  in  which  a  soldier  was  very  dangerously 
wounded.  On  Monday  Hutchinson  showed  this  letter  to  the 
Council,  and  several  members  advised  him  to  remove  the  troops. 
It  was  even  said  that  these  small  frays  would  be  followed  by  one 
more  general.  When,  after  this  warning,  Hutchinson  tells  us 
that  in  the  evening  parties  of  soldiers  were  driving  about  the 
streets,  and  that  both  they  and  the  "clusters  of  inhabitants"  in 
different  parts  of  the  town,  seemed  to  have  "something  more 
than  ordinary  upon  their  minds,"  it  is  impossible  to  acquit  him 
of  criminal  neglect  of  duty,  if  he  really  wished  to  avoid  a  riot, 
and  of  something  much  worse  if  he  intentionally  abstained  from 
action. 

There  was  great  apprehension  in  the  town.  Gray  had  gone 
to  Dairy m pie.  A  corporal  of  the  29th  had  warned  Matthew 
Adams  to  stop  indoors  on  Monday  evening,  "for  mischief 
would  be  done — the  soldiers  were  determined  to  be  revenged 
on  the  ropewalk  people."  Early  in  the  evening  there  were  but 
few  people  in  the  streets.  Witnesses  at  the  trial  swore  that  the 
parties  of  soldiers  driving  about,  challenged  the  townspeople, 
and  struck  at  them  with  sticks  and  sheathed  cutlasses.  People  in 
different  parts  of  the  town  were  insulted.  Some  time  between 
eight  and  nine,  a  party  poured  out  from  the  barracks  of  the  14th 
in  Brattle  Street,  armed  with  clubs,  cutlasses,  and  bayonets, 
Ensign  Mall,  at  the  gate  of  the  yard,  crying,  "Turn  out,  and  I 
will  stand  by  you  !  kill  them !  stick  them !  knock  them  down ! 
run  your  bayonets  through  them  !  "  Headed  by  this  boy,  they  ran 
through  the  archway  of  Higglestone's  Alley,  but  Lieutenants  Minchin 
and  Dickson — to  their  credit  be  it  recorded — with  great  difficulty 

1  "Gray's  Ropewalk,  near  Green's  Barracks  in  Atkinson  Street,"  afterwards 
Pearl  Street.     The  barracks  of  the  29th  were  here. 


208  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

drove  them  back  to  barracks.  They  seem,  however,  to  have  got 
out  again  later. 

Soldiers  were  gathering  in  King  Street,  where  a  dozen  gentle- 
men stood  together  a  little  below  the  Town  House,  and  a  few 
people  in  front  of  the  Custom  House,  "where  the  King's  money 
is  lodged."  There  was  a  young  moon,  with  a  cloudless  sky 
above  the  new-fallen  snow.  A  crowd  of  boys  were  pelting  the 
sentry  at  the  Custom  House  with  snowballs  and  bits  of  ice.  The 
sentry  abused  them,  and  they  returned  the  abuse.  Probably  it 
was  at  this  moment  that  a  captain  of  the  14th  passed,  and  a 
barber's  boy  called  after  him,  "There  goes  a  mean  fellow,  that 
hath  not  paid  my  master  for  dressing  his  hair ! "  The  sentry 
left  his  post,  and  followed  the  boy  into  the  middle  of  the  street, 
bidding  him  show  his  face.  "  I  am  not  ashamed  to  show  my 
face  to  any  man,"  said  the  boy  pertly.  The  sentry,  with  his 
musket,  "gave  a  sweeping  stroke  on  his  head,  and  made  him 
reel  and  stagger,  and  cry  very  much."  A  fellow-apprentice  asked 
the  sentry  what  he  meant.  The  sentry  swore  at  him,  and 
threatened  to  "  give  him  something,"  if  he  did  not  get  out  of  the 
way;  and  fixing  his  bayonet,  he  ran  at  him,  pursuing  as  the  boy 
ran  away.  This  collected  a  few  more  persons  near  the  Custom 
House,  and  by  alarming  the  sentry,  was  the  immediate  cause  of 
the  catastrophe — he  knocked  on  the  Custom  House  door,  and 
two  persons  came  out,  and  ran  to  the  mainguard,  where  they 
spread  a  report  that  the  people  were  murdering  the  sentry.  It 
seems  to  have  been  at  this  moment — 9  o'clock — that  the  bell  of 
the  Meeting  House  at  the  head  of  King  Street  rang  out  as  if  for 
fire,  and  brought  many  people  running  thither,  supposing  there 
was  a  fire.  Captain  Preston  declared  he  was  told  the  bell  was  a 
signal  to  call  in  the  country-people.  At  the  same  time,  a  party 
of  soldiers  ("about  ten  grenadiers"),  armed  with  clubs,  cutlasses 
and  bayonets,  rushed  up  from  Cornhill,  where  they  had  assailed 
and  wounded  several,  even  slashing  at  persons  standing  at  their 
doors.  They  entered  King  Street  from  Exchange  Lane,  brandish- 
ing their  arms,  and  crying,  "Where  are  the  cowards?" 

Most  of  the  people  had  gone  off  when  the  soldiers  burst  into 
King  Street.  Suddenly  seven  or  eight  soldiers  rushed  out  from 
the  mainguard,  their  arms  glittering  in  the  moonlight,  shouting, 
"  Where  are  they  ?  Let  them  come  ! "  Preston  himself  says  that 
they  "rushed  through  the  people,  and  by  charging  their  bayonets 
in  half  circle,  kept  them  at  a  distance."  He  also  says  that  "  some 
well-behaved  persons"  asked  him  if  the  guns  were  charged.  "I 
replied,  yes.     If  I  intended  to  order  the  men  to  fire?     I  answered 


THE   5TH  OF  MARCH,   1770  209 

no."  Knox,  "the  bookseller," — hereafter  to  be  General  Knox, 
Secretary  of  War  for  the  United  States, — deposed  that  he  was 
remonstrating  with  Preston — whose  men  had  attacked  several 
persons  with  bayonets  on  no  provocation — some  even  who  had 
their  backs  towards  them.  Preston  seemed  in  great  haste  and 
very  agitated.  Knox  took  him  by  the  coat,  and  told  him  for 
God's  sake  to  take  his  men  back  again — "  For  if  they  fire,  your 
life  must  answer  for  the  consequences."  "I  know  what  I  am 
about,"  said  Preston.  Just  then  a  soldier  was  struck  by  a  stick 
— some  said  by  a  piece  of  ice;  he  raised  his  gun  and  fired. 
Preston  says  he  reprimanded  him,  that  a  general  attack  was  then 
made  by  the  crowd,  and  that  some  persons  from  behind  called 
out,  "Damn  your  bloods,  why  don't  you  fire?"  Instantly  three 
or  four  of  the  soldiers  fired,  one  after  another,  and  directly  after, 
three  more,  in  the  same  confusion  and  hurry.  "The  mob  then 
ran  away,  except  three  unhappy  men,  who  instantly  expired." 

The  three  persons  killed  outright  were  Crispus  Attucks,  a 
mulatto,  Samuel  Gray,  a  young  man  from  the  Ropewalk — shot 
from  behind  as  he  bent  over  Attucks — and  James  Caldwell,  also 
shot  from  behind.  Samuel  Maverick,  a  lad  of  seventeen,  died  next 
morning,  and  Patrick  Carr  on  the  14th.  Six  others  were  badly 
wounded.  The  town  declared,  and  the  weight  of  evidence  shows, 
that  the  mob  was  mostly  composed  of  boys  and  lads.  Of  the 
slain,  Attucks  was  the  only  one  who  had  taken  any  active  part. 

As  soon  as  the  slaughter  was  known,  all  the  bells  of  the  town  were 
rung,  and  a  large  body  of  townsmen  assembled  in  King  Street,  and 
remained  there  until  the  soldiers  had  returned  to  barracks.  Immedi- 
ately after  the  catastrophe,  two  or  three  ran  to  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor's  house  (about  half  a  mile  off),  and  implored  him  for  God's 
sake  to  go  to  King  Street,  or  there  would  be  a  general  action 
between  soldiers  and  people.  Hutchinson  went  instantly,  called  for 
Preston,  and  asked  him  why  he  had  fired  without  orders  from  the 
Civil  Magistrate.  He  says  the  noise  was  so  great  that  he  could  not 
hear  Preston's  answer.  Then  some  who  feared  for  Hutchinson's 
personal  safety  cried,  "  The  Town  House,  the  Town  House  !  "  and 
with  irresistible  violence  he  was  forced  up  by  the  crowd  into  the 
Council  Chamber.  There  a  demand  was  immediately  made  that 
he  should  order  the  troops  back  to  barracks.  He  refused — would 
act  in  the  morning — the  law  should  take  its  course — he  would  live 
and  die  by  the  law.  "Order  the  soldiers  to  barracks,"  said  a 
gentleman.  "I  have  no  power,"  said  Hutchinson.  With  great 
difficulty  he  was  persuaded  to  look  from  the  window  opposite  the 
mainguard,  and  see  that  the  soldiers  were  still  drawn  up  in  position 
vol.  1. — 14 


210  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

ready  to  fire.  A  party  had  in  fact  tried  to  march  with  beat  of  drum 
to  Murray's  Barracks,  and  the  main  body  of  the  29th  was  now 
drawn  up  in  King  Street  under  arms,  their  lines  extending  across 
the  street,  facing  the  crowd.  At  one  moment  the  first  rank  knelt, 
and  the  whole  platoon  presented  their  guns.  Witnesses  swore  they 
were  heard  to  say,  "This  is  our  chance!"  At  length  Hutchinson 
did  look,  and  after  a  time  he  sent  for  Colonel  Carr,  and  told  him 
to  take  the  men  back  to  barracks.  Then  he  went  out  on  the 
balcony,  and  called  to  the  great  body  of  the  people,  expressing  his 
great  concern  at  the  unhappy  event,  and  his  intention  to  order  a  full 
enquiry.  He  urged  them  to  go  home  peaceably,  On  this  there  was 
a  cry,  "  Home  ! — home  ! "  and  great  part  went  home.  Hutchinson 
remained  in  the  Council  Chamber  till  three  in  the  morning,  con- 
ducting a  preliminary  examination.  A  hundred  of  the  townspeople 
remained  with  him,  to  watch  the  examinations.  Dalrymple  was 
summoned.  At  first  Preston  could  not  be  found,  but  at  length  he 
surrendered,  and  he  and  the  whole  corporal's  guard  which  had  fired 
were  placed  under  arrest.  All  night  the  drums  were  rolling,  and 
there  were  cries  of,  "  Town-born,  turn  out !  " 

The  Council  met  early  next  morning.  The  Selectmen  were  already 
waiting  to  tell  the  Lieutenant-Governor  that  minds  were  exceedingly 
disturbed,  and  that  unless  the  troops  were  removed  the  most  terrible 
consequences  were  to  be  expected.  A  town-meeting  had  been  called 
for  eleven  o'clock.  The  Justices  of  Boston  and  the  neighbour-towns 
were  there,  to  give  their  opinion  that  if  the  troops  remained  in  the 
town  it  would  not  be  possible  to  restrain  the  people.  Hutchinson  said 
he  had  no  authority  to  move  them — "  The  King  put  them  there."  But 
he  had  sent  for  the  colonels  and  would  tell  them  of  the  application. 
The  Selectmen  went  away  to  Faneuil  Hall,  the  colonels  arrived  at 
the  Town  House,  and  very  soon  Samuel  Adams,  Hancock,  and 
thirteen  more  came  as  a  Committee  from  the  town-meeting,  to  say  that 
soldiers  and  people  can  no  longer  live  together  safely — nothing  but 
the  prompt  removal  of  the  troops  can  prevent  further  carnage.  Not 
only  this  town,  but  all  the  neighbouring  towns,  are  resolved  they 
shall  go.  "  An  attack  on  the  King's  troops  will  be  high  treason," 
said  Hutchinson,  "and  every  man  would  forfeit  his  life  and  estate." 
While  the  Committee  waited  in  another  room,  Dalrymple  proposed 
to  move  the  29th — the  most  obnoxious  regiment — till  Gage's  pleasure 
could  be  known.  Hutchinson  informed  the  Committee  of  this 
offer,  and  rose  from  Council,  intending,  as  he  says,  to  receive  no 
more  application  on  the  subject ;  but  the  Council  and  Dalrymple 
prayed  he  would  meet  them  again  after  noon.  Dalrymple  was 
strong  for  moving  the  29th — it  had  always  been  intended  to  quarter 


THE   5TH  OF  MARCH,   1770  211 

it  in  the  Castle.  As  is  often  the  case,  it  was  the  soldier  who  was 
willing  to  make  a  concession,  and  the  civilian  who  was  for  driving 
the  matter  to  extremity.  Dalrymple  even  said  that  if  the  Council 
would  unanimously  advise  the  Governor  to  desire  him  to  move  the 
troops,  he  would  do  it,  even  without  a  positive  order.  So  when 
Hutchinson  met  his  Council  after  dinner,  he  found  it  unanimous — 
it  had  been  divided  in  the  forenoon.  Even  the  Secretary  of  the 
Province  had  gone  over,  while  the  colonels  had  been  reinforced  by 
the  commander  of  one  of  the  men-of-war. 

As  soon  as  they  were  met,  another  Committee  came  from  the 
town-meeting.  Samuel  Adams  led  them  again,  and  as  they  faced 
each  other,  Hutchinson  must  have  remembered  the  affidavits  he  had 
got  up,  with  the  aid  of  Bernard  and  Oliver,  and  had  sent  to 
England,  to  form  the  basis  of  a  charge  of  treason,  under  the  statute 
of  Henry  vm.  The  Committee  came  to  say  that  the  reply  of  the 
morning  was  unsatisfactory — all  the  troops  must  be  removed. 
There  are  near  three  thousand  people  assembled,  and  nothing  less 
than  total  and  immediate  removal  will  satisfy  them.  Hutchinson 
repeated  that  the  troops  were  not  under  his  authority.  Dalrymple 
spoke  again  of  moving  the  29th.  "  If  you  can  move  one,  you  can 
move  both,"  said  Adams.  "  It  is  at  your  peril  if  you  refuse."  To 
Hutchinson  he  said,  "  The  meeting  is  become  very  impatient.  A 
thousand  men  are  already  arrived  from  the  neighbourhood — the  whole 
country  is  in  motion.  Night  is  approaching — they  wait  for  your 
answer."  He  saw  Hutchinson's  knees  tremble,  and  his  face  grow 
pale.  As  usual,  Hutchinson  was  thinking  of  ill-omened  precedents 
— this  time  it  was  Governor  Andros  and  the  Revolution  of  1688. 
When  the  Committee  had  retired,  the  members  of  Council  gave 
their  opinions  separately,  with  their  reasons.  Tyler  said,  "These 
are  not  the  people  who  pulled  your  house  down — they  are  people  of 
the  best  character  among  us,  men  of  estates,  and  men  of  religion. 
You  cannot  prevent  the  people  taking  up  arms — there  are  10,000  of 
them  ready,  in  Boston,  Charlestown,  Roxbury,  and  the  other  near 
towns,  determined  the  troops  shall  go."  Others  said  that  men 
would  come  from  Worcester  County  and  the  Vale  of  the  Connecticut. 
The  whole  Council  was  strongly  for  sending  all  the  troops  to  the 
Castle  at  once.  But  Hutchinson  still  held  out ;  and  Dalrymple,  on 
hearing  about  the  10,000  men,  began  to  draw  back  a  little  from  the 
responsibility  of  removal.  It  was  late.  The  people  were  still  in 
the  streets.  Hutchinson  repeated  that  he  had  no  power  to  order 
the  troops  to  be  removed,  though  he  desired  it. 

By  this  time  Dalrymple  dared  not  act  upon  this.      It   was   a 
dead-lock.     The  officers  were  growing  restive  at  their  humiliation. 


212  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Expresses  were  posting  to  Gage  for  orders.  As  soon  as  this  was 
known,  the  fear  that  Gage  would  order  the  troops  to  remain  in  town 
redoubled  resistance — another  town-meeting  was  called,  this  time 
in  the  Old  South.  Hutchinson  received  another  visit  from  Samuel 
Adams  and  his  friends.  There  was  an  angry  scene.  Adams 
warned  the  Governor  of  the  resentment  of  the  whole  people. 
Hutchinson  gave  a  peremptory  refusal.  Then  Adams  appealed 
once  more  to  Dalrymple,  and  that  same  evening  the  29th,  and  next 
day  the  14th  regiments  were  removed  to  the  Castle.  In  a  private 
note,  Hutchinson  says  Dalrymple  was  much  distressed,  but  "  brought 
it  on  himself"  by  offering  to  move  the  29th.  It  was  an  ungrateful 
remark — by  moving  the  regiments,  Dalrymple  saved  Hutchinson 
from  the  frightful  danger  of  a  second  collision.  The  sequel  proved 
that  the  people  were  not  to  be  intimidated.  If  there  had  been 
another  affray,  the  townsmen  would  not  again  have  been  shot  down 
without  defending  themselves.  Those  who  best  knew  their  temper, 
knew  that  before  Gage  could  send  reinforcements  there  might  not 
have  been  a  British  soldier  left  alive  in  Boston. 

The  funerals  of  Gray,  Caldwell,  Maverick,  and  Attucks  took 
place  on  the  8th.  The  shops  were  closed ;  the  bells  of  Boston, 
Charlestown,  Roxbury,  and  Cambridge  were  tolled.  The  procession 
began  to  move  between  4  and  5  in  the  afternoon.  The  hearses  met 
in  King  Street,  very  near  the  fatal  spot.  Those  who  followed 
walked  six  deep ;  never  was  seen  so  great  an  assemblage  in  the 
streets  of  Boston. 

Even  now  Hutchinson  continued  to  irritate  the  people.  The 
Assembly  met  for  a  short  session.  It  had  expected  to  be  allowed 
to  return  to  Boston,  but  Hutchinson  said  it  was  the  King's  pleasure 
it  should  continue  to  sit  at  Cambridge.  But  the  words  of 
Hillsborough's  letter  ran,  "  unless  the  lieutenant-governor  has  more 
weighty  reasons  for  holding  it  at  Boston,  than  those  which  were 
mentioned  by  the  secretary  of  state  against  it."  Hutchinson  says 
that  he  saw  no  reason  sufficient  "  to  justify  him  in  the  eyes  of  the 
King."  As  usual,  he  tried  to  throw  the  responsibility  on  someone 
else — he  made  the  Representatives  suppose  he  had  a  "  peremptory 
order  " ;  but  when  they  asked  to  see  it,  he  flatly  refused  to  show  it. 
There  was  great  indignation,  but,  by  the  Charter,  a  new  Assembly 
must  be  elected  in  May,  and  Hutchinson  hoped  it  would  be  more 
tractable.  He  had  been  offered  Bernard's  succession,  but  his  health 
was  beginning  to  suffer  from  "the  vexations  of  a  short  administration 
of  6  or  8  months,"  and  he  quailed  at  the  prospect  of  the  Governor- 
ship. He  desired  to  be  excused  from  the  honour  intended  him, 
and  he  even  asked  to  resign  the  Lieutenant-Governorship,  and  to 


THE   5TH  OF  MARCH,   1770  213 

be  allowed  to  end  his  days  as  Chief  Justice,  a  post  he  had  already 
held  for  ten  years,  with  "  more  satisfaction  than  he  had  ever  received 
in  any  of  the  three  branches  of  the  legislature." 

On  March  12  the  Committee  drew  up  a  Report1  of  these 
occurrences.  It  was  submitted  to  a  town-meeting  on  the  19th, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed,  and  a  vessel  was  chartered  to  take  out 
copies  to  London — they  were  transmitted  to  Governor  Pownall. 
With  them  went  a  circular  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond  and 
others.  This  account  says  that  the  soldiers  had  been  insolent  from 
their  first  coming.  They  landed  "with  all  the  appearance  of 
hostility,  marching  with  ensigns  of  triumph  !  Since  then  they  have 
been  abusing  the  people,  rescuing  prisoners,  and  even  firing  on 
the  inhabitants  in  the  street,  when  in  the  peace  of  God  and  the 
King ;  and  when  we  have  applied  for  redress  in  the  course  of  the 
law  of  the  land,  our  magistrates  and  Courts  of  Justice  have 
appeared  to  be  overawed  by  them."  It  also  asserts  that  when  the 
soldiers  fired  on  the  5th  of  March,  several  muskets  were  discharged 
out  of  a  window  of  the  Custom  House.  The  account  was  prepared 
by  Bowdoin  (Commissioner  Temple's  father-in-law),  Pemberton, 
and  Dr.  Joseph  Warren.  It  refers  to  the  affair  of  Captain  Wilson, 
of  the  59th,  proved  guilty,  "  not  long  after  the  soldiers  arrived,  of 
enticing  negroes  to  rob  and  murder  their  masters,  and  repair  to  the 
army  for  protection." 

With  another  of  his  unfortunate  comparisons,  Hutchinson  says 
that  poor  Patrick  Carr,  who  was  mortally  wounded,  but  lingered 
many  days,  said  before  he  died  that  he  had  never  seen  soldiers  bear 
so  much  from  mobs  in  Ireland,  as  Preston's  guard  did  from  the 
people  on  this  occasion — a  fact  which  ought  to  be  recorded  in 
justice  to  Irish  mobs. 

Richardson's  trial  came  on  for  the  shooting  of  the  German  boy 
in  February.  In  spite  of  the  Court  ruling  that  it  was  at  most  only 
manslaughter,  the  jury  brought  it  in  murder.  On  a  technical 
pretext  sentence  was  deferred  till  next  term,  and  when  that  time 
came,  Richardson,  brought  into  Court  early  in  the  morning,  pleaded 
the  King's  pardon,  and  absconded  (the  word  is  Hutchinson's) 
before  anyone  knew  anything  of  the  matter.  The  trial  of  Preston 
was  delayed,  to  give  time  for  minds  to  cool.  Meanwhile,  the 
election  took  place,  and  again  the  Assembly  was  ordered  to  meet 
at  Cambridge. 

The  Instructions  given  by  the  town  of  Boston  to  their  new 
representatives  were  written  by  Josiah  Quincy,  a  young  lawyer  of 
twenty-six.     In  language  strangely  solemn — the  shadows  of  an  early 
1  "  A  Short  Narrative,"  etc. 


214  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

death  were  already  gathering  round  him — he  spoke  of  the  perilous 
times,  the  alarming  prospect;  unwarrantable  and  arbitrary  exac- 
tions, grievances,  discontents,  convulsing  every  part  of  the  British 
Empire — "  under  God,  only  stern  and  inflexible  fortitude  can  save 
us  from  destruction."  A  series  of  occurrences,  and  especially  the 
late  journals  of  the  House  of  Lords,  afford  reason  to  believe  there 
is  a  deep-laid  plan  of  imperial  despotism,  partly  executed,  for  the 
extinction  of  all  civil  liberty.  That  admirable  work  of  ages,  the 
British  Constitution,  seems  just  tottering  to  ruin.  You  must 
summon  up  the  whole  united  faculties  of  mind  and  body,  if  we 
are  not  to  be  overwhelmed  beneath  the  ruins  of  our  rights.  Then 
much  on  the  grievance  of  sitting  at  Harvard,  on  the  "mystical 
jargon"  of  the  high-prerogative  crown-lawyers,  with  exceedingly 
disrespectful  remarks  on  King  James,  First  of  England,  who  once 
"dared"  to  tell  a  Parliament  to  abstain  from  discussing  affairs  of 
State;  and  very  earnest  exhortations  to  a  union  of  the  Colonies. 
It  is  now  no  time  to  halt  between  two  opinions — if  we  recede,  the 
dogs  of  war  will  be  let  loose  upon  us;  the  demands  of  fraud, 
violence,  and  usurpation  are  insatiable :  it  is  no  time  to  listen  to 
either  cajolings  or  threatenings.  Bear  yourselves  then  like  the 
faithful  representatives  of  a  freeborn,  awakened,  and  determined 
people,  who,  conceived  in  liberty,  will  never  give  it  up  till  they 
yield  their  souls  to  God  who  gave  them. 

Hutchinson  —  who  sent  this  document  home — says  that  it 
appeared  to  indicate  the  design  of  a  general  revolt,  and,  along  with 
the  message  at  the  close  of  last  session,  caused  the  first  measures 
taken  to  guard  against  rebellion — the  troops  sent  till  now  having 
been  merely  intended  to  suppress  mobs  and  tumultuous  assem- 
blages. 

The  Assembly  began  at  once  to  protest  against  its  banishment. 
The  Representatives  demanded  to  know  the  reason  for  it,  and 
Hutchinson  dared  not  tell  them  that  his  own  letters  were  the 
reason.  They  complained  of  the  inconvenience  of  sitting  in  one 
town,  when  all  the  public  documents  and  offices  were  in  another — 
to  say  nothing  of  the  disturbance  to  the  studies  of  Harvard. 
Hutchinson  replied  that  they  could  easily  send  for  the  few  papers 
they  really  needed ;  and  as  for  the  studies  of  Harvard,  the  vacation 
was  just  going  to  begin — and,  anyway,  the  hearing  the  debates 
would  be  an  education  for  the  students.  So  flippantly  did  an  old 
Harvard  man  talk  of  his  College.  The  Assembly  retorted  that, 
if  they  moved  the  records,  and  built  themselves  a  suitable  house, 
they  "  have  no  assurance  that  the  next  freak  of  a  capricious  minister 
will  not  remove  the  court  to  another  place."     Out  of  a  House  of 


THE   5TH  OF  MARCH,   1770  215 

102,  96  voted  that  it  was  not  expedient  to  proceed  to  business  while 
they  were  constrained  to  hold  their  session  out  of  Boston. 
Hutchinson  replied  that  he  was  afraid  of  offending  the  King ;  and 
asked  if  they  thought  it  safe  to  leave  Castle  William  and  Fort 
Pownall  unprovided  for  ?  And  that  Act  of  the  province  for  raising 
a  tax  of  ^80,000?  And  the  Act  for  limiting  suits  at  law;  and 
many  others?  You  can  pass  these  as  well  at  Cambridge  as  at 
Boston. 

The  Council  and  the  House  were  resolute.  The  House  sent 
long  messages,  quoting  precedents,1  answering  the  Governor's  plea 
of  prerogative,  by  asserting  that  prerogative  has  no  just  foundation 
but  the  good  of  the  community.  As  it  was  very  much  to  the 
hurt  of  the  community  that  the  House  did  not  sit  at  Boston,  they 
were  certain  his  powers  must  be  sufficient  to  allow  their  return — 
finally,  that  they  refused  to  proceed  to  business  until  he  did. 
Hutchinson  replied  that  his  Majesty  thought  it  for  the  good  of  the 
community  to  have  them  sit  at  Cambridge — he  could  not  move  them 
without  further  instructions.  He  had  "thought  fit"  that  the 
general  court  should  convene  at  Cambridge.  He  must  be  the  final 
judge  of  fitness  and  expediency,  by  virtue  of  his  commission. 

By  96  to  6,  the  House  resolved  to  do  no  business  until  removed ; 
and  Hutchinson  prorogued  them  on  June  25,  when  they  had  sat  near 
a  month. 

They  met  again  on  July  25,  and  Hutchinson,  after  a  long  speech, 
to  prove  that  it  was  just  as  legal  to  convene  them  at  Cambridge  as 
at  Boston,  told  them  if  they  persisted  in  their  refusal  he  must 
prorogue  them  again.  They  sent  up  a  worse  message  than  the 
former  ones— this  time  they  quoted  "  the  great  Mr.  Locke/'  whose 
opinions  on  government  appear  in  most  of  the  speeches  of  the 
friends  of  America  at  Westminster.  The  great  Mr.  Locke  had 
asked,  in  this  matter  of  prerogative,  who  was  to  be  the  judge 
whether  the  power  was  made  a  right  use  of?  and  had  answered  his 
own  question  by  saying  that  there  can  be  no  judge  on  earth — the 
people  have  no  remedy  but  an  appeal  to  heaven.  "We  would, 
however,  by  no  means  be  understood  to  suggest,  that  this  people 
have  occasion  at  present  to  proceed  to  such  extremity." 

1  The  House  had  sat  in  Boston  every  year  from  1692  to  1721,  in  which  year, 
the  small-pox  being  in  Boston,  and  the  members  afraid  to  sit  there,  Governor 
Shute  moved  it  to  Cambridge — but  it  was  expressly  promised  that  this  should  not 
form  a  precedent.  A  few  years  later,  the  unlucky  Governor  Burnet,  in  one  of  his 
many  disputes  with  his  legislature,  removed  it  to  Salem.  It  had  very  occasionally 
been  moved  afterwards — usually  when  the  small-pox  was  in  Boston.  The 
House  had  always  shown  great  jealousy  of  these  removals  being  construed  into 
precedent. 


216  ENGLAND   AND  AMERICA 

For,  when  a  people  talk  about  appealing  to  heaven,  they  mean 
that  they  are  prepared  to  appeal  to  arms. 

Hutchinson  says,  he  hoped,  as  they  did  business  with  so  little 
difficulty  in  the  spring,  that  this  time  too  they  would  have  yielded. 
Then  he  would  soon  have  let  them  return.  But  he  saw  that  they 
were  retaliating  for  his  claim  to  decide  where  they  should  sit,  by 
exerting  the  power  given  them  by  the  Constitution  of  determining 
when  they  should  do  their  business.     "This  was  bidding  defiance." 

He  answered  them  on  the  3rd  of  August,  in  a  long,  rambling, 
quibbling  speech — a  weak  bandying  of  words.  They  doubt  whether 
the  King  really  wishes  the  Court  held  at  Cambridge — "  I  have  no 
doubt  of  it."  He  does  not  show  his  Majesty's  orders,  because  he 
knows  his  Majesty  desires  him  not  to  do  so.  They  have  called 
the  instruction  of  June,  1 768,  "  an  impudent  mandate."  He  presumes 
they  do  not  know  it  was  an  order  from  his  Majesty.  They  have  no 
right  to  suppose  these  orders  are  the  acts  of  the  Minister,  and  not  of 
the  King.  The  affairs  of  America  are  grown  so  serious,  that  his 
Majesty  is  giving  them  his  immediate  attention — every  order  there- 
fore from  the  Secretary  of  State  must  be  supposed  to  come  immedi- 
ately from  the  Crown,  and  ought  not  to  be  treated  with  contempt. 
Then  the  freedom  with  which  they  have  spoken  of  the  attorneys 
and  solicitors-general,  will,  he  fears,  bring  dishonour  on  themselves 
— these  offices  have  for  fifty  years  past  been  filled  by  persons  of  the 
highest  reputation.  As  for  the  quotation  from  Mr.  Locke,  it  does 
not  apply  to  their  case — nobody  is  trying  to  enslave  or  destroy  them, 
and  as  they  very  prudently  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  to  mean 
they  have  occasion  to  appeal  to  heaven,  he  is  at  a  loss  to  conceive 
why  they  quoted  Mr.  Locke  at  all.  They  talk  of  the  Charter  as  a 
compact — when  they  refuse  to  do  business,  are  they  not  failing  in 
performing  their  part  of  the  compact  ?  They  have  said  that  this 
is  to  reassert  the  doctrine  of  Chief  Justice  Tresilian,  in  the  time 
of  Richard  11 ;  but  what  Tresilian  said  was,  that  the  King  had  the 
government  of  Parliament,  and  might  appoint  what  shall  be  first 
handled,  what  next,  and  so  on,  and  punish  as  traitors  any  that 
acted  contrary  to  his  pleasure.  He  shall  now  prorogue  them  again, 
and  hopes  when  next  they  meet  they  will  join  with  him  in  what  is 
necessary  for  the  real  interest  of  the  province.  Then  he  prorogued 
them,  and  soon  something  happened  which  drove  these  technical 
quibbles  out  of  their  heads. 

There  was  a  small  provincial  garrison  in  Castle  William, — a  fort 
on  an  island  two  and  a  half  miles  below  the  town,  so  situated  with 
regard  to  the  channel  for  ships,  that  no  ship  could  pass  in  without 
being  commanded  by  the  Castle  guns.     The  garrison  was  composed 


THE   5TH  OF  MARCH,   1770  217 

of  young  men  of  the  province,  and  was  under  the  command  of  the 
Governor.  The  Castle  had  been  repaired  at  the  expense  of  the 
province,  and  contained  stores  belonging  to  it.  Phillipps,  one  of 
the  Committee  at  the  time  the  troops  were  removed,  was  the 
colonel.  One  evening,  early  in  September,  1770,  the  news  spread 
through  the  town  that  the  provincial  garrison  had  been  turned  out, 
and  that  Dalrymple  was  in  command  at  the  Castle. 

A  fortnight  before  Gage  had  written  from  New  York,  proposing 
this,  and  asking  how  best  it  could  be  done ;  and  Hutchinson, 
supposing  it  the  General's  own  idea,  had  replied  that  it  was  in- 
expedient, and  Gage  had  agreed.  But  now  he  had  sent  a  copy 
of  an  order  from  the  King  in  Council,  and  a  letter  from  Hillsborough, 
ordering  him  to  seize  the  Castle,  as  soon  as  Gage  should  appoint 
the  officer  to  command  it.  Hutchinson  received  this  order  at 
Milton,  six  miles  from  Boston,  where  he  had  a  country-house.  He 
fully  realised  the  gravity  of  the  step,  and  the  indignation  it  would 
arouse.  Everything  in  the  Castle  was  the  property  of  the  town,  and 
to  hand  it  over  to  the  King's  troops  "  would  set  the  people  in  a 
flame."  At  first  he  thought  of  writing  again  to  Gage,  advising 
delay,  but,  "before  the  express  was  ready,  he  altered  his  mind." 
He  reflected  that  if  the  intention  got  wind,  execution  would  be 
more  difficult,  and  then  all  the  consequences  of  the  delay  would  be 
charged  on  him.  He  summoned  the  Council,  and  sent  an  order  in 
writing  to  Dalrymple  to  replace  the  provincial  sentinels  by  King's 
troops  on  the  island.  When  the  Council  met,  having  first  exacted 
secrecy  upon  their  oaths  as  councillors,  he  informed  them  of  the 
order — not  for  advice,  but  to  let  them  know  he  meant  to  retain  the 
ammunition  and  stores.  The  Council  tried  to  vote  that  the  stores 
should  be  removed  by  the  town,  but  the  vote  was  lost.  Then 
Hutchinson  went  to  Dorchester  Neck,  and  crossed  to  the  island  in 
a  barge.  He  entered  the  state-room  of  the  Castle,  and  called  for 
the  keys.  There  was  an  angry  scene  with  Phillipps,  but  he  was 
finally  compelled  to  give  up  the  keys,  and  Hutchinson  handed  them 
over  to  Dalrymple.  He  so  much  feared  public  wrath,  that  next  day 
he  took  refuge  in  the  Castle,  and  stayed  there  a  week. 

The  House  reassembled  on  October  2,  and  Hutchinson  form- 
ally acquainted  them  with  what  had  been  done.  It  was  a  clear 
violation  of  the  Charter,  and  the  House  sent  "a  very  angry 
message,"  that  very  false  representations  must  have  been  made  to 
their  Sovereign,  and  if  he  was  privy  to  them,  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
ought  to  communicate  them.  Another  long  duel  of  words  followed 
— the  House  announced  its  intention  of  examining  the  parties 
present  at  the  transfer — the  Lieutenant-Governor  might  be  present 


218  ENGLAND  AND   AMERICA 

if  he  chose.  He  did  not  choose.  The  Houses  kept  a  day  of 
prayer,  and  requested  Hutchinson  to  appoint  a  day  of  solemn 
humiliation  for  the  whole  province,  but  as  it  happened  to  be  close 
on  "  Thanksgiving,"  he  recommended  them  to  add  their  prayers  to 
their  thanksgivings.  And  he  thought  he  had  triumphed,  because 
the  Assembly,  in  view  of  "new  and  insupportable  grievances," 
resolved  to  go  to  business  after  all. 

At  last,  on  October  24,  Captain  Preston  was  tried  for  "the 
murder  committed  in  King  Street  on  the  5th  of  March."  Josiah 
Quincy  and  John  Adams  (hereafter  to  be  the  first  American  Envoy 
to  the  Court  of  St.  James')  defended  the  prisoner.  The  main 
question  was,  did  Preston  give  the  order  to  fire  ?  But  all  the  four 
Judges — Trowbridge,  Oliver,  Cushing,  and  Lynes,  charged  that 
even  if  he  did,  it  was  not  murder,  since  there  was  a  riot.  The  jury 
acquitted  him,  because  it  was  not  proved  that  he  gave  the  order  to 
fire.  Two  of  the  soldiers  were  found  guilty  of  manslaughter ;  the 
rest  were  acquitted,  because  one  man  of  them  had  not  discharged 
his  musket,  and  the  jury  were  afraid  of  condemning  an  innocent 
person.  In  a  singularly  ungenerous  account  of  these  trials 
Hutchinson  calls  this  a  result  "much  to  the  dishonour  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Boston."  It  was  really  greatly  to  their  credit  that 
resentment  was  allowed  to  have  so  little  influence. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 
THE  PUBLICITY  OF  DEBATE 

"  Sir,  whether  the  proclamation  be  legal  or  not,  I  shall  not  now  say.  ...  As  to 
Mr.  Twine  Carpenter,  I  shall  certainly  oppose  the  giving  him  any  support ;  he  is 
neither  more  nor  less  than  a  familiar  of  Mr.  Wheble,  called  his  devil ;  by  a  com- 
pact between  this  devil  and  Wheble,  the  devil  arrests  him.  This  arrest,  the 
city  magistrates  determined  to  be  illegal,  and  therefore  they  bound  the  devil 
over  to  answer  for  what  he  had  done.  Now,  as  it  manifestly  appears,  that  the 
devil  and  the  printer  are  in  compact,  I  think  the  wisest  thing  we  can  do,  is 
to  leave  the  devil  to  the  printer,  and  the  printer  to  his  devil.  Whether  printer 
beats  devil,  or  devil  beats  printer,  is  of  no  consequence.  There  may  possibly  be 
the  devil  to  do,  and  certainly  there  will  be  the  devil  to  pay  ;  but  that  is  nothing 
to  us.  .  .  ." — Mr.  Solicitor- General  Wedderbum  on  the  Proceedings  against  the 
Printers ',  March  20,  1771. 

"  The  Report  being  read[of  the  Committee  relative  to  the  late  Obstructions  of  the 
Execution  of  the  Orders  of  this  House],  the  House  burst  out  into  a  roar  of  laughter 
at  the  impotency  of  the  conclusion." — Parliamentary  Debates,  April  30,  1771. 

It  will  have  been  seen  that  the  whole  aim  of  George  ill's  policy 
was  to  destroy  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  while  preserving  the 
letter.  The  parties  described  by  Almon  were  the  avowed 
ministerialists,  who  voted  with  Ministers ;  and  the  "  King's  Friends," 
who  voted  as  the  inner  Cabinet  (who  alone  were  in  the  secrets  of 
government)  might  direct,  and  who  were  sometimes  ordered  to  vote 
with  Opposition,  when  the  visible  Cabinet  was  to  be  thwarted  in  the 
interests  of  the  invisible  ;  or  when  one  wing  of  Opposition  was  to  be 
strengthened  to  weaken  the  other.  By  means  of  his  "  Friends  " — 
some  of  whom  were  members  of  Opposition  itself,  bought  over  for 
a  price,  or  a  place — the  King  could  pull  every  string  on  which  he 
would  have  Parliament  dance.  Every  conclusion  was  foregone; 
only  on  some  very  rare  occasion,  when  a  more  acute  crisis  than  usual 
frightened  these  unprincipled  hirelings  into  throwing  over  party  for 
a  moment,  was  any  division  in  the  House  of  Commons  an  expression 
of  that  House's  convictions.  To  secure  the  unquestioning  obedience 
of  the  King's  Friends,  and  ensure  that  they  should  be  Jacks-of-both- 
sides  at  need,  the  money  of  the  Civil  List  was  poured  out  like  water, 
while  the  King's  grocer  and  tallow-chandler  went  unpaid.     Each 

219 


220  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

year  brought  the  same  appeal  to  the  dutifulness  of  the  House,  to 
raise  the  amount  by  which  his  Majesty  was  in  arrears ;  each  year, 
Opposition  asked  how  it  was  that  a  sovereign  with  no  private  vices 
— who  had  no  mistresses,  and  did  not  lose  at  cards,  and  whose 
Court  might  almost  be  called  parsimonious  as  to  outward  show — was 
always  getting  deeper  and  deeper  in  debt?  Each  year  they  said 
openly  that  the  reason  was  that  the  King  was  always  providing  him- 
self with  more  and  more  "  Friends." 

The  extreme  interest  of  this  period  lies  in  the  fact  that,  when 
bribery,  corruption,  and  "influence"  had  rendered  Parliaments  the 
pliant  tools  of  a  King  inflated  by  ideas  only  fit  for  an  absolute 
monarchy,  the  people  themselves  stepped  into  the  breach.  Noble 
as  was  the  stand  made  by  the  Opposition  of  those  times,  it  could 
have  done  nothing  but  for  the  support  it  received  from  without. 
Within  the  walls  of  Parliament,  it  hardly  secured  a  single  division ; 
but  it  breathed  a  soul  into  the  whole  people.  It  is  deeply  interest- 
ing to  watch  this  stirring  of  the  waters — the  first  beginnings  of  that 
current  of  public  opinion  which  sixty  years  later  swept  away  the 
whole  system  of  rotten  and  pocket  boroughs,  and  struck  the  most 
effectual  blow  at  corruption,  by  making  constituencies  too  large 
to  be  bought  and  sold.  That  Parliaments  are  fallible,  that  their 
decisions  may  be  illegal,  and  that  the  people  may  call  them  to 
account  by  demanding  a  General  Election — these  articles  of  faith 
are  professed  in  all  the  speeches  of  Opposition  upon  the  Middlesex 
Election,  and  they  were  endorsed  by  enthusiastic  meetings  all  over 
the  country.  The  active  participation  by  the  people  in  their  own 
government  was  no  longer  to  be  confined  to  the  moment  of  an 
election,  after  which  it  was  a  kind  of  treason  to  arraign  their  repre- 
sentatives— it  was  to  be  continuous ;  and,  as  was  inevitable,  this  view 
quickly  embodied  itself  in  a  demand  for  the  full  and  immediate 
publication  of  the  debates.  The  year  1771  marks  the  beginning  of 
regular  and  avowed  reports  of  the  debates  in  Parliament.  Wilkes 
was  at  the  bottom  of  the  movement.  Public  interest  in  the  debates 
was  never  more  intense  than  in  the  days  when  "  influence,"  and  the 
"double  cabinet,"  had  reduced  Parliamentary  government  to  an 
elaborate  farce.  So  keen  was  the  interest,  that  for  the  last  year 
several  of  the  great  magazines  had  published  the  debates  under  the 
merest  pretence  of  a  veil  —  the  title  of  Debates  i?i  a  Newly- 
established  Society,  and  more  or  less  transparent  travesties  of  the 
speakers'  names — even  this  concealment  to  be  more  often  than  not 
thrown  off  in  the  Index  to  the  completed  volume.  Only  one  im- 
portant restriction  was  observed — these  debates  must  not  be  published 
in  the  session  in  which  they  took  place.     Thus  the  public  were 


THE  PUBLICITY  OF  DEBATE  221 

always  many  months  behind  in  their  knowledge  of  how  their  repre- 
sentatives had  acquitted  themselves  in  fight. 

The  printers  of  newspapers — we  now  call  them  "  editors  " — had 
long  chafed  under  this  restriction.  Wilkes  now  urged  them  to  risk 
all,  and  "  try  the  question."  Accordingly,  on  the  8th  of  February, 
1 77 1,  R.  Thompson,  of  the  Gazetteer  and  New  Daily  Advertiser ■, 
and  John  Wheble,  of  the  Middlesex  Journal,  printed  the  debates. 

The  House  lost  no  time.  That  same  day  Colonel  Onslow  made  a 
complaint,  and  moved  that  the  printers  be  brought  to  justice  for  in- 
fringing a  standing  order  of  the  House,  against  printing  in  newspapers 
the  transactions  of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  had  been  repre- 
sented in  these  newspapers  as  having  made  a  motion  to  stop  the 
liberty  of  the  Press,  by  preventing  the  speeches  of  members  being 
printed  during  the  session.  Other  members  said  that  this  practice 
had  got  to  an  "infamous  height" — members  are  represented  as  say- 
ing what  they  did  not  say,  and  their  interests  with  their  boroughs  are 
hurt  by  it.  It  was  never  done — even  in  the  most  violent  opposition 
to  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  no  speeches  were  published,  except  during 
the  intervals  of  Parliament,  "  and  then  only  in  a  decent  manner." 
Opposition  acknowledged  the  abuse,  but  said  that  Cinna,1  and  other 
ministerial  writers,  also  personally  abused  the  most  respectable 
gentlemen  who  differed  from  them.  If  the  speeches  were  never 
made,  they  were  no  speeches,  therefore  could  not  be  punished — not 
that  this  practice  was  a  new  one,  for  Charles  the  First  had  authorised 
his  "  minister,  Lord  Clarendon,"  to  publish  speeches  merely  to  mis- 
represent members.  Opposition  said  that  this  prohibition  was  a 
usurpation — the  House  assumed  it  in  the  bad  times  of  1641,  when 
its  privileges  were  used  in  defence  of  the  people,  and  were  acquiesced 
in  for  that  reason — their  usurpations  being  considered  securities  for 
their  independence ;  but  now  these  weapons  were  being  converted 
into  instruments  of  tyranny.  The  constituents  ought  to  know  what 
their  representatives  did,  that  they  might  know  whether  to  re-elect 
them.  Onslow's  motion  was  carried,  and  the  printers  were  ordered 
to  attend  next  Monday. 

They  did  not  come.  On  the  19th  they  were  again  ordered  to 
attend — an  attempt  to  add  "for  contempt  of  this  House"  was 
hastily  dropped.  After  this,  messengers  were  sent  to  the  printers' 
houses,  who  always  reported  that  they  found  them  not  at  home.  So 
when  on  March  4  the  Deputy  Sergeant-at-Arms  told  the  House  he 
had  made  diligent  search,  but  had  not  been  able  to  meet  with  the 
printers,  the  House  resolved  on  "an  humble  Address  to  his 
Majesty,"  for  a  royal  proclamation  to  apprehend  John  Wheble  and 
1  A  writer  in  the  papers,  known  to  be  under  the  patronage  of  Lord  Sandwich. 


222  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

R.  Thompson.  On  the  12th  Colonel  Onslow  told  the  House  he 
had  got  "  three  brace  of  printers  more."  He  then  complained  of 
the  Morning  Chronicle  and  London  Advertiser,  printed  for  William 
Woodfall ;  the  St.  James*  Chronicle,  printed  by  Henry  Baldwin ;  The 
London  Packet,  for  T.  Evans ;  The  Whitehall  Evening  Post,  printed 
by  T.  Wright ;  the  General  Evening  Post,  sold  by  S.  Bladon ;  and 
the  London  Evening  Post,  printed  for  J.  Miller  •  as  containing  the 
debates  and  misrepresenting  the  speeches  of  several  of  the  members 
of  this  House,  in  contempt  of  the  orders,  and  in  breach  of  the 
privilege  of  the  said  House.  And  he  moved  that  the  London 
Chrofiicle  be  delivered  in  at  the  table  and  read. 

Opposition  very  earnestly  opposed  this — they  warned  the  House 
that  they  had  already  tried  to  punish  two  printers,  who  would 
probably  get  the  better  of  them  in  the  end ;  that  they  had  better 
consider  well ;  the  speeches  wTere  no  disgrace  to  the  members  who 
made  them — if  they  did  not  complain,  the  House  need  not  do  so. 
Then  many  of  the  papers  were  disguised  with  blanks,  disguised 
names,  etc.,  and  it  might  be  difficult  to  fill  these  up.  And  every 
newspaper  in  England — near  200  —  had  done  the  same.  If 
the  House  prosecuted  them  all,  it  would  have  no  time  for  any 
other  business — it  is  attacking  "a  hive  of  bees  or  an  hydra,  who 
would  sprout  100  heads  for  one  cut  off."  But,  by  140  to  48, 
the  House  agreed  to  Onslow's  motion,  and  ordered  William 
Woodfall  to  come  before  it  on  Thursday  next.  Then  paragraphs 
from  the  St.  James'  Chrotiide  were  read — among  others,  "Jeremiah 

Weymouth,  the  d n  of  the  kingdom,  spoke  as  follows."     Whereon 

Colonel  Barre  moved,  that  "Jeremiah  Weymouth,  the  d n  of 

this  kingdom,  is  not  a  member  of  this  House."  The  Minister 
could  not  well  say  he  was;  and  nobody  chose  to  say  that  Jerry 
Dyson  was,  so  the  previous  question  was  moved,  but  lost.  Then, 
Colonels  Barre  and  Onslow  rising  to  speak,  the  Speaker  called  on 
Onslow,  though  Barre  rose  first,  whereupon  the  ministerialists  made 
an  attempt  to  get  a  ruling  which  would  have  given  the  Speaker 
uncontrolled  power  to  select  the  member  he  chose,  though  not 
"  first  up  " — Dyson  himself  proposing  this  amendment.  To  prevent 
this,  the  minority  again  moved  for  adjournment.  No  fewer  than 
34  divisions  were  taken  this  night,  mostly  for  adjournment, 
the  others  on  all  and  every  point  which  Opposition  could  seize 
upon,  such  as :  That  The  London  Packet  be  read ;  That  Thomas 
Evans  be  ordered  to  attend,  together  with  all  his  compositors, 
pressmen,  correctors,  blackers,  and  devils;  then,  That  the  White- 
hall Post  be  read;  and  so  on,  till  finally,  at  four  in  the  morning, 
it  was  carried,  That  the  Printers  shall  attend  the  House. 


THE  PUBLICITY  OF  DEBATE  223 

On  the  9th,  the  Royal  Proclamation  was  published  in  the 
Gazette,  with  a  reward  of  ^50  for  apprehending  the  two 
printers,  and  on  the  15th  Wheble  was  apprehended  by  one 
Carpenter,  variously  described  as  a  brother  printer  who  had  a 
grudge  against  him,  and  as  Wheble's  "devil"  acting  in  concert 
with  his  master.  Wheble  was  carried  before  Alderman  Wilkes, 
then  sitting  at  the  Guildhall.  As  the  proclamation  was  the  sole 
ground  of  the  arrest,  Wilkes  discharged  the  prisoner,  who  then 
charged  Carpenter  with  assault  and  unlawful  imprisonment. 
Wilkes  immediately  wrote  to  Lord  Halifax — lately  become  Southern 
Secretary — to  inform  him  of  what  had  occurred,  and  express  his 
opinion  that  Wheble  had  been  arrested  "  in  direct  violation  of  the 
rights  of  an  Englishman,  and  the  chartered  privileges  of  a  citizen 
of  this  metropolis."  He  had  therefore  bound  him  over  to  prosecute 
Carpenter. 

The  same  day  John  Miller  of  the  London  Evening  Post  was 
arrested  by  a  Messenger  of  the  House,  and  taken  before  Lord 
Mayor  Brass  Crosby,  Beckford's  successor,  and  Aldermen  Wilkes 
and  Oliver.  The  Deputy  Sergeant-at-Arms  showed  a  warrant  from 
the  House  of  Commons,  but  the  Lord  Mayor  discharged  the 
prisoner,  who  thereupon  gave  the  Messenger  in  charge,  and  was 
•  bound  over  to  prosecute.  When  the  House  heard  this,  it  ordered 
John  Wilkes  to  attend  this  House  to-morrow  morning. 

Wilkes  replied  that  he  noticed  this  order  did  not  require  him 
to  attend  in  his  place.  In  the  name  of  the  freeholders  of  Middlesex, 
he  again  demanded  his  seat.  "When  I  have  been  admitted  to 
my  seat,  I  will  immediately  give  the  House  the  most  exact  detail 
of  my  conduct  relative  to  the  late  illegal  proclamation."  Thus 
the  House  found  itself  once  more  defied  by  its  old  enemy.  In 
its  wrath  it  made  another  mistake,  and  found  itself  defied  by  a 
new  one. 

North  did  not  want  to  engage  in  this  new  quarrel — he  had  had 
enough  of  Wilkes.  It  was  the  King  who  was  resolved  to  send 
Crosby  and  Oliver  to  the  Tower.  Sir  Gilbert  Elliott,  a  King's 
Friend,  made  an  inflammatory  speech,  asking  the  House  if  it  was 
afraid  of  a  Mayor  and  two  Aldermen?  The  Court  majority  was 
made  up  of  pensioners,  lawyers  (who  had  just  seen  one  man  made 
Attorney-General  for  attacking  the  principles  of  liberty,  and  another 
man  made  Solicitor-General  for  ceasing  to  defend  them) ;  West 
Indians,  "  with  more  slaves  than  constituents,"  and  East  Indians, 
with  the  spoils  of  Bengal  up  their  sleeves.  Crosby  and  Oliver  were 
ordered  to  attend  in  their  places. 

Brass  Crosby  had  begun  life  as  an  attorney.     He  had  married 


224  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

two  rich  widows,  and  (his  enemies  said)  had  employed  their 
fortunes  in  dealing  in  seamen's  tickets.  His  manners  were  rude, 
and  his  appearance  was  coarse,  but  he  was  able  and  courageous. 
He  had  lately  defended  the  City's  rights  in  another  matter — when 
the  Admiralty's  press-gang  came  within  the  bounds,  and  seized 
three  men,  Crosby  had  released  the  prisoners,  and  committed 
the  lieutenant  who  took  them.  Oliver  was  a  West  India  merchant, 
and  is  described  as  "  a  perfect  gentleman." 

On  the  morning  of  March  19,  handbills  were  dispersed  about 
the  City,  to  make  known  that  the  Lord  Mayor — although  he  had 
been  confined  to  his  room  for  sixteen  days  with  a  severe  fit  of 
gout — was  going  to  the  House  "to  support  your  rights  and 
privileges."  An  hour  or  two  later  another  handbill  invited  citizens 
to  bring  the  Lord  Mayor  back  "in  triumph  from  the  House  of 
Commons."  They  did  so.  Crosby  set  out  at  two  in  the  afternoon, 
"very  feeble  and  infirm,  but  in  good  spirits."  A  prodigious  crowd 
"  of  the  better  sort "  were  at  the  Mansion  House,  and  cheered  him 
all  the  way  to  Westminster.  "  On  his  arrival  there,  one  universal 
shout  was  heard  for  near  three  minutes,"  the  people  calling  to 
him  as  "the  people's  friend,  the  guardian  of  the  city's  rights  and 
the  nation's  liberties."  Arrived,  he  showed  an  undaunted  spirit — 
calling  for  the  City  Charter,  and  justifying  his  action  as  legal ;  and 
though  probably  he  was  technically  in  the  wrong  in  disregarding 
the  Warrant  of  the  House,  the  House  soon  put  itself  so  hopelessly 
in  the  wrong  that  this  point  mattered  little.  At  five  he  asked 
permission  to  retire.  The  populace  had  waited  for  him,  and  drew 
his  coach  back  from  St.  Paul's  to  the  Mansion  House.  A  noisy 
and  disorderly  debate  followed.  North  moved,  and  Wedderburn 
and  Fox  seconded,  that  Mr.  Morgan,  clerk  to  the  Lord  Mayor, 
do  attend  this  House  to-morrow  morning,  with  the  minutes  taken 
before  the  Lord  Mayor  relative  to  the  Messenger  of  this  House, 
giving  security  for  his  appearance.1 

Next  day  the  House  debated  for  nine  or  ten  hours  whether 
counsel  should  be  heard  for  Crosby — decided  in  the  negative — on 
Savile's  motion,  denying  the  right  of  the  House  to  enforce  its 
orders  within  the  City  of  London  (also  lost);  and  then  con- 
sidered whether  Wilkes'  letter  should  be  read.  Thomas  de  Grey 
advised  them  to  let  him  alone — proceedings  would  hurt  themselves 
and  benefit  him.  It  was  in  this  debate  that  Wedderburn  made 
his  humorous  speech  about  the  arrest  of  Wheble  by  his  own 
"  devil."     Wilkes  was  again  ordered  to  attend  this  House ;  and  then 

1  On  March  14,  the  printers  Baldwin,  Wright,  and  Bladon  were  reprimanded 
on  their  knees  at  the  Bar  of  the  House. 


THE  PUBLICITY  OF  DEBATE  225 

the  Lord  Mayor's  clerk  was  called  in  and  ordered  up  to  the  table. 
The  book  was  opened,  and  the  recognisance  of  William  Whitham, 
Messenger  to  the  House,  was  read.  Here  Aldermen  Oliver, 
Sawbridge,  and  Trecothick,  with  other  members,  "shocked  at 
this  violent  and  arbitrary  attack  on  the  laws  of  the  land,"  left  the 
House.  When  they  were  gone,  North  moved  that  the  Messenger's 
recognisance  be  erased  out  of  the  Lord  Mayor's  book,  and  they 
made  the  clerk  erase  it. 

This  was  the  20th.  Next  day  the  Common  Council  met,  and 
thanked  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  for  defending  our  excellent 
Constitution.  They  also  determined  not  to  pay  the  Messengers 
of  the  House  the  ^50  reward  promised  by  the  proclamation. 

On  the  25th,  when  the  Lord  Mayor  attended  again,  there  was 
again  "a  prodigious  concourse."  As  members  went  into  the  House 
they  were  asked  if  they  were  for  the  Lord  Mayor,  and  if  they  said 
No  some  of  them  were  two  hours  getting  through  the  crowd. 
Selwyn  was  hooted  and  hustled  by  mistake  for  Onslow.  The 
High  Constable  of  Westminster  was  called  in  and  examined  as  to 
"  a  tumultuous  crowd,"  which  interrupted  members  coming  into  the 
House,  and  he  explained  that  he  had  tried  in  vain  to  disperse  them. 
The  House  had  the  entry  in  its  Journal  of  February  27,  1699,  read 
— on  which  day  there  was  also  a  tumultuous  crowd  outside. 
Several  Justices  of  the  Peace  were  called  in,  and  ordered  to  dis- 
perse the  people,  which  they  at  last  succeeded  in  doing — the  House 
all  this  while  debating  what  the  Lord  Mayor  had  done,  and  what 
should  be  done  to  him.  At  last,  at  ten  o'clock,  feeling  very  ill,  he 
obtained  leave  to  withdraw,  and  his  friends  outside  took  the  horses 
from  his  coach,  and  drew  him  all  the  way  home  by  torchlight. 

Then  there  was  a  fierce  debate — the  printers,  the  Lord  Mayor, 
Alderman  Oliver,  the  influence  of  the  Princess  Dowager — all  were 
mixed  up  together  in  furious  recrimination.  The  House  hesitated 
between  censure,  expulsion,  and  the  Tower.  It  would  have  pre- 
ferred expulsion,  but  its  former  experience  was  not  encouraging,  so 
it  chose  the  Tower.  At  past  midnight,  a  motion  for  the  previous 
question  having  been  lost  by  272  to  90,  it  was  carried:  That  the 
Discharge  of  Miller  was  a  Breach  of  Privilege ;  That  to  hold  the 
Messenger  of  the  House  to  bail  for  a  pretended  assault  was  also 
a  Breach  of  Privilege.  And  then,  at  near  one  in  the  morning 
of  the  26th,  Wallace  proposed  to  proceed  against  Alderman 
Oliver.  Barre  said  no  Court  would  proceed  on  a  new  trial  at  this 
hour.  But  a  motion  for  adjournment  was  lost  by  214  to  97. 
When  Oliver's  friends  asked  what  was  the  charge  against  him, 
Charles  Fox  replied,  "  What  we  shall  move  against  the  gentleman 
vol.  1. — 15 


226  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

will  depend  upon  what  he  shall  say  in  his  defence."  Oliver  said 
that  he  asked  for  no  delay.  Welbore  Ellis  moved  that  Richard 
Oliver  be  committed  to  the  Tower.  Onslow  seconded.  Then 
Barre  rose  in  wrath.  "  Listen,"  he  said,  "  listen  !  for  if  you  are  not 
totally  callous,  I  will  speak  daggers  to  your  souls,  and  wake  you 
to  all  the  hells  of  guilty  recollection  !  That  I  may  not  be  a  witness 
of  this  monstrous  proceeding,  I  will  leave  the  House,  nor  do  I 
doubt  that  every  independent  man  will  follow  me.  These  walls  are 
baleful,  they  are  deadly,  while  a  prostitute  majority  holds  the  bolt 
of  parliamentary  omnipotence,  and  hurls  its  vengeance  only  upon 
the  virtuous  !  To  yourselves,  therefore,  I  consign  you  ! "  Then  he 
walked  out,  Dunning  and  about  thirty  others  following  him.1  The 
ministerialists  were  furious — they  almost  drew  their  swords  on 
Barre.  Voices  cried  "  To  the  Bar ! "  But  the  grim  old  soldier 
looked  at  them,  and  they  thought  they  had  best  let  him  go.  In  a 
furious  speech,  Fox — then  in  the  most  truculent  vein  of  his  most 
truculent  days — said  the  business  of  the  nation  was  "  to  choose  us 
— it  is  ours  to  maintain  the  independence  of  Parliament."  At 
seven  in  the  morning  of  the  26th,  Oliver  was  carried  quietly  to  the 
Tower.2 

On  the  27  th  "  an  amazing  number  of  people  "  accompanied  the 
Lord  Mayor  to  the  House.  The  Justices,  the  High  Constable,  and 
the  guards  were  all  at  Westminster.  The  Lord  Mayor  was  seven 
hours  reaching  the  House.3  There  were  more  Justices  than 
constables — the  latter  were  soon  overpowered,  and  one  of  their 
staves  was  dashed  through  the  glass  of  North's  coach.  He  was 
pulled  out,  his  hat  was  torn  into  a  hundred  pieces,  the  mob  "  de- 
molished the  chariot,  and  but  for  Sir  William  Meredith's  interfering, 
would  probably  have  demolished  him."  The  cries  of  the  assailants 
told  Meredith  that  they  mistook  North  for  Charles  Fox,  who  was 
like  him  in  figure.  Charles  had  made  himself  the  most  unpopular 
man  in  the  country — he  had  been  foremost  in  keeping  Wilkes  out 
of  the  House,  and  was  now  engaged  in  keeping  secret  what  was 
done  inside.  Presently  the  heraldic  foxes  on  his  coach  pointed 
him  out  to  his  enemies.  They  broke  up  the  coach,  rolled  Charles, 
in  his  fine  clothes,  in  the  gutter,  and  pelted  him  with  oranges,  stones 
and  mud.4 

1  Barre's  letter  to  Chatham. 

2  The  House  voted  Oliver's  committal  by  1 70  to  38. 

3  Besides  the  Aldermen  and  Common  Councillors,  he  was  attended  by  a  long 
procession  of  "merchants,  bankers,  shopkeepers,  and  brokers." 

4  A  great  deal  of  smuggling  was  done  in  French  laced  suits.  Not  long 
before  a  whole  tailor's  shop,  which  Charles  was  bringing  over  for  himself  and 
his  friends,  was  seized  and  burnt  by  the  searchers  at  the  Dover  Custom  House. 


THE  PUBLICITY  OF  DEBATE  227 

It  was  impossible  to  transact  business.  The  Justices  came  to 
the  Bar  to  say  they  could  not  even  read  the  Riot  Act.  The  Sheriffs 
— luckily  they  were  members  of  the  House — went  out,  attended  by 
other  members,  and  by  five  o'clock  had  quieted  the  crowd  so  far 
that  the  debate  could  be  resumed.  Welbore  Ellis  moved  for  an 
enquiry  into  the  disturbance.  Fox  "  behaved  like  an  apprentice," 
called  his  colleagues  assassins,  and  spoke  of  the  prisoners  as  criminals, 
while  members  as  they  came  in  from  dinner  called,  "  Question ! 
question  ! "  North  made  the  most  singular  exhibition.  With  tears 
running  down  his  cheeks  he  complained  that  he  could  not  resign — 
that  he  was  made  the  scapegoat  of  a  policy  he  detested,  and  was  at 
the  mercy  of  the  "  insolence  of  a  vile  cabal."  This  was  aimed  at 
Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  the  leader  of  the  King's  Friends,  who  pulled  the 
strings  on  which  the  Minister  was  compelled  to  dance.  But  then 
he  went  on  to  accuse  the  minority  of  having  hired  the  mob,  "  to  do 
without  what  they  despaired  of  doing  within." 

As  Crosby  was  so  ill,  it  was  proposed  to  commit  him  only  to  the 
custody  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  ;  "  but  his  lordship  told  the  House 
he  was  much  recovered,  and  desired  to  go  to  his  honourable  friend 
in  the  Tower."  The  numbers  on  the  division  were  202  to  39. 
Barre  and  others  refused  to  vote.  The  Lord  Mayor  was  allowed  to 
sleep  at  the  Mansion  House,  and  was  taken  to  the  Tower  at  four 
next  morning,  before  the  gates  were  opened.  The  people  mobbed 
Fox  again  in  Palace  Yard,  and  he  angrily  complained  to  the  House 
— this  was  owing  to  the  Sheriffs  having  "  used  gentle  methods  of 
persuading  them  to  disperse  the  day  before — they  ought  to  have 
used  compulsive  methods."  Not  only  had  he  been  insulted  that 
day,  but  the  King  had  been  insulted  going  to  the  House  of  Lords. 

Throughout  this  business,  the  House  had  been  chary  of  attacking 
Wilkes.  They  now  repeated  their  order  to  attend,  but  his  letter 
demanding  to  attend  in  his  place  was  not  read.  At  last  they 
ordered  him  to  attend  on  the  8th  April — and,  equally  afraid  of  his 
obedience  or  disobedience,  adjourned  to  the  9th  ("  on  account  of 
the  Easter  holidays  ").  The  King  himself  had  said,  "  I  will  have 
nothing  more  to  do  with  that  devil  Wilkes."  Wilkes  had  beaten 
George  in  in  obstinacy  !  His  Majesty  also  now  had  the  good  sense 
to  express  himself  as  "  averse  to  meddling  with  the  printers." l 

The  Dukes  of  Manchester  and  Portland,  Lord  Rockingham, 
Lord  Temple,  Admiral  Keppel,  Mr.  Burke,  Mr.  Dowdeswell,  and 
many  others,  attended  by  the  Sheriffs,  waited  on  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  Mr.  Oliver  in  the  Tower;  and  on  the  1st  of  April  two  carts, 
"  filled  with  persons  intended  to  represent  some  imaginary  criminals 
1  The  King  to  Lord  North,  March  17,  1771. 


228  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

of  high  rank,"  went  through  the  City  to  Tower  Hill.  In  the  first 
cart  was  a  chimney-sweeper,  who  acted  the  part  of  clergyman. 
The  person  in  the  first  cart  "  was  pretendedly  beheaded,"  put  into  a 
hearse,  and  carried  off. 

On  the  5  th — the  day  the  Lord  Mayor  was  brought  up  privately  to 
Chief  Justice  de  Grey's,  in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  and  re-committed — 
two  more  carts  went  to  Tower  Hill.  In  the  first  was  an  executioner, 
"  having  the  care  of  three  figures  painted  on  pasteboard,  near  as 
large  as  life,"  hanging  on  a  gallows.  They  had  nightcaps  on,  and 
handkerchiefs  over  their  eyes,  and  their  names  were  written  on  their 
backs — "two  persons  of  rank,  and  an  alderman";  in  the  second 
cart  were  four  such  figures ;  and  they  were  all  burned  on  Tower 
Hill,  and  presently  their  dying  speeches  were  cried  about  the 
streets. 

In  the  debate  on  the  Budget  (April  10)  Lord  North  promised 
to  take  a  shilling  off  the  land-tax  next  year.  We  have  made  peace 
with  Spain,  "with  advantage  and  honour."  Trade  flourishes;  the 
American  disputes  are  settled;  "there  is  nothing  to  interrupt  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  the  nation,  but  the  discontents  of  a 
desperate  faction,"  and  these  will  subside  every  day. 

Barre,  Burke,  and  Dowdeswell  replied  with  great  warmth  that 
the  Peace  would  be  short,  and  that  the  Lottery  was  an  iniquitous 
project  to  bribe  the  servants  of  the  public  to  betray  their  trust — it 
will  put  ;£i 50,000  into  the  pockets  of  the  subscribers — whom 
Ministers  can  select.  Cornwall  said  he  should  call  for  an  enquiry 
next  year,  as  to  who  had  had  these  tickets.  A  few  days  later  he 
made  a  motion  not  to  allow  members  of  the  House  to  subscribe  for 
more  than  twenty  tickets  in  the  Lottery.  He  showed  how  these 
ministerial  lotteries  were  engines  of  bribery.  It  was  easy  to  con- 
trive that  the  friends  of  Administration  should  be  the  subscribers. 
In  this  way,  in  1769,  ^120,000  was  shared  among  the  Ministers' 
friends.  This  year,  it  is  the  same — the  Minister  divides  among  his 
dependents  as  many  tickets  as  they  want,  and  upon  each  ticket  they 
gain  £2  ;  so  if  a  member  has  two  hundred  tickets,  he  gains  ^400. 
Will  such  a  sum  not  influence  his  vote  ? 

Of  course  the  motion  was  lost. 

A  few  other  events  of  this  eventful  session  deserve  to  be  noticed. 
The  first  was  the  affair  of  the  Shoreham  voters.  There  was  a 
Society  at  Shoreham  called  "the  Christian  Club,"  professedly  a 
charitable  society,  but  its  charity  ended  at  home.  It  was  in  reality 
a  conspiracy  to  sell  the  borough  to  the  highest  bidder.  The 
members  were  sworn  to  secrecy,  by  as  many  oaths  and  penalties  as 
Freemasons.      A  select  committee  did   the  business — they  never 


THE  PUBLICITY  OF  DEBATE  229 

appeared  or  voted  at  an  election ;  but  they  told  the  others  how  to 
vote,  and  when  the  election  was  over  shared  the  money  between  the 
members.  All  would  have  gone  well  if  they  had  not  quarrelled 
with  the  returning  officer,  who  was  one  of  them — he  returned  the 
other  candidate  on  the  ground  that  he  knew  many  votes  given  to 
the  first  were  corrupt.  Now  all  came  out,  and  the  House  was 
obliged  to  take  notice  of  the  affair.  Eighty-one  freeholders  of 
Shoreham  were  disfranchised  by  name. 

Alderman  Sawbridge's  motion  for  a  Bill  to  shorten  the  duration 
of  Parliaments  was  lost ;  so  was  Chatham's  for  a  Dissolution.  The 
present  Parliament  had  been  bought  so  dear  that  Administration 
was  in  no  hurry  to  buy  another.  Nobody  replied  to  the  Duke  of 
Richmond's  motion  to  expunge  the  Resolution  of  February  22,  1770, 
concerning  the  Middlesex  Election. 

Parliament  was  prorogued  on  the  8th  of  May — this  set  the 
prisoners  free.  As  soon  as  the  park  guns  were  fired,  the  Tower  gates 
were  opened — a  cavalcade  was  in  waiting  far  more  imposing  than  that 
which  escorted  the  King  to  the  House  of  Lords.  The  Lord  Mayor, 
in  his  state-coach,  attended  by  the  Sheriffs,  the  Aldermen  in  their 
scarlet  robes,  the  Common  Councilmen,  and  the  Honourable  Artillery 
Company,  came  in  triumph  to  the  Mansion  House,  the  Artillery 
Company  first  firing  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  at  the  Tower  gates. 
Crowds  lined  the  streets  all  the  way,  and  people  stood  at  their 
windows  applauding.  The  City  was  illuminated  that  night,  and  the 
mob  broke  the  Speaker's  windows. 

This  was  the  last  great  public  demonstration  for  several  years. 
Wilkes  and  Home  quarrelled  soon  after,  and  henceforth  feeling  was 
divided,  every  City  patriot  being  for  one  or  the  other.  From  this 
time  the  Whigs  and  Radicals  became  two  distinct  sections  of  the 
Liberal  Party.  The  immediate  result  was  a  decline  in  the  vigour  of 
Opposition.1  The  disorganisation  begun  by  the  death  of  George 
Grenville  was  completed  by  the  enormous  and  crushing  majorities 
of  the  last  session.  The  King's  Friends  were  too  strong.  A  "  sullen 
torpor  "  seemed  to  take  possession  of  Opposition  in  Parliament,  and 
the  quarrels  of  Wilkes  and  Home  soon  delivered  Administration 
from  all  fear  of  opposition  outside  Parliament. 

But  the  Printers  had  won.2  The  case  of  the  Messengers  ended 
in  a  Nolle  Prosequi,  the  Attorney-General  ruling  that  "  it  was  indecent 
that  the  name  of  the  Crown  should  continue  as  the  protector  of  a 
messenger  of  the  House  of  Commons."     So  the  House  had  to 

1  Albemarle,  Life  of  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham. 

2  When  brought  before  the  House,  all  the  Printers  declared  that  their  papers 
would  be  ruined  if  they  ceased  to  report  the  Debates. 


230  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

pocket  the  affront,  and  the  debates  were  printed  more  boldly  than 
ever.  The  Printers  laughed  at  the  authority  of  the  House,  and  in 
the  next  session  they  even  published  the  votes.  The  House  took 
no  notice,  and  in  March,  1772,  made  an  Order,  by  which  persons 
brought  to  the  Bar  received  judgment  standings  unless  it  should  be 
otherwise  directed. 


CHAPTER   XXIX 
STEPS  TOWARDS  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY 

"  Liberty  is  indeed  a  glorious  thing  ;  but  liberty  in  the  church  is  now  growing 
like  liberty  in  the  state.  It  is  liberty  run  mad  .  .  .  liberty  of  thinking  and 
judging  is  one  thing,  and  liberty  of  public  preaching  is  another.  .  .  .  Thought  is 
free,  but  public  preaching  should  be  laid  under  some  restraints  and  regulations. 
But  it  may  be  said,  why  not  allow  liberty  of  preaching,  as  well  as  liberty  of 
printing  ?  Because  the  liberty  of  the  press  is  not  attended  with  such  dangerous 
consequences.  .  .  .  No  wise  statesman  would  allow  a  full  toleration  to  any 
religion,  without  knowing  in  the  least  what  that  religion  is.  Now  what  security 
do  these  men  offer  to  give  that  their  doctrines  shall  not  be  subversive  of  public 
peace  ?  .  .  .  They  will  subscribe  '  a  declaration  of  their  believing  that  the  Holy 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  contain  a  revelation  of  the  mind  and 
will  of  God,  and  of  their  receiving  them  as  the  rule  of  their  faith  and  practice. ' 
And  is  this  all  ?  Can  anything  be  conceived  or  expressed  in  lower  and  meaner 
terms  than  this  ?  .  .  .  Would  not  any  Papist,  would  not  any  Fanatic,  would  not 
any  Heretic  freely  make  the  same  declaration?  .  .  .  There  is  no  sect  even  of 
half  Christians  that  would  not  make  at  least  this  declaration.  .  .  .  And  will  your 
lordships  grant  your  license  to  any  such  teachers  and  preachers  ?  .  .  .  There 
would  be  nothing  then  that  can  hinder  the  doctrines  of  Popery  from  being 
preached,  as  freely  as  any  other." — Dr.  Newton,  Bishop  of  Bristol,  on  the  Bill  for 
the  Relief  of  Protestant  Dissenters,  May  19,  1771. 

"  Some  gentlemen  talk  of  raising  barriers  about  the  Church  of  God  and  protect- 
ing His  honour.  .  .  .  What!  man,  a  poor  contemptible  reptile,  talk  of  raising  barriers 
about  the  Church  of  God  !  He  might  as  well  talk  of  guarding  Omnipotence,  and 
raising  barriers  about  the  throne  of  heaven  .  .  .  that  Church  against  which  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail !  " — Sir  George  Savile  on  the  Clerical  Petition. 

A  curious  little  incident  occurred  early  in  this  session.  Dr.  Nowell, 
Principal  of  St.  Mary  Hall,  Oxford,  preached  the  usual  sermon  on 
the  30th  of  January.  It  happened  that  only  the  Speaker  and  four 
other  members  attended.  Next  day  the  House  thanked  the  doctor, 
and  desired  him  to  print  the  sermon — Sir  William  Dolben  and  Mr. 
Popham  were  to  convey  this  message.  Accordingly,  Dr.  Nowell 
printed  his  sermon,  and  members  who  had  not  the  privilege  of 
hearing  it,  now  read  it,  when  "  there  appeared  an  universal  detesta- 
tion of  the  high  church  doctrines  contained  in  it,  it  being  to  all 
intents  a  libel  on  King  and  people."  Tommy  Townshend  said  it 
ought  to  be  burnt  by  the  common  hangman.  North  admitted  he 
could  not  defend  the  doctrine.     Gibbon  says  the  House  was  nearly 

231 


232  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

agreeing  to  burning  the  sermon,  when  it  recollected  that  it  had 
thanked  Nowell  for  preaching  it !  So  then  it  was  proposed  to 
expunge  the  vote  of  thanks.  Sir  William  Dolben — who  had  moved 
that  vote — said  he  did  so  at  the  request  of  the  Speaker — it  was 
seconded  by  Mr.  Popham — both  had  heard  it  preached.  He 
defended  the  sermon,  and  complained  of  the  spleen  of  Mr. 
Townshend,  who  had  thrown  it  three  times  on  the  table  declaring 
it  ought  to  be  burnt.  Mr.  Popham  acknowledged  he  had  heard — 
and  had  disapproved ;  "  but  Sir  William  insisted  that  I  must  have 
been  mistaken,"  and  that  the  Sermon  did  not  say  what  I  thought  it 
did.  "  Now  I  have  read  it,  I  find  I  have  been  misled  by  Sir  William 
Dolben ;  for  I  declare  I  think  it  the  most  exceptionable  sermon  I 
have  ever  seen."  The  Speaker  said  he  had  not  approved  of  it  either, 
and  had  mentioned  the  "  disgust "  it  gave  him  to  a  gentleman  who 
"  I  was  sure  would  tell  the  preacher  of  it  again."  He  thought  the 
offensive  passages  would  be  left  out  in  printing.  Montague  said  the 
Clergy  were  in  a  very  disagreeable  situation  when  obliged  to  preach 
on  the  30th  of  January.  He  remembered  when  a  clergyman  was 
refused  the  Thanks  of  the  House,  because  he  preached  in  the 
opposite  extreme  to  Dr.  Nowell.  "What  can  the  Clergy  do?  I 
intend  to  bring  in  a  Bill  to  abolish  the  service."  Newdigate,  "  with 
extreme  violence  and  heat,"  justified  both  the  preacher  and  Charles 
the  First — he  must  own  that  King  had  one  fault,  which  was  complying 
too  easily  with  the  wishes  of  his  people — he  instanced  the  execution 
of  Strafford,  whose  warrant  Charles  signed  though  he  knew  he  was 
innocent.  With  more  of  the  virtues  of  Charles  "  as  a  King  and  a 
gentleman."  Lord  Folkestone  said  the  service  for  the  30th  of 
January  need  not  be  a  guide  to  any  Englishman,  for  it  was  drawn 
up  by  Father  Peters,  confessor  of  James  11. 

Nowell  had  exhorted  his  Majesty  to  "  copy  closely  the  blessed 
Martyr's  example  " — Sawbridge  hinted  that  he  hoped  to  be  made  a 
bishop  for  this.  "And  I  fear  that  our  censure  may  have  the  same 
success."  Dolben  wound  up  the  debate  by  saying  he  never  would 
confess  that  Charles  the  First  was  a  tyrant — he  considered  that 
monarch  a  perfect  pattern  to  royalty.  Nevertheless,  the  House 
felt  that  if  Nowell  was  to  be  applauded,  none  of  them,  from  the 
King  downwards,  ought  to  be  there — and  the  motion  to  expunge 
was  carried  without  a  division.1 

1  "  I  am  glad  to  find  Mr.  Montague's  motion  has  been  rejected,  as  it  will  keep 
many  worthy  men  in  good  humour  ;  besides  the  abolition  of  the  day  would  not  be 
very  delicate." — The  King  to  Lord  North,  March  2,  1772.  The  "worthy  men" 
were  the  divine-right  Tories,  who  had  now  come  over  to  the  side  of  the  King 
de  facto. 


STEPS  TOWARDS  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY      233 

On  February  4,  1771,  the  great  cause  of  the  Chamberlain  of 
London   against  Allen   Evans  was   finally  decided  in    the  House 
of  Lords,  greatly  to  the  honour  of  that  House,  and  of  Lord  Mansfield, 
whose  conduct  in  matters  of  religion  was  as  admirable  as  in  politics 
it  was  usually  unworthy.     Mansfield  pitilessly  exposed  the  action 
of  the   Corporation — they  chose   Evans   for   Sheriff  because   they 
knew  he  would  refuse  to  take  the  Sacrament  at  Church,  therefore 
could  not  serve ;  therefore,  as  they  hoped,  could  be  made  to  pay  the 
fine  of  ^500  for  refusing  to  serve — a  fine  many  Nonconformists 
had  paid  before   him.     Mansfield's   argument   was   unanswerable. 
He  said  that,  before  the  Toleration  Act,  to  refuse  the  Sacrament 
was  in  the  eye  of  the  law  a  crime,  every  man  being  required  by  law 
to  receive  it  at  church  once  a  year.     "  But  the  case  is  quite  altered 
since  the  Act  of  Toleration  :  it  is  now  no  crime  for  a  man  to  say  he 
is  a  Dissenter,  nor  is  it  any  crime  in  him  not  to  take  the  Sacrament 
according  to  the  rites  of  the  Church  of  England  :  nay,  the  crime  is 
if  he  does  it  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience."     "Con- 
science is  not  controllable  by  human  laws,  nor  amenable  to  human 
tribunals.     Persecution  will  never  produce  conviction.     Persecution 
is   against   natural   religion,    revealed  religion,  and  sound  policy." 
There   was    no   occasion    to   revoke   the    Edict   of  Nantes;    the 
Jesuits  needed  only  to  have  advised  a  plan  similar  to  what  is  con- 
tended  for   in   the  present   case !     "  Make  a  law  to  render  them 
incapable  of  office ;  make  another,  to  punish  them  for  not  serving. 
If  they  accept,  punish  them ;  if  they  refuse,  punish  them.    My  Lords, 
this  is  a  most  exquisite  dilemma,  it  is  a  trap  no  man  can  get  out  of ; 
it  is  as  bad  persecution  as  that  of  Procrustes.     If  they  are  too  short, 
stretch  them ;  if  they  are  too  long,  lop  them.    Small  would  have  been 
their  consolation  to  have  been  gravely  told,  the  Edict  of  Nantes  is 
kept  inviolable ;  you  have  the  full  benefit  of  the  Act  of  Toleration, 
you  may  take  the  Sacrament  in  your  own  way  with  impunity ;  you  are 
not  compelled  to  go  to  Mass.     Was  this  case  but  told  in  the  City  of 
London   as   of  a   proceeding  in  France,  how  would  they  exclaim 
against  the  Jesuitical  distinction  ! " 

The  House  immediately  gave  judgment  for  Evans,  netnine  con- 
tradicente. 

Perhaps  this  set  men  thinking  about  the  whole  question  of  a 
dominant  Church.  On  the  last  day  of  this  year  the  undergraduates 
of  Cambridge  University  presented  a  petition  to  the  Vice-Chancellor, 
praying  for  relief  from  subscribing  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the 
Church  of  England  on  taking  their  bachelor's  degree.  There 
was  a  similar  movement  at  Oxford.  On  February  6,  1772,  a  far 
more  important  petition  was  presented  to  the  House  from  about 


234  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

250  clergy  and  other  professional  men,  praying  for  relief  from 
subscription.  This  petition  was  a  result  of  the  impression  made 
by  Archdeacon  Blackburne's  celebrated  work,  The  Confessional. 
At  the  beginning  of  1771,  by  desire  of  some  of  his  brethren,  the 
Archdeacon  published  Proposals  for  an  application  to  Parliament 
for  relief.  Paley  drew  up  the  petition,  and  Sir  William  Meredith 
presented  it.1  It  was  violently  opposed  by  Sir  Roger  Newdigate, 
who  represented  it  as  a  Socinian  movement.  The  best  speech  was 
that  of  Sir  George  Savile — a  truly  beautiful  defence  of  religious 
liberty.  His  position  was  simple — as  Protestants,  we  have  all  a 
right  to  judge  for  ourselves  what  Scripture  teaches ;  in  subscribing 
the  Articles,  we  accept  the  interpretation  of  other  men.  It  was 
remarkable  that  no  one  had  a  good  word  for  the  Articles  themselves 
— many  even  owned  they  were  self-contradictory  and  unscriptural ; 
but  they  kept  out  somebody,  and  they  were  "Articles  of  Peace." 
They  did  not  ask  what  kind  of  peace  is  maintained  by  refusing  to 
amend  what  ought  to  be  amended,  or  what  kind  of  Church  is 
maintained  by  telling  all  who  propose  to  amend  anything  that  they 
ought  to  leave  it.  But  the  argument  of  arguments  in  this  question 
is  the  undeniable  fact  that  a  forced  subscription  keeps  out  the 
conscientious,  and  lets  in  the  unconscientious — shuts  out  the 
scrupulous,  and  admits  the  unscrupulous. 

Charles  Fox  "  did  not  shine  in  this  debate,"  nor  could  it  be  won- 
dered at.  "  He  had  sat  up  playing  hazard  at  Almack's,  from  Tuesday 
evening  4th,  till  five  in  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday  5th."  2  For  four 
nights  and  days,  he  had  been  to  bed  but  once— drinking  hard, 
playing  harder,  and  losing  hardest  of  all,  till  his  friends  declined  to 
believe  that  such  persistent  ill-luck  could  be  the  work  of  chance. 

1  February  6. 

2  An  hour  before  he  had  recovered  ^12,000  that  he  had  lost,  and  by  dinner, 
which  was  at  five  o'clock,  he  had  ended  by  losing  ;£  11,000. — Horace  Walpole, 
Last  Journals,  i.  12. 

This  same  night,  after  speaking,  Charles  won  back  ^"6000,  and  next  day  set 
out  for  Newmarket.  Walpole  gives  a  most  extraordinary  description  of  the 
young  bloods  at  Almack's  (in  Pall  Mall).  They  played  only  for  rouleaus  of  £*£> 
each.  "  They  began  by  pulling  off  their  embroidered  clothes,  and  put  on  frieze 
great-coats,  or  turned  their  coats  inside  outwards  for  luck.  They  put  on  pieces 
of  leather  (such  as  worn  by  footmen  when  they  clean  the  knives)  to  save  their 
lace  ruffles ;  and  to  guard  their  eyes  from  the  light,  and  to  prevent  tumbling 
their  hair,  wore  high-crowned  straw  hats  with  broad  brims,  and  adorned  with 
flowers  and  ribbons  ;  masks  to  conceal  their  emotions  when  they  played  at  Quinze. 
Each  gamester  had  a  small  neat  stand  by  him  with  a  large  rim,  to  hold  their  tea, 
or  a  wooden  bowl  with  an  edge  of  ormolu,  to  hold  their  rouleaus.  They  borrowed 
large  sums  of  Jews  at  exorbitant  premiums.  Charles  Fox  called  his  outward  room, 
where  those  Jews  waited  till  he  rose,  the  Jerusalem  Chamber." — Last  Journals,  i.  7. 


STEPS  TOWARDS  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY     235 

Suddenly,  he  washed  his  face — which  some  declared  was  the  begin- 
ning and  end  of  his  ablution — went  down  to  the  House,  and  delivered 
an  odd  double-edged  speech  half  for,  half  against  the  Petition. 
He  thought  religion  was  best  understood  when  least  talked  about, 
and  he  thought  the  Articles  savoured  of  Christian  charity.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  ought  not  to  be  thrust  down  the  throats  of  young 
persons  twelve  years  old  (as  they  were  at  the  Universities).  He  had 
had  to  subscribe  them  himself  at  twelve — whereas  a  young  man  need 
not  take  the  Oath  of  Supremacy  till  sixteen.  A  great  majority  rejected 
the  Petition — even  Burke  voted  against  it.  Most,  however,  would 
have  been  willing  to  relieve  men  of  any  other  than  the  clerical 
profession.  For  them,  they  insisted  that  assent  to  the  most  pro- 
found doctrines  of  religion  should  remain  a  performance  necessary 
for  getting  up  in  the  world. 

The  Clerical  Petition  came  from  the  Church.  Next,  Protestant 
Dissenters  prayed  for  relief. 

Although,  since  1688,  they  had  a  legal  right  to  exercise  their 
religion,  their  ministers,  schoolmasters,  and  private  tutors  were 
obliged  to  subscribe  the  doctrinal  part  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles.1 
Those  who  did  not  were  legally  subject  to  heavy  penalties  for  each 
offence — penalties  which  had  fallen  into  abeyance,  but,  not  being 
repealed,  could  always  be  revived.  For  a  long  while,  however,  as 
the  Calvinistic  tendency  of  the  Articles  made  them  not  unacceptable 
to  Dissenters,  subscription  was  not  complained  of.  Put  by  1772 
the  old  Calvinism  had  much  declined — men  like  Doddridge  had 
arisen,  and  there  was  a  greater  freedom  of  thought,  and  with  it  a 
growing  objection  to  sign  the  Articles. 

On  the  3rd  of  April,  1772,  a  Bill  was  brought  in  by  Sir  Henry 
Hoghton,  "to  Relieve  Protestant  Dissenters."  At  the  first  reading, 
there  were  only  two  dissentients — Sir  Roger  Newdigate  and  Sir 
William  Dolben.  On  the  second,  a  division  was  taken,  when 
70  voted  Aye,  and  9  No.  The  noes  protested  their  love  for  relig- 
ious liberty,  but  thought  there  might  be  too  much  of  it ;  and  Dolben 
hinted  that  some  of  the  supporters  of  "  this  wicked  motion  "  were 
of  those  who  say  in  their  hearts  "  There  is  no  God."  Newdigate 
talked  about  Charles  1,  and  made  the  House  laugh  by  calling  him 
"the  only  canonized  saint  of  the  Church  of  England."  Dyson 
having  quoted  Mr.  Locke's  "  Letter  on  Toleration,"  Sir  Roger  sug- 
gested that  "  that  great  philosopher  "  was  probably  a  Presbyterian. 
He  thought  Mr.  Locke's  Letter  the  most  excellent  piece  of  reasoning 
he  had  ever  read ;  but  the  system  was  too  pure  to  suit  the  depravity 
of  man.  The  religion  of  every  country  bore  the  colour  of  its  civil 
1  That  is,  the  Articles  not  relating  to  Church  Government. 


236  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

government — in  a  monarchy  it  was  monarchical,  in  a  republic 
republican;  he  wished  to  prevent  the  Dissenters  from  "giving  a 
shock"  to  our  present  Establishment,  and  having  more  privileges 
than  the  Church — especially  as  they  are  on  so  much  better  a  footing 
already,  being  empowered  to  elect  their  own  ministers.  Sir  William 
Meredith  said  that  the  cruelty  and  inefficacy  of  the  penal  laws  were 
alone  a  sufficient  argument  for  the  Bill,  and  instanced  the  case  of 
Mrs.  Fenning,  now  on  the  table.  She  was  in  danger  of  losing  all 
her  property  by  these  laws,  and  this  was  a  refutation  of  the  argument 
for  retaining  such  laws — that  it  was  not  in  the  heart  of  man  to  put 
them  in  execution.  To  this  Newdigate  replied  that  he  was  not 
very  averse  to  the  abolition  of  the  penal  Statutes,  but  Mrs.  Fenning 
was  a  Papist,  and  no  one  had  ever  yet  proposed  to  repeal  the  penal 
laws  against  that  sect  of  Christians.  Hoghton  quoted  Bishop 
Warburton,  that  the  "  mark  of  the  beast  is  persecution  "  ;  and  that  the 
Church  in  which  religious  liberty  is  maintained  may  truly  be  called 
Christian.     All  the  great  names  of  Opposition  spoke  for  the  Bill. 

In  the  Lords,  Chatham  and  Richmond  warmly  supported  it,  but 
the  Bishops  of  London  and  Llandaff  said  it  was  a  motion  to  relieve 
Socinians  and  Deists,  and  frightened  the  House  with  quotations 
from  Dr.  Priestley.  The  Bill  was  lost  by  102  to  29.  But  the 
bringing  in  of  such  a  Bill  at  all  was  a  sign  of  a  change  in  public 
opinion. 

The  King's  Speech  of  January,  1772,  promised  peace,  but  after 
continuing  the  Embargo  (as  there  was  still  great  scarcity  of  corn, 
after  the  poor  harvest  of  1771)  the  first  thing  the  Commons  did 
was  to  consider  Mr.  Buller's  motion  for  25,000  more  seamen  for 
the  Navy.  Admirals  Saunders  and  Keppel  opposed  it.  Keppel 
said  that  when  we  sent  ships,  the  French  did  so  too,  till  we  trusted 
entirely  to  the  prudence  of  our  commander,  whether  or  no  he  should 
engage  us  in  war.  Lord  North  used  the  extraordinary  argument 
that  the  extra  men  were  necessary,  "not  only  to  cope  with  the 
French,  but  to  be  a  check  on  the  present  officers  of  the  East  India 
Company — who,  for  want  of  proper  laws,  disobeyed  their  masters, 
and  thereby  as  suddenly  as  exorbitantly  increased  their  own 
finances ;  a  conduct  which  might  hazard  the  loss  of  those  dominions 
to  this  kingdom."  Dowdeswell  said  this  enormous  increase  in 
our  peace  expenses  was  worse  in  its  consequences  than  an 
expensive  war — for  that  was  temporary,  this  perpetual.  Stocks 
had  been  kept  under  par  during  this  last  peace,  because  the 
hopes  of  paying  off  our  debts  had  diminished;  "this  method 
will  consume  us  like  a  slow  poison."  But  the  Bill  passed  without 
a  division. 


STEPS  TOWARDS  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY      237 

The  death  of  the  Princess  Dowager,1  on  February  8,  1772,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-two,  removed  a  figure  at  once  prominent  and  obscure — 
so  much  was  believed  of  her,  so  little  proved.  That  she  filled  the 
head  of  a  King  of  England  with  notions  dangerous  to  a  con- 
stitutional sovereign  and  to  the  liberties  of  a  free  people,  is  certain ; 
the  rest  is  conjecture.  A  strangely  resolute,  haughty,  unbending 
nature,  seeking  sympathy  from  none  but  Bute,  she  carried  to  the 
grave  the  secret  of  her  relations  with  him.  Her  death  was  hastened 
by  the  news  from  Denmark  that  her  daughter  Caroline  Matilda — 
youngest  and  best  beloved  of  the  King's  sisters — was  a  prisoner  in 
the  Castle  of  Cronborg,  accused  of  adultery  with  Count  Struense. 
Two  days  before  her  death  she  wrote  to  the  King  of  Denmark, 
but  she  was  dead  before  the  reply  came  promising  that  the  unhappy 
young  Queen  should  be  treated  leniently. 

On  February  17  there  was  a  recrudescence  of  the  Nullum 
Tempus  question.  A  member2  whose  estates  were  Abbey  lands 
(and  whose    title-deeds    had    once   been   nearly   sold  for  waste- 

1  "  She  had  long  struggled  secretly  with  a  humour  in  her  blood,  which  she 
had  fatally  brought  into  the  family,  and  for  the  last  three  months  her  sufferings 
had  been  dreadful,  and  menacing  her  life,  yet  her  fortitude  was  invincible, 
and  she  kept  up  to  the  last  that  disguise  and  reserve  which  predominated  so 
strongly  in  her  character." — Walpole,  Journal  of  the  Reign  of  George  III. 
The  Princess  died  of  "an  abscess  in  her  throat" — others  called  it  cancer.  She 
would  let  no  one  but  "  her  German  page  or  surgeon  look  into  her  throat" — and 
once,  Sir  John  Pringle,  at  the  King's  earnest  request.  The  Monday  before  she 
died,  reading  in  a  newspaper  that  she  was  in  danger,  "she  instantly  called  her 
coach,  and  drove  through  the  streets  to  Kew,"  though  she  fainted  by  the  way. 
Her  last  act  was  an  attempt  to  reconcile  the  King  with  the  Duke  of  Cumberland. 
After  receiving  the  news  from  Denmark,  she  took  hardly  any  nourishment  but 
cordials.  Bute  was  with  her  two  hours  on  the  6th.  Her  extraordinary  resolution 
could  not  conceal  that  she  was  dying.  Bute  went  again  next  day — while  the  King 
and  Queen  were  with  her,  but  she  declined  seeing  him.  The  King  and  Queen 
remained  all  that  night  at  Carlton  House.  She  died  early  next  morning.  "  To 
the  astonishment  of  all  mankind,"  she  left  no  will;  and  "to  their  greater 
surprise,  no  money  ! "  Yet  for  twenty  years  she  had  enjoyed  ^"64,000  a 
year,  and  had  lived  "most  privately" — though  "most  charitable."  Every- 
one had  expected  she  would  leave  at  least  ,£300,000.  Walpole  thinks  she 
assisted  her  brother,  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Gotha,  but  says  that  report  suspected 
Bute,  who  had  bought  the  estate  at  Luton  "for  £114,000,  before  he  was 
visibly  worth  £"20,000,"  had  "built  a  palace"  there,  another  in  "town  .  .  . 
in  short  had  given  but  too  much  handle  to  ill-natured  conjecture."  The 
people  "huzzaed  for  joy"  at  her  funeral,  and  behaved  with  great 
indecency. 

2  Henry  Seymour.  He  said  that  the  family  of  a  law-member  "  was  at  this 
instant  £120,000  the  worse  by  the  claim  of  a  bishop  upon  his  lands,  after  the 
quiet  possession  for  a  hundred  years."  This  was  called  "the  Church  Nullum 
Tempus  Bill." 


238  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

paper  by  a  discharged  servant)  asked  leave  for  a  Bill  to  secure 
holders  of  Church  lands  against  claims  of  more  than  sixty  years' 
standing.  North  opposed  the  motion,  because  the  member  had 
not  told  the  House  the  details  of  his  Bill.  Fox  fell  upon  North  for 
introducing  a  new  parliamentary  rule,  and  Ministers  were  more 
nearly  defeated  than  they  had  been  since  Fox  saved  them  on  the 
old  Nullum  Tempus  Bill.  A  day  or  two  later,  Fox  resigned  his 
place  as  a  Junior  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  Some  said  it  was  anger 
with  North.1  Horace  Walpole  hints  that  it  was  by  the  direction  of 
his  father,  who  was  dissatisfied  at  not  obtaining  the  earldom  he 
had  asked  for.  But  there  was  a  far  more  important  reason  than 
either  of  these;  and  the  alarm,  approaching  to  panic,  caused  by 
the  desertion  of  this  wild  and  dissipated  boy,  showed  that  Ministers 
guessed  what  he  meant  to  do.  The  very  day  he  resigned,  the 
King's  Message  about  the  Royal  Marriage  Bill  was  delivered  to  the 
House  of  Commons.  It  was  brought  in  in  the  Lords  on  January 
30 — the  day  after  the  dreadful  news  came  from  Denmark.  The 
private  marriages  of  two  of  the  King's  brothers  were  the  cause  of 
the  Bill.2  It  "  teemed  with  seeds  of  future  civil  wars,  by  bastardiz- 
ing children  of  the  Royal  Family  born  in  wedlock  which  had  not 
the  King's  consent."  Princes  marrying  Englishwomen,  and  having 
issue,  such  issue  would  be  preferred  by  the  nation  to  "foreign  and 
unknown  descendants  of  George  11." 3  For  no  descendant  of 
George  11  (except  the  issue  of  foreign  marriages,  over  whom,  of 
course,  the  Kings  of  England  could  not  continue  control)  could 
marry  without  first  obtaining  the  King's  consent.  "  The  House  of 
Commons  had  just  maintained  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  one  of 
which  affirms  that  all  Christians  have  a  right  to  marry." 

The  first  draft  was  terrible — there  was  no  limit  of  age,  the 
period  was  for  "natural  life."  But  "the  general  disapprobation 
and  the  defection  of  Charles  Fox  terrified  Ministers  so  much  "  that 

1  "  The  Rt.  Hon.  Mr.  Ch.  Fox  dispatch'd  the  following  laconic  letter  to  Ld. 
N — th  :  '  My  Lord,  you  have  grossly  insulted  me,  and  I  will  resent  it.  I  am  just 
going  to  set  out  for  St.  James's  to  resign  my  seat  at  the  N — y  board  to  the  King.' " 
— Gentleman' 's  Magazine,  1772,  p.  92. 

Fox  himself  told  Lord  Ossory  that  his  reasons  were  very  complicated — 
the  Royal  Marriage  Act  was  his  chief  reason. — Lord  John  Russell,  Life  of 
Fox. 

2  The  young  Duke  of  Cumberland  had  married  the  widowed  sister  of  Colonel 
Luttrell.  Junius  called  on  Middlesex  to  rejoice — a  greater  than  themselves  now 
knows  what  it  is  to  have  a  Luttrell  forced  on  him  against  his  will !  The  Duke 
of  Gloucester  had  married — or  was  about  to  marry,  it  was  not  yet  certain  which — 
Lady  Waldegrave,  niece  of  Horace  Walpole. 

3  Horace  Walpole. 


STEPS  TOWARDS  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY     239 

the  Bill  was  altered  next  day  to  the  age  of  twenty-five — Mansfield, 
"called  upon  by  Ministers  at  Midnight,"  drafted  it  with  this 
"softening  alteration."  It  was  got  through  the  Lords  in  a  few 
days.  Rockingham  insisted  on  summoning  the  Judges;  but 
Mansfield  contrived  to  prevent  their  opinion  from  being  explicit. 
Camden  made  a  bold  speech  against  a  Bill  which  did  not  even 
allow  the  princes  to  be  heard  by  counsel.  Shelburne  was  "very 
warm  "  against  the  Bill.  Grafton  was  first  for  hearing  the  Judges — 
and  then  explained  himself  away.  The  Duke  of  Richmond  was 
the  most  vigorous  of  all.1  The  day  the  Bill  was  read  a  second  time, 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland  came  to  the  House,  but  except  the 
Dukes  of  Richmond  and  Bolton,  not  a  soul  spoke  to  him,  and 
Richmond  advised  him  to  leave  the  House.2 

The  Bill  probably  passed  all  the  easier  because  Chatham  was 
ill.  Temple  went  three  times  to  Court  to  assure  the  King  that  he 
would  do  nothing  to  weaken  the  Government  further,  now  it  had 
received  the  shock  of  Fox's  resignation — he  wished  to  get  rid  of 
the  Bill,  but  not  at  the  price  of  upsetting  the  Cabinet. 

In  the  Commons  there  was  more  trouble.  Nobody  liked  the 
Bill,  but  the  King  was  sullenly  determined  it  should  pass.  When 
he  suspected  that  Burgoyne  had  purposely  absented  himself  from 
a  division,  he  was  about  to  dismiss  him  from  the  governorship  of 
Fort  William.  The  country  knew  little  about  the  business.  All 
reporters  were  excluded.  The  debate  lasted  ten  hours.  De  Grey 
said  it  had  become  a  question  of  bodily  strength.  The  House 
was  "very  restive."  In  particular  was  the  Bill  abhorrent  to  the 
House  of  Fox.  Fox's  father,  Lord  Holland,  ran  away  with  the 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Lennox,  in  whose  veins  was  the  blood  of 
the  Stuarts.  Charles'  aunt,  Lady  Sarah  Lennox,  would  have  been 
Queen  of  England  but  for  Bute  and  the  Princess  Dowager — and 
perhaps  for  a  fortunate  accident  which  removed  Lady  Sarah  from 
the  scene  for  a  few  weeks.3 

The  second  reading  did  not  come  on  till  February  26.     Charles 

1  Both  Dukes  were  descended  from  Charles  II.     Richmond  was  a  Lennox. 

2  It  is  fair  to  say  that  Cumberland's  private  character  was  very  bad.  In 
July,  1770,  Lord  Grosvenor  obtained  ^10,000  damages  in  the  King's  Bench 
against  him  for  seducing  Lady  Grosvenor.  (The  damages  were  laid  at 
^100,000.)  Grosvenor's  own  conduct  had  been  such  that  he  was  unable  to 
apply  for  a  divorce.  The  King  had  to  find  the  money— with  costs,  ;£i3>o°° 
—which  he  said  he  had  difficulty  in  raising.  The  Duke  of  Gloucester  was 
a  very  different  man,  and  much  liked. 

3  She  broke  her  leg,  and  before  she  could  return  to  Court  the  King  had 
been  v/orked  on  to  give  up  his  intention.  Lady  Sarah  was  the  mother  of  the 
Napiers. 


240  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

was  still  but  twenty-three,  but  already  he  "  could  confound  the  reason- 
ing of  his  opponents," 1  and  he  had  more  than  once  saved  the  Govern- 
ment from  defeat.  He  now  fought  the  Bill  persistently.  He  had 
never  spoken  so  well  as  now — but  he  had  never  spoken  in  so  good  a 
cause.  In  its  final  shape  the  Bill  enacted  that  no  descendant  of 
George  n  (other  than  the  issue  of  princesses  married  out  of 
England)  shall  be  capable  of  contracting  marriage  without  the 
consent  of  his  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  under  a  sign- 
manual;  and  any  marriage  contracted  without  such  consent  first 
obtained,  shall  be  null  and  void.  But  a  prince  can  marry,  after 
the  age  of  twenty-six,  if  he  has  entered  his  intention  to  do  so  on  the 
books  of  the  Privy  Council,  twelve  calendar  months  before,  and  if 
both  Houses  of  Parliament  have  not  expressed  their  disapprobation 
of  the  marriage.  The  Bill  was  fought  inch  by  inch  in  both  Houses. 
Rockingham  and  Camden  tried  to  restrict  it  to  the  children  and 
grandchildren  of  the  reigning  King,  and  to  the  heir-presumptive, 
and  to  omit  the  annulling  clause  for  persons  of  full  age.  "  Thurlow 
thought  the  Royal  Family  went  ad  infinitum.  The  Speaker 
thought  it  would  be  monstrous  if  it  did."  2  The  Bill  passed  in  the 
Lords  with  two  strong  Protests. 

It  was  perhaps  for  his  services  in  getting  the  Marriage  Bill 
through  the  Commons,  that  on  the  18th  of  June  North  was 
invested  with  the  "  blue  ribband  "  of  the  Garter. 

The  country  said  that  Charles  Fox  had  turned  patriot.  Gibbon 
wrote  that  he  was  learning  to  pronounce  the  words,  "country, 
liberty,  corruption."  But  he  did  not  go  into  Opposition,  as  was 
expected.  He  was  modestly  silent,  or  spoke  briefly  and  mildly  on 
questions  connected  with  the  Admiralty.  "No  one  thought  he 
would  always  sit  among  the  army  contractors  and  Anglo-Indians 
below  the  gangway."  Toward  the  end  of  the  year  the  Cabinet  was 
almost  reconstructed,  solely  to  take  him  in  again — and  keep  him 
out  of  mischief.  Jenkinson  was  made  a  Joint- Vice-Treasurer  for 
Ireland,  and  Fox  got  his  vacant  place  of  Junior  Lord  of  the 
Treasury.3 

1  Almon  says  this  of  him  while  still  a  ministerialist. 

2  Beaumont  Hotham's  "  Letter  to  John  Lee."  This  is  the  only  account  of  the 
proceedings  in  the  Commons  on  February  20,  the  day  the  King's  Message  came 
to  both  Houses.  ' '  We  have  rallied  much  better  than  was  expected.  The  Great 
Champion  of  the  day  was  the  Speaker  Norton ;  but  I  believe  before  he  had 
finished  his  speech,  the  Ministry  conceived  him  to  be  more  their  enemy  than 
their  friend."  The  numbers  were  200  to  164  on  the  right  of  the  Kings  of  England 
to  control  all  marriages  in  the  Royal  Family. 

3  "A  King's  friend  was  thrust  upstairs  into  an  Irish  Vice-treasurership,  a 
nobleman  who  had  been  a  friend  of  Chatham  (Edgcumbe)  was  thrust  downstairs, 


STEPS  TOWARDS  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY     241 

As  a  side-light  on  the  eighteenth  century,  a  curious  little  inci- 
dent may  be  mentioned  here — it  was  indirectly  connected  with 
the  marriages  of  the  Royal  Dukes.  Colonel  Luttrell  was  much 
offended  at  the  small  account  made  of  himself  and  his  sister,  the 
new  Duchess — all  the  more  galling,  because  to  the  frowns  of  the  Court 
was  added  the  cold  shoulder  of  the  public  in  general.  His  sister 
was  become  as  unpopular  as  her  husband — while  the  leve'e  of  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester  was  crowded  in  defiance  of  the  royal  displeasure, 
nobody  went  near  the  Cumberlands.  Luttrell,  thus  universally 
unpopular,  saw  an  opportunity  of  at  least  annoying  the  Court. 
Smuggling  had  become  universal.  The  exorbitant  prices  of  London 
tradesmen  caused  many  of  the  nobility  to  import  goods  from  France. 
Even  Ministers  of  smaller  foreign  Courts  had  turned  smugglers — 
indeed,  the  Spanish  Ambassador  was  almost  the  only  foreign 
envoy  who  did  not  stoop  to  use  an  Ambassador's  privilege  to 
defraud  the  British  revenue.  The  Venetian,  Neapolitan,  and 
Bavarian  Envoys  seem  to  have  been  the  worst — the  Bavarian, 
Haslang,  was  said  to  have  maintained  himself  for  thirty  years  by 
gaming  and  smuggling.  The  London  cabinet-makers  complained 
that  as  many  goods 1  as  would  have  employed  four  hundred  journey- 
men for  many  months  to  manufacture  from  rough  materials,  had 
been  smuggled  in,  duty-free,  "  under  the  privilege  of  foreign  ambassa- 
dors." Luttrell  offered  to  carry  their  petition  to  the  House  of 
Commons,  "and  did,  at  the  head  of  a  multitude  of  clamorous 
tradesmen."  He  made  an  alarming  speech.  He  trembled,  he 
said,  for  the  safety  of  the  Heir  of  the  Crown.  "  The  House  was 
amazed.  Yes,  continued  he,  the  Prince  of  Wales  is  often  at  the 
house  of  the  principal  smuggler;  and  as  the  mob,  some  day  or 
other,  provoked  past  bearing,  will  indubitably  attack  and  demolish 
that  palace  of  contraband  commerce,  the  life  of  the  successor 
himself  may  be  in  danger."  Still  they  did  not  understand.  North 
asked  who  it  was  ?  Luttrell,  "  in  a  more  than  half  whisper,  which, 
from   the  silence  of  curiosity,  was  heard  distinctly  by  the  whole 

and  a  large  bag  of  public  money  flung  after  him,  and  the  chair  at  the  treasury 
table,  which  had  been  emptied  with  so  little  ceremony,  and  so  great  expense  to 
taxpayers,  was  respectfully  offered  to  Fox."— Gibbon. 

1  The  "goods"  were  parts  of  chairs,  etc,  "disjointed,  but  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  require  very  little  trouble  in  the  completion;  these  they  stiled 
lumber,  and  rated  them  so  much  under  value,  as  to  be  able  to  pay  the  duty  of 
75  per  cent."  The  cabinet-makers  had  complained  of  this  about  four  years  ago, 
with  the  result  that  care  was  taken  to  make  the  goods  pay  duty  to  the  real 
value,  "  which  entirely  disconcerted  that  diabolical  scheme."  Thus  disappointed, 
the  smugglers  had  recourse  to  the  privilege  of  Ambassadors.—  See  Statement  in 
the  '*  Gentleman's  Magazine,"  1772. 
VOL.  I.  — 16 


242  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

House,  named  Lord  Holderness,  the  governor  of  the  Prince,  who, 
with  his  wife,  was  indeed  a  notorious  dealer  in  prohibited  mer- 
chandise." In  fact — though  Colonel  Luttrell  did  not  say  so,  Lady 
Holderness  had,  in  Mr.  Grenville's  Administration,  occasioned  the 
laws  against  smuggling  to  be  executed  more  rigorously.  On  one 
single  journey  from  Paris,  she  "  imported  "  one  hundred  and  four- 
teen gowns.  They  were  unluckily  seized,  and  her  ladyship's  friends 
and  herself  were  disappointed.  But  when  Lord  Holderness  became 
Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  she  resumed  business,  carrying  on 
"  a  smuggling  intercourse  "  at  Walmer  Castle  itself,  for  importing 
French  clothes  and  furniture.1  In  these  very  awkward  circum- 
stances, North  begged  the  cabinet-makers  to  wait  till  next  winter, 
when  he  would  endeavour  to  redress  their  grievances. 

On  February  23,  1773,  Meredith  made  another  attempt  to 
relieve  Undergraduates  from  subscription  to  the  Articles.  This 
time,  Fox  spoke  with  seriousness — wishing,  no  doubt,  to  undo  the 
effect  of  his  levity  last  year.  The  Bill  passed  the  Commons,  but 
was  lost  in  the  Lords — as  the  King  had  recommended.  More 
Bishops  voted  against  it  than  members  of  the  Commons — only 
Green  of  Lincoln  was  for  the  Bill.2 

1  Mr.  Holroyd  told  Arthur  Young  that  all  the  "  lively  young  men  "  in  Sussex 
were  employed  in  smuggling — could  earn  a  guinea  a  week  as  riders  and  carriers, 
with  no  risk — cannot  therefore  be  expected  to  work  in  the  fields  for  8s. — Hist. 
MSS.  Comm.  Report  X  V,  App.  pt.  6.  Out  of  the  season,  Lady  Carlisle's  own 
chairman  filled  up  his  time  by  landing  tea  from  smugglers  in  the  Thames. 

2  The  King  told  North  to  see  that  the  Bill  was  thrown  out  in  the  Lords, 
but  "not  to  be  too  hard  on  those  well-affected  gentlemen  who  owed  their  seats 
to  nonconformists."  When  he  was  told  that  Bishop  Green  had  voted  for  the 
Bill,  he  said,  "  Green  !  Green  !     Green  shall  never  be  translated  ! " 


CHAPTER  XXX 
THE  COMPANY  AGAIN 

"  It  is  better  to  make  no  Alterations.  It  is  the  Ultimatum  of  the  Treasury. 
There,  Gentlemen,  take  it ;  or  go  into  Parliament ;  and  God  knows  the  con- 
sequence."— Speech  of  the  Chairman^  of  the  East  India  Company ■,  Feb.  2,  1769. 

"The  East  India  Company  are  at  this  time  sovereigns  of  a  rich,  populous, 
fruitful  country,  in  extent  beyond  France  and  Spain  united ;  they  are  in 
possession  of  the  labour,  the  industry,  the  manufactures  of  20  millions  of  subjects  ; 
they  are  in  the  actual  receipt  of  between  5  and  6  millions  a  year." — Speech  of  Lord 
Clive  in  the  House,  Feb.  27,  1769. 

"  I  appeal  to  the  knowlege  of  every  gentleman  in  the  House,  when  I  remind 
them  of  the  system  of  warfare  which  the  East  India  Company  have  been  carrying 
on  within  themselves.  The  military  have  been  setting  at  defiance  and  tearing 
to  pieces  the  civil  agents  ;  the  civil  agents  have  been  setting  at  defiance  and 
tearing  to  pieces  the  Directors  ;  the  Directors  have  been  setting  at  defiance  and 
tearing  to  pieces  the  Proprietors." — Ibid. 

"  The  scandalous  method  by  which  the  Company  raise  their  militia  should  be 
abolished.  There  is  but  one  season  of  the  year  when  they  can  raise  them  at 
all ;  and  then  they  are  shut  up  in  lock-houses." — Ibid. 

When  Lord  North  opened  his  Budget  on  the  1st  of  May,  he  said, 
"There  is  the  fairest  promise  of  peace  that  I  ever  knew.  Ten  years 
more  of  peace,  and  we  shall  have  paid  off  17  millions  of  the 
National  Debt.  Ten  years  more  of  peace,  and  we  shall  be  in  a 
condition,  without  any  additional  taxes,  to  undertake  such  wars  as 
preceded  the  last."  "  We  do  not  stand  in  need  of  more  conquests. 
Our  dominions  are  at  least  as  extensive  as  we  could  wish;  and 
their  improvement,  not  their  extension,  should  be  our  chief  aim," 
He  then  unfolded  his  plan  for  paying  off  the  debt — a  plan  "  the 
most  just  to  the  shareholder,  and  the  most  beneficial  to  the  stock- 
holder and  the  public."  ;£  1,5  00, 000  of  the  3  per  cent.  Annuities 
was  to  be  paid  off  by  Michaelmas,  in  two  instalments — the  stock- 
holders were  invited  to  accept  ^90  in  money,  and  the  interest  due 
for  every  ,£100  stock.  As  a  further  inducement,  for  every  £100 
stock  thus  paid  off,  the  stockholder  would  receive  four  Lottery 
Tickets — to  be  paid  for  at  £  1 2,  1  os.  each,  in  four  instalments.    There 

1  Mr.  Boulton. 
243 


244  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

would  be  60,000  of  these  tickets,  and  ^600,000  was  to  be 
distributed  in  prizes,  among  the  "proprietors  of  the  fortunate 
tickets." 

The  books  were  opened  next  Monday  morning  at  the  bank, 
at  eleven  o'clock,  and  the  whole  was  subscribed  before  one. 

In  spite  of  these  fair  prospects,  the  East  India  Company  was  in 
worse  trouble  than  ever.  After  it  had  bought  a  respite  with  the 
^400,000  a  year,  Administration  pretty  much  let  it  alone,  and  it 
made  friends  to  itself  among  the  general  public  by  constantly 
raising  its  dividend.  In  1769,  the  dividend  was  n  per  cent.;  in 
1770,  it  was  12  ;  and  in  177 1,  it  was  raised  to  12J — the  extreme  limit 
now  allowed  by  law.  But  all  the  while,  dreadful  tales  were  being 
circulated — accusations  of  colossal  fraud,  extortion,  and  treachery — 
even  of  poison  and  murder,  and  of  Nabobs  made  and  unmade  for 
sums  equal  to  a  king's  ransom,  sums  promptly  distributed  among  a 
few  of  the  Company's  servants,  who  set  at  defiance  the  Company's 
orders !  Even  through  the  shouts  for  Lord  Mayor  Crosby,  a 
frightful  rumour  had  made  itself  heard,  that  two  millions  had 
perished  in  Bengal  by  famine  and  pestilence;  that  the  manu- 
factories were  at  a  stand  for  want  of  workmen ;  and  that  for  two 
or  three  years  to  come  it  would  be  impossible  for  investments  to  be 
made  in  Europe.  Later  reports  had  declared  that  the  calamity 
was  not  as  great  as  this — notwithstanding  the  Famine  and 
Pestilence,  the  whole  of  the  Company's  revenues  had  been  collected, 
the  investments  made,  and  nine  ships  already  freighted.  This 
was  reassuring;  but  probably  the  reports  had  helped  on  the 
rejection  of  the  East  India  Recruiting  Bill  in  April.  This  was  a 
Bill  to  allow  the  Company  to  raise  a  military  force  for  the  protec- 
tion of  their  possessions.  Colonel  Burgoyne  had  opposed  it  on  the 
ground  that  it  would  interfere  with  our  own  recruiting,  besides 
bringing  a  German  force  over  here,  contrary  to  the  Act  of 
Parliament,  and  another  of  Irish  Catholics,  contrary  to  the  law  of 
the  land — for  the  force  was  to  consist  of  600  "  German  Protestants," 
700  "  Irish  Catholics,"  and  700  English.  Those  who  were  for  the 
Bill  rested  chiefly  on  the  fact  that  it  would  put  an  end  to  "the 
infamous  system  of  locking-up  houses,  where  men  are  decoyed  and 
detained  contrary  to  law,  to  the  causing  of  riot  and  tumult."  The 
debate  is  interesting  for  the  speech  of  General  Smith,  whose  name 
was  so  often  before  the  public  in  Hyder  Ali's  war.  Smith  said 
that  when  he  left  Bengal,  the  European  army  consisted  of  3000 
men,  in  very  good  discipline,  "  considering  the  sort  of  men,"  who, 
being  chiefly  raised  in  London,  were  the  riff-raff  of  the  people, 
mostly  boys  under   17,  or  "old  men  above  40  or  60  years  old, 


THE  COMPANY  AGAIN  245 

fitter  when  they  arrived  for  the  hospital  than  the  ranks."  "The 
Seapoys  were  almost  too  good."  He  objected  to  the  Germans — 
"they  were  always  ready  to  desert  to  the  enemy,"  especially  if 
things  went  wrong — and  the  Indian  princes  offered  half  a  crown 
a  day  to  European  deserters.  But  the  chief  objection  to  the  Bill 
came  out  later — the  Company  could  afford  to  offer  so  much  more 
than  the  regular  army,  that  they  would  get  our  men  away !  On 
the  division,  the  numbers  were  equal — 45.  The  Speaker  said  he 
should  vote  for  getting  rid  of  these  infamous  methods  of  raising 
men.  Other  members  having  come  in,  another  division  was  taken, 
when  the  numbers  were  50  and  51.     So  the  Bill  was  lost. 

What  a  tragedy,  what  a  satire  is  the  story  of  the  East  India 
Company's  conquest  of  Bengal !  Power  too  great  for  human 
virtue  to  use  without  abusing;  riches  too  vast,  and  too  suddenly 
obtained,  for  human  self-control — an  empire  won  in  a  day,  and 
everybody  rushing  to  buy  a  share  in  Fortunatus'  Purse.  And 
before  seven  years  were  past,  or  the  world  had  done  gaping  at 
this  amazing  prospect,  the  Company  is  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy ! l 
With  the  wealth  of  the  Indies  in  fee,  it  is  asking  leave  to  borrow 
^600,000 !  Instead  of  paying  ^400,000  into  the  Treasury,  it  is 
trying  to  get  a  Treasury  loan  of  ;£i,  500,000  !  Then  the  hideous 
revelations  of  the  Company's  mal-administration  in  Bengal — the 
rice-famine  and  the  forestalled,  the  wretches  dying  of  starvation 
in  the  streets  of  Calcutta,  and  a  hundred  of  the  Company's  servants 
not  able  to  fling  the  corpses  into  the  Hoogly  fast  enough !  Then 
the  enquiry,  and  the  ocean  of  corruption  and  iniquity  it  brought 
to  light;  the  dishonest  attempt  to  throw  the  brunt  of  the 
responsibility  on  Clive — his  equally  shameless  defence  of  himself 
— his  crimes  and  his  wrongs;  the  strange  double  verdict  by 
which  the  House  condoned  the  terrible  tale  of  Surajah  Dowla  and 
Mir  Jaffier ;  and  Clive's  death  by  his  own  hand.  Surely  all  this  is 
a  tragedy  as  great  as  ever  inspired  moralisings  on  the  vanity  of 
human  greatness. 

By  April,  1772,  the  Company  owed  a  million,  and  had  nothing 
in  its  treasury.  It  was  in  debt  to  the  Bank  of  England,  to  the 
Customs,  to  the  Treasury;  and  the  Directors  were  quarrelling 
violently  among  themselves.     In   this   terrible  predicament,  they 

1  To  this  it  may  be  added,  that  however  great  the  opulence  of  Bengal  might 
be,  yet,  as  it  was  not  founded  upon  any  inherent  treasure  in  mines,  but 
depended  solely  upon  the  labour  and  industry  of  the  people,  upon  commerce, 
manufactures,  and  agriculture,  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  it  could  long  bear 
the  sending  of  between  seven  and  eight  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling  of 
its  capital  stock  annually  out  of  the  country,  without  a  possibility  of  return. — 
Annual  Register t  1773,  *6$. 


246  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

were  compelled  to  eat  humble  pie,  and  ask  Government  to  help 
them  by  a  loan,  though  the  loan  necessarily  involved  the  enquiry 
which  they  dreaded  more  than  Hyder  Ali  himself — or  a  hundred  of 
him — the  enquiry  they  had  been  staving  off  for  seven  years. 

The  glorious  prospect  of  untold  riches  was  changing  to  panic — 
absolute  ruin  seemed  to  stare  the  Company  in  the  face ;  and  with 
the  Company,  it  seemed  as  though  the  British  Empire  itself 
might  come  down.  India  had  for  some  years  been  yielding  a 
clear  produce  to  the  public  and  individuals  of  between  two  and 
three  millions  sterling  a  year.  If  this  should  be  lost,  where 
could  Administration  turn  to  find  a  substitute?  The  tale  was 
frightful.  Tyranny,  extortion,  extravagance,  famine !  The  Com- 
pany had  no  longer  any  control  over  its  own  servants — was  com- 
pelled to  confess  this,  and  crave  for  new  powers.  Its  military 
expenditure  was  more  appalling  than  ever — that  ^2,728,552  for 
fortifications  alone,  was  still  unpaid.  The  army  was  mutinous — 
in  1766,  Give  had  put  down  what  was  really  a  conspiracy  of  the 
Company's  officers  to  usurp  the  chief  control.  All  the  rules  made 
in  Leadenhall  Street  were  set  at  nought  in  Bengal  and  at  Madras 
Then  came  the  most  terrible  part  of  all.  In  1770,  the  rice  crop 
was  short,  and  English  capitalists,  by  buying  up  all  the  rice  there 
was,  caused  a  famine  so  severe  that  after  the  Nabob  of  Oude 
had  distributed  all  his  stores  to  the  people,  they  continued  to 
die  by  thousands  in  the  streets  of  Calcutta ;  dogs  and  vultures  fed 
on  the  corpses  in  sight  of  all  men,  and  the  Europeans  themselves 
nearly  fell  victims  to  their  own  monopoly — by  which  monopoly, 
while  speculators  grew  rich,  the  Company  itself  was  reduced  to 
the  very  verge  of  bankruptcy. 

Outside,  the  clamour  increased.  Many  servants  of  the 
Company,  who  had  been  dismissed,  or  who  had  been  allowed  to 
resign,  on  account  of  malversation  while  in  office,  had  returned 
home,  breathing  vengeance  against  the  men  who  had  stopped  their 
schemes,  and  more  especially  against  Clive.  They  bought  stock, 
that  they  might  have  the  right  to  attend  meetings,  and  to  vote  at 
Courts.  Three  years  before,  Clive  had  overthrown  the  once 
all-powerful  Sulivan ;  but  Sulivan  was  still  powerful,  and  his 
interest  among  the  Directors  was  still  so  great,  that  Rous,  the  new 
Chairman,  found  it  difficult  to  muster  a  sufficient  number  of 
Directors  to  sign  his  ordinary  letters.  Through  the  Chairmanships 
of  Boulton  and  Dudley,  Sulivan's  influence  continued  very  strong,  and 
was  said  to  be  favoured  by  Chatham  and  Shelburne.  Administra- 
tion had  talked  very  big,  but  had  done  nothing,  and  was  suspected 
of  not  intending  to  do  anything,  and  of  only  keeping  the  threat  of 


THE  COMPANY  AGAIN  247 

enquiry  hanging  over  the  Company's  head,  until  it  could  bring 
about  the  great  changes  it  did  intend  to  make  in  the  Company's 
Charter.  Things  were  in  this  position  when,  on  the  3rd  of  March, 
at  a  meeting  of  proprietors,  the  Directors  announced  that  they 
had  prepared  a  plan  for  the  better  regulation  of  their  servants 
in  India.  "Great  debates  ensued,"  and  some  personalities  were 
exchanged  between  Sir  George  Colebrooke  and  a  Mr.  Balls,  "  not 
much  to  the  credit  of  either."  But  it  was  agreed  at  last  that  the 
Company  should  apply  to  Government  for  a  new  Charter.1 

The  pamphlets  of  the  time  are  interesting  reading  even  yet. 
Out  of  the  recriminations  of  the  opposing  factions,  we  can  re- 
construct the  situation.  The  position  was  one  of  the  most 
singular  in  the  history  of  conquest  and  of  commerce.  In  1756, 
the  conquest  of  Bengal  wrought  an  entire  revolution  in  the 
Company's  affairs  and  policy.  Sulivan  sprang  into  power,  and 
for  several  years  had  almost  absolute  authority.  At  first,  he  was 
a  supporter  of  Clive;  afterwards,  he  became  his  bitter  opponent. 
The  author  of  a  vigorous  pamphlet,  printed  in  1769,  charges 
Sulivan  with  having  "  entirely  changed  the  Company's  affairs,  and 
brought  it  to  the  verge  of  ruin."  "  Through  him,"  he  says,  "  our 
system  of  trade  is  changed  to  a  scene  of  war."  This  writer  is 
far  from  thinking  that  trade  follows  the  flag — on  the  contrary, 
"  Empire  in  India  can  be  no  benefit  to  any  European  power ;  it 
is  trade,  not  sovereignty  that  is  our  interest  to  pursue,  and  the 
change  of  our  own  manufactories  for  theirs,  by  which  only  it  can 
be  of  advantage.  These,  conquests  cannot  promote,  but  must 
destroy.  The  interest  cannot  lie  on  one  side ;  our  emoluments 
and  those  of  the  natives  must  be  reciprocal'- '2 

Another  writer  says  the  Company  pretends  to  be  poorer  than 
it    is — goods    are    purposely    kept    unsold,    and    bad    debts    so 

1  In  April,  1772,  Lord  George  Germaine,  through  a  third  person,  made  a 
communication  to  Colonel  Barre,  giving  his  opinion  of  India  affairs — "that 
he  knew  no  way  of  setting  matters  right  but  one,  which  was  to  throw  the  whole 
into  the  hands  of  a  single  person  ;  that  he  knew  but  of  one  man  in  the  kingdom 
whose  character  for  firmness,  disinterestedness,  honour,  civil  and  military 
talents,  pointed  him  out  for  such  an  undertaking,  which  was  Colonel  Barre." 
Shelburne  seems  to  have  thought  it  might  do  (see  his  letter  to  Chatham  of 
April  13).  He  had  heard  it  repeatedly  mentioned — "but  at  present  we  are 
a  hundred  miles  off  honest  inquiry."  Such  a  proposal  from  the  Ministry  or 
the  Directors  would  be  "either  hollow  or  trifling,"  but  "from  Lord  G.  G. 
who  has  nothing  to  do  with  either,  and  whose  reputation  is  not  to  risk,  but  to 
make,  must  arise  from  some  dark,  selfish  plan."  Barre  appears  to  have  thought 
so  too.     He  declined  to  consider  becoming  the  first  Governor-General  of  Bengal. 

2  Letter  from  a  Proprietor  of  India  Stock,  in  Town,  to  a  Proprietor  in  the 
Country. 


248  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

represented  as  to  make  the  profits  of  1768  appear  only  ^62,326. 
The  Company  will  be  worth  at  least  20  millions  when  the  Charter 
expires!  "In  1767,  the  Directors  owned  we  were  rich  in  India, 
but  poor  here;  the  1768  Directors  allowed  we  were  rich  in  both, 
but  the  cash  account  was  low;  in  1769,  we  are  rich  in  England, 
but  have  a  very  expensive  war  in  India." 

On  the  news  of  our  acquisitions  in  Bengal,  says  a  third,  we 
rushed  to  invest — we  could  not  hold  too  much  stock.  Then 
somebody  made  the  dreadful  suggestion  that  the  revenues  of 
Bengal   might   possibly  belong  to   the   Crown  —  that   Parliament 

might   examine   our  affairs.     "The  alarm  once  given,   L ds, 

Lacquais  and  Merchants  ran  with  equal  haste  to  the  Alley.  Stock 
fell  30  per  cent.,  while  the  terror  and  anxiety  in  every  countenance 
afforded  a  truly  ridiculous  and  comic  scene." x 

Another  letter,  challenging  the  Company's  right  to  make  war 
and  peace,  charges  a  Director  with  having  said,  at  the  meeting  of 
August,  1772,  that  "they  had  given  as  much  power  to  the  King's 
officers  as  they  thought  convenient,  and  were  not  willing  to  give 
more."  He  contrasts  this  cavalier  reply  with  the  "  civility  "  of  the 
King's  Message. 

We  find  other  writers  complaining  that  "the  old  steady 
permanent  proprietors"  are  the  dupes  of  the  rest,  who  are 
alternately  bulls  and  bears  —  now  spreading  it  that  affairs  are 
flourishing,  then  a  few  days  later  telling  us  they  are  desperate,  and 
we  must  waste  another  ^200,000  a  year  more  on  Supervisors,  and 
"the  annihilation  of  our  present  government."  "We  are  so 
amazingly  prosperous,  that  we  shall  not  be  able  to  make  a  dividend 
at  all.  They  tell  us  in  the  same  breath  that  our  China  cargoes 
are  falling  off,  and  that  we  must  have  more  ships.  Before  Mr. 
Vansittart  sailed,  we  had  men  and  officers  enough  to  beat  Hyder — 
now  we  must  have  440  officers  more."  Lord  Clive  multiplies  expenses 
to  gain  influence  and  votes — at  least  a  million  has  been  lately  spent 
unnecessarily  on  the  military  establishment  of  Bengal;  and  Clive 
has  spread  a  report  that  the  Governor  and  Council  intend  to 
"place  Shaw  Aulun  on  the  throne  of  Indostan."  The  innocent 
dupes,  male  and  female,  are  hurried  into  the  India  House  by  their 
leaders  to  vote  away  the  little  property  they  possess. 

1  "In  Parliament,  the  attack  upon  the  Company  was  led  by  a  Gentleman, 
who  has  ever  been  considered  as  a  strange  mixture  of  folly,  wildness,  good 
sense  and  absurdity  ...  he  seemed  to  think  it  lawful  to  treat  any  rich  body 
of  men  as  our  King  John  did  the  Jew,  who  had  seven  teeth  drawn,  before  he 
consented  to  part  with  his  money." — Letter  to  the  Proprietors  >  1769.  (This 
writer  is  for  Rous.) 


THE  COMPANY  AGAIN  249 

On  this  the  partisans  of  the  Directors  ask  how  a  friend  of 
Sulivan  dares  talk  of  expense? 

All  these  writers  agree  as  to  the  value  of  the  prize.  It  is  not 
wonderful  that  a  Minister  at  his  wits'  end  for  new  taxes,  should 
have  resolved  that  if  the  Company  wanted  a  new  Charter  it  should 
pay  for  it.  It  began  to  be  rumoured  that  Government  intended  to 
interfere,  to  preserve  the  revenues  of  the  Company — for  the  benefit 
of  this  country,  and  to  save  the  Company  from  itself.  Both  reasons 
were  alleged,  and  both  were  true.  The  Government  and  the 
country  alternately  exulted  in  the  hope  of  living  henceforth  on  the 
tribute  of  Bengal,  and  trembled  lest  they  should  be  crushed  beneath 
their  Indian  Empire.  The  Directors  called  a  General  Court  in  a 
great  hurry,  but  before  it  could  meet,  they  received  notice  from  the 
First  Lord  of  the  Treasury  to  get  their  papers  ready  to  lay  before 
Parliament.  The  Government  saw  its  opportunity  in  the  conquests 
and  the  misfortunes  of  Leadenhall  Street.  Now  or  never  was  the 
time  to  make  the  Company  pay  well  for  a  new  Charter. 


CHAPTER   XXXI 
CLIVE'S  DEFENCE 

"  When  I  entered  the  Nabob's  treasury  at  Moorshedabad,  with  heaps  of  gold 
and  silver  to  the  right  and  left,  and  these  crowned  with  jewels" — here  he  added 
an  oath,  and  violently  struck  his  hand  on  his  head — "  My  God  !  Mr.  Chairman, 
at  this  moment  do  I  stand  astonished  at  my  own  moderation  ! " — Clive  before  the 
Select  Committee,  1772. 

The  East  India  Judicature  Bill  was  moved  in  the  House  of 
Commons  by  Mr.  Sulivan,  March  30,  1772.  It  was  "for  the 
Better  Regulation  of  the  Affairs  of  the  East  India  Company,  and 
of  their  Servants  in  India,  and  for  the  Administration  of  Justice  in 
Bengal."  It  restrained  the  Governor  and  Council  from  engaging 
in  trade,  totally  altered  the  Court  of  Judicature,  and  the  mode  of 
administering  justice,  and  greatly  enlarged  the  Company's  powers 
of  dealing  with  its  servants.  The  Judges  of  the  new  Court  were 
to  be  appointed  by  the  Company. 

Opposition  instantly  demanded  an  enquiry;  before  a  new 
Charter  is  granted,  we  must  know,  said  Mr.  Cornwall,  on  what  facts 
these  new  powers  are  asked  for.  This  Bill  never  got  beyond  its 
second  reading,  but  it  occasioned  a  very  long  speech 1  from  Clive, 
in  which,  while  attempting  to  exculpate  himself,  he  revealed  a  whole 
system  of  shameless  plunder.  It  was  the  final  cause  of  the  enquiry. 
It  is  the  best,  as  it  is  necessarily  the  most  authoritative,  evidence 
on  British  rule  in  India  at  that  time. 

"I  stand  charged,"  he  began,  "with  having,  been  the  cause  of 
the  present  melancholy  situation  of  the  Company's  affairs  in 
Bengal."  They  were  in  a  very  dangerous  situation  when  he  was 
sent  out  by  a  General  Court,  in  1764,  to  undertake  the  management 
of  the  Company's  affairs.  His  own  fortune  was  then  already 
made — "happy  in  my  family,  happy  in  my  connections,  happy  in 
everything  but  my  health,  which  I  lost  in  the  Company's  service." 
But  he  had  obeyed  the  call  to  go  to  "  a  distant,  unhealthy  climate, 

1  The  speeches  of  Clive  and  Johnstone  are  printed  in  the  Parliamentary 
Debates,  "from  their  own  corrected  copies." 


CLIVE'S  DEFENCE  251 

to  undertake  the  envious  task  of  reformation."  He  was  badly 
supported — there  was  a  strong  party  who  wished  the  Company  to 
be  saved  by  anyone  but  himself.  Thirteen  Directors  were  for  him, 
to  eleven  against  him.  When  he  got  out,  he  found  his  powers  were 
"so  loosely  and  jesuitically  worded,"  that  the  Council  at  once 
contested  them.  "Three  paths  were  before  me."  He  might  have 
thrown  in  his  lot  with  the  Council,  and  encouraged  them  not  to 
execute  the  new  covenant,  which  forbade  the  receipt  of  presents ; 
"  and  although  I  had  executed  the  covenants  myself,  I  might  have 
contrived  to  return  to  England  with  an  immense  fortune,  infamously 
added  to  the  one  before  honourably  obtained."  Or  he  might  have 
"given  up  the  commonwealth,  and  left  Bengal  without  an  effort 
to  save  it."  But  he  took  the  third  path — "  I  determined  to  do  my 
duty  to  the  public,  although  I  should  incur  the  odium  of  the  whole 
settlement.  I  took  the  resolution  of  cleansing  the  Augean  stable." 
This  was  what  occasioned  the  public  prints  to  teem  with  scurrility 
and  abuse  of  him,  ever  since  his  return.  "  But  it  was  that  conduct 
which  enables  me  now,  when  the  day  of  judgment  is  come,  to  look 
my  judges  in  the  face." 

He  went  into  the  several  charges.  First,  the  monopoly  of 
cotton.  He  knew  nothing  about  cotton.  "Trade  was  not  my 
profession.  My  line  has  been  military  and  political.  I  owe  all  I 
have  in  the  world  to  my  having  been  at  the  head  of  an  army ;  as 
to  cotton,  I  know  no  more  about  it  than  the  Pope  of  Rome."  Then 
the  monopoly  of  diamonds.  The  Company's  servant  can  only  remit 
his  fortune  to  England  in  one  of  two  ways — by  paying  the  money 
into  the  treasury  in  India,  and  receiving  bills  on  the  Company, 
payable  in  England — or  by  diamonds.  "  By  the  acquisition  of  the 
Duannee,  and  the  successful  endeavours  of  the  Select  Committee, 
the  Company's  treasury  was  so  rich,  that  we  could  not  have  been 
justified  in  drawing  bills  upon  the  Company  (at  home)."  The 
jaghir  had  to  be  remitted.  "For  this  purpose,  and  this  purpose 
only,  I  sent  an  agent  into  a  distant  and  independent  country  to 
make  purchases  of  diamonds.  The  diamonds  were  not  sent 
home  clandestinely — they  were  registered,  and  the  duties  were 
paid,  and  I  lost  3  per  cent,  on  the  transaction.  This  is  all  I 
know  of  a  monopoly  of  diamonds." 

The  next  charge  was  that  he  had  debased  the  currency.  This 
is  a  subject  very  much  out  of  my  sphere.  I  am  totally  unacquainted 
with  the  proportions  of  alloy."  I  can  only  tell  you  the  principle 
on  which  we  formed  the  plan  of  a  gold  currency.  "Everybody 
knows,  that  silver  is  the  only  current  coin  in  Bengal,  and  that 
gold  is  merely  a  species  of  merchandise."    The  Select  Committee, 


252  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

afraid  "the  prodigious  annual  drains  of  silver  to  China  and  other 
places"  would  soon  cause  a  scarcity  of  silver  in  Bengal,  tried  to 
make  gold  circulate  in  coin.  "We  knew  there  must  be  great 
quantities  of  gold  in  that  country."  As  for  himself,  he  got  not  a 
farthing  advantage,  and  he  never  sent  a  single  rupee  or  gold  mohur 
to  be  coined  in  his  life. 

The  greater  part  of  the  speech  was  taken  up  with  the  next 
charge — of  having  established  "a  monopoly  of  salt,  betle  nut, 
tobacco,  and  other  commodities,  which  occasioned  the  late  famine." 
How  could  a  monopoly  of  salt  and  the  rest,  in  1765  and  1766, 
cause  a  want  of  rain,  and  scarcity  of  rice  in  1770?  The  salt 
monopoly  was  agreed  to  between  Mr.  Vansittart  and  Cossim  Ali. 
The  Company's  servants  were  to  trade  inland,  paying  a  duty  of 
9  per  cent.  The  Directors,  "alarmed  at  the  word  monopoly, 
seemed  never  to  have  examined,  and  I  am  sure  never  thoroughly 
comprehended,  the  principles  and  effect  of  it."  Many  years  ago, 
the  Company  sent  "  an  expensive  embassy "  to  the  Great  Mogul, 
to  obtain  certain  privileges — among  others,  that  "  of  trading  duty 
free."  The  Company  never  carried  on  any  inland  trade — their 
commerce  was  confined  to  exports  and  imports  only.  Yet  their 
servants  claimed  a  privilege  of  carrying  on  an  inland  trade,  duty 
free.  "  The  absurdity  of  a  privilege  so  ruinous  to  the  natives,  and 
so  prejudicial  to  the  revenues  of  the  country,  is  obvious."  No  such 
claim  was  set  up,  nor  such  trade  carried  on,  "  at  the  revolution  in 
1757,  nor  to  my  knowledge  under  my  government,  which  ended 
at  the  beginning  of  1760."  The  first  appearance  of  the  claim  was 
in  Governor  Vansittart's  time — he  prevailed  on  the  Nabob  Cossim 
Ali  to  let  the  English  carry  on  an  inland  trade  in  salt,  paying  a 
duty  of  9  per  cent. — "  which  in  fact  was  no  remedy  to  the  evil, 
because  the  natives  paid  infinitely  more."  The  Council  disavowed 
Mr.  Vansittart,  and  insisted  on  their  right  to  all  inland  trade  duty 
free.  The  Nabob,  enraged,  threw  open  the  trade  throughout  his 
country,  and  abolished  all  duties,  that  his  own  subjects  might 
trade  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  English.  This  "disobliged 
the  Council,  who  insisted  that  the  Nabob  should  not  suffer  his 
own  subjects  to  trade  duty  free,  but  that  the  English  alone  should 
enjoy  that  privilege."  The  Directors  did  not  "clearly"  know  all 
this  till  1762,  when  they  disapproved  of  these  transactions  in  the 
strongest  terms,  and  positively  forbade  their  servants  to  carry  on 
any  inland  trade  whatever.  But  it  was  continued,  with  exemption 
from  duties,  except  2  J  per  cent,  for  salt,  by  a  treaty  with  Mir 
Jafner,  after  Cossim  Ali  was  deposed. 

Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  this  explanation,  Clive  introduced  the 


CLIVE'S  DEFENCE  253 

burning  question  of  "presents."  "It  is  necessary,  the  House 
should  know  that  there  are  but  two  ways  by  which  gentlemen  can 
acquire  fortunes  in  Bengal — by  the  inland  trade,  and  by  presents." 
The  export  and  import  trade  had  been  dwindling  away  for  some 
years,  "  and  was  not  worth  the  attention  of  the  servants  " — even  free 
merchants  and  mariners  could  scarcely  live  by  it.  And  now  the 
new  covenants  were  to  prevent  presents.  "  But  we  must  consider 
a  little  the  nature  of  the  funds  for  presents."  Every  revolution  in 
Bengal  was  attended  with  some  diminution  of  the  Nabob's  authority, 
and  with  some  advantages  to  the  Company.  Cossim  Ali,  when  Mir 
Jaffier  was  deposed,  had  to  make  over  to  the  Company  territorial 
possessions  to  the  amount  of  between  six  and  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  a  year.  When  Mir  Jaffier  was  reinstated,  he  added 
above  sixty  thousand  pounds  a  month  more — so  the  Company  got 
half  his  revenues.  He  was  allowed  to  collect  the  other  half  for 
himself.  "But,  in  fact,  he  was  no  more  than  a  banker  for  the 
Company's  servants,  who  could  draw  upon  him  as  often,  and  to 
what  amount  they  pleased."  The  new  covenants  "  were  intended  to 
prevent  this  mode  of  raising  fortunes;  but  the  Select  Committee 
went  much  deeper ;  they  struck  at  the  root  of  the  evil,  by  procuring 
the  whole  for  the  Company." 

"  It  was  not  expedient,  however,  to  draw  the  reins  too  tight.  It 
was  not  expedient,  that  the  Company's  servants  should  pass  from 
affluence  to  beggary  " — they  must  have  some  emoluments,  especially 
the  higher  servants.  "  The  salary  of  a  councillor  is,  I  think,  scarcely 
^300  per  annum :  and  it  is  well  known  that  he  cannot  live  in  that 
country  for  less  than  .£3000  " — and  the  same  in  proportion  for  the 
rest.  It  was  necessary  "that  an  establishment  should  take  place, 
and  the  Select  Committee  thought  that  the  trade  in  salt,  betle  nut, 
and  tobacco  might  answer  the  purpose.  The  great  object  was  to 
regulate  this  trade  for  the  advantage  of  the  Company  and  the 
Company's  servants,  without  oppressing  the  natives."  "  The  House 
will  observe  that  I  make  no  mention  of  the  Nabob ;  because  the 
Company,  to  whom  the  revenues  now  belonged,  stood  in  his  shoes  ; 
a  circumstance  which  seems  never  to  have  been  thoroughly  ad- 
verted to  by  the  Directors,  even  to  this  day." 

The  Company's  declared  intention  was  that  its  servants  should 
benefit  by  this  trade.  Mr.  Sumner  took  the  medium  price  of  salt 
throughout  the  country,  for  above  twenty  years  past,  and  fixed  the  price 
at  from  12  to  15  per  cent,  below  that  medium — hence  it  was  thought 
no  grievance  could  fall  on  the  poor.  A  duty  of  35  per  cent,  was  put 
on  by  the  Company ;  this  amounted  to  about  ^120,000  a  year,  and 
all  the  Company's  servants,  except  writers,  had  shares  according  to 


254  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

their  rank.  "  But  I  soon  found  there  was  some  defect  in  this  plan." 
It  was  really  a  monopoly.  Trade  was  taken  out  of  the  hands  of 
some  of  the  merchants.  There  were  too  many  of  the  servants,  and 
the  duty  was  too  small.  Clive  therefore  proposed  another  plan,  by 
which  the  salt  was  to  be  sold  at  Calcutta,  instead  of  by  agents  up 
the  country,  and  only  to  "the  black  merchants."  The  duty  was 
now  put  at  50  per  cent,  "which  would  produce  ^160,000  per 
annum." 

In  the  course  of  this  long  explanation,  Clive  gave  some  very 
interesting  facts.  In  Bengal,  the  maund|'of  salt  (80  lbs.)  stood  the 
maker  in  about  2s.  6d.  "The  duty  to  the  Company  and  the 
advantages  to  the  servants"  came  to  as  much  again — 100  per  cent, 
on  the  whole.  "Salt  in  England,"  I  am  told,  "stands  the  maker  in 
about  8d.  per  bushel  (56  lbs.),  and  the  duty  is  3s.  4d.  per  bushel, 
or  500  per  cent."  In  London,  salt  is  sold  at  5s.  the  bushel — some- 
thing less  than  a  penny  a  pound.  The  whole  quantity  of  salt  con- 
tracted for  was  24  lacs  of  maunds,  or  192  millions  of  pounds.  Mr. 
Sulivan  had  computed  the  inhabitants  of  Bengal  at  15  millions. 
"  I  strike  off  5  millions  for  infants  and  accidents.  Then  divide  the 
192  millions  of  pounds  by  the  other  10  millions  of  inhabitants,  and 
we  shall  find  the  quantity  of  salt  consumed  in  one  year,  by  the  rich 
and  by  the  poor,  will  be  under  20  lbs."  It  is  certain  the  poor 
do  not  consume  half  the  quantity.  These  20  lbs.  will  cost  the 
individual  at  Calcutta  rather  less  than  is.  3d.;  and  at  Patna,  the 
greatest  distance,  rather  less  than  2s.  6d.  The  lowest  wages  in 
Bengal  are  2  rupees  a  month,  or  £$  per  annum.  "  The  poor  man 
can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  at  any  other  expence  than  for  eating." 
He  drinks  nothing  but  water,  he  wears  no  clothes,  his  house  is  mud 
or  clay,  thatched  with  straw.  Can  is.  3d.  to  2s.  6d.  a  year  for  salt 
be  a  grievance  to  him  ?  "  The  eyes  of  the  world  have  been  blinded 
by  publications" — the  truth  being  that  a  number  of  "black 
merchants,"  who  used  to  live  by  this  trade,  were  the  only  people 
who  had  a  grievance;  for  the  Company's  servants  not  only 
monopolised  the  salt,  but  "  by  virtue  of  their  power  and  influence, 
not  only  bought  it  at  what  price  they  pleased,  but  sold  it  at  what 
price  they  pleased." 

Every  now  and  then  he  lets  fall  the  most  damaging  admissions — 
as  when  he  says,  in  praising  his  reforms,  that  a  governor  will  still  be 
able  to  acquire  "  a  handsome  independency,"  though  he  will  not  be 
able  to  "  amass  a  fortune  of  a  million  or  half  a  million,  in  the  space 
of  two  or  three  years  " ;  and  again,  "  If  stability  can  be  assumed  in 
such  a  government  as  this,  where  riches  have  been  acquired  in 
abundance,  in  a  small  space  of  time,  by  all  ways  and  means,  and 


CLIVE'S  DEFENCE  255 

by  men  with  or  without  capacities,"  it  can  only  be  by  forbidding  the 
governor  to  trade. 

He  showed  his  accounts  from  the  day  of  his  leaving  England. 
"The  balance  against  me  is  ^58 16."  He  told  how  Mir  Jaffier 
loved  him  so,  that  on  his  deathbed,  in  the  presence  of  his  wife  and 
his  minister,  he  desired  his  son  to  give  Clive  5  lacs  of  rupees 
(^70,000)  as  a  legacy.  A  great  lawyer  "now  the  Speaker  of  this 
Honourable  House,"  gave  his  opinion  that  Clive  had  a  right  to  this 
legacy;  another  great  lawyer,  a  member  of  this  House,  said  the 
same  privately;  the  Court  of  Directors  confirmed  the  right.  But 
Clive  gave  the  whole,  and  about  ^40,000  more,  "which  I  prevailed 
on  the  Nabob  to  bestow,"  for  a  military  fund,  to  benefit  officers  and 
soldiers  invalided  in  India,  and  their  widows. 

When  he  made  as  if  to  stop,  and  the  House  cried,  "  Go  on,"  he 
returned  to  the  question  of  presents.     He  described  the  Bengalese. 
They   were   always   under  an    absolute   despotism.      "In   inferior 
stations,   they   are   servile,    mean,    submissive,    and    humble.      In 
superior  stations,  they  are  luxurious,  effeminate,  tyrannical,  treach- 
erous, venal,  cruel."     From  time  immemorial,  an  inferior  has  never 
come   into   the   presence   of  a   superior   without   a  present.     The 
Nabob  told  him  that  the  small  presents  he  received  amounted  to 
^300,000  a  year,  "  and  I  can  believe  him,  because  I  know  that  I 
might  have  received  as  much  during  my  last  government."     "  Even 
before  we  took  part  in  the  country  troubles,"  governors  and  others 
received  presents.     There  is   not  an  officer   in  his  Majesty's  fleet 
or  army,  not  a  governor,  not  a  member  of  Council,  nor  any  other 
person   civil  or  military,  who  has  not.     "With   regard   to  Bengal, 
there  they  flow  in  abundance  indeed."     Let  the  House  imagine  a 
country  with  15  millions  of  inhabitants,  a   revenue  of  4  millions 
sterling,   and   trade   in    proportion.      "By  progressive    steps,    the 
Company   have   become  sovereigns   of  that   empire."     Can  it  be 
supposed  their  servants  will  not  expect  to  get  something  out  of  it  ? 
But  the  Company's  servants  have  not  been  the  authors  of  these  acts 
of  violence  of  which  it  is  the  fashion  to  accuse  them — the  natives  of 
the  country  committed  them,  acting  as  their  agents,  "and  for  the 
most  part  without  their  knowledge.     These  agents  never  desist  till, 
according  to  the  ministerial  phrase,  they  have  dragged  their  masters 
into   the    kennel;    and    then    the    acts   of   violence   begin.     The 
passion  for  gain   is   as  strong  as   the  passion  for  love."     Then  he 
showed  how  "  the  banyan  (the  native  secretary)  lays  his  bags  of  silver 
before  the  Company's  servant  to-day;  gold  to-morrow;  jewels  the 
next  day ;  and  if  these  fail,  he  then  tempts  him  in  the  way  of  his 
profession,  which   is   trade.     He  assures  him   goods   may  be  had 


256  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

cheap,  and  sold  to  great  advantage  up  the  country."  The  Com- 
pany's servant  cannot  fly — so  he  yields.  "In  short,  flesh  and 
blood  cannot  bear  it."  Consider  the  education  of  a  young  man 
who  goes  out  to  India — every  man's  great  object  is  to  get  his  son 
a  writership  in  Bengal — usually  at  the  age  of  16.  His  relations  tell 
him  how  sure  he  is  to  make  a  fortune — "my  lord  such-a-one,  and 
my  lord  such-a-one,  acquired  so  much  money  in  such  a  time ;  and 
Mr.  such-a-one,  and  Mr.  such-a-one,  so  much  in  such  a  time." 
Thus  their  principles  are  corrupted  at  their  very  setting  out ;  and 
as  a  good  many  go  out  together,  they  inflame  each  other's  expecta- 
tions to  such  a  degree,  that  in  the  course  of  the  voyage  they  have 
settled  when  they  can  return. 

Then  he  drew  a  marvellous  picture  of  these  writers — as  one  of 
whom  he  himself  began  his  career. 

Let  us  take  a  view  of  one  of  these  writers,  arrived  in  Bengal, 
and  not  worth  a  groat.  As  soon  as  he  lands,  a  banyan,  worth  per- 
haps ;£ 1 00,000,  desires  to  have  the  honour  of  serving  this  young 
gentleman,  at  4s.  6d.  a  month.  The  Company  has  provided 
chambers — they  are  not  good  enough — the  banyan  finds  better. 
The  young  man  takes  a  walk  about  the  town ;  he  sees  other  writers, 
only  a  year  out,  in  splendid  apartments,  or  with  houses  of  their  own, 
riding  fine  prancing  Arabian  horses,  going  in  palanquins  and  chaises  ; 
they  keep  seraglios,  give  entertainments,  and  treat  with  champagne 
and  claret.  The  banyan  tells  him  he  may  soon  be  as  well  off  as 
they.  He  lends  him  money — then  the  young  man  is  at  his  mercy. 
The  advantages  of  the  banyan  are  those  of  the  master — who  in 
acquiring  one  fortune  generally  spends  three.  But  this  is  not  the 
worst — he  is  in  a  state  of  dependence  on  the  banyan,  who  commits 
acts  of  violence  and  oppression  for  his  own  interest,  under  the  pre- 
tended sanction  of  the  Company's  servant.  Hence  arises  the 
clamour  against  English  gentlemen  in  India. 

"I  will  now  pass  to  other  matter:  matter  as  important  as  ever 
came  before  the  House.  India  yields  at  present  a  clear  produce  to 
the  public  and  to  individuals,  of  between  two  and  three  millions 
sterling  per  annum.  If  this  object  should  be  lost,  what  can 
administration  substitute  in  the  stead  of  it  ?  "  I  tremble  when  I 
think  of  the  risk  we  lately  ran — and  the  French  have  only  suspended 
their  views,  not  given  them  up.  If  France  gets  our  possessions,  she 
will  soon  add  to  them  all  the  rest  of  the  East  Indies ;  the  empire  of 
the  sea  will  follow,  she  will  gain  universal  monarchy. 

But  danger  abroad  being  for  the  present  suspended,  let  us  think 
of  the  danger  at  home.  Our  affairs  in  Bengal  are  in  a  very  deplor- 
able condition ;  the  nation  cannot  receive  their  ^400,000,  or  the 


CLIVE'S  DEFENCE  257 

proprietors  their  ^200,000  increase  of  dividend  much  longer  unless 
something  is  done.  These  great  sums  depend  on  the  Company's 
revenues,  and  the  Company's  revenues  depend  on  the  Company's 
or  the  public's  trade.  There  are  no  mines  of  gold  or  silver  in 
Bengal — all  must  come  through  trade.  On  the  civil  and  military 
expenses  depends  whether  we  shall  have  any  surplus  revenue — if  they 
swell  too  high,  you  cannot  receive  anything.  The  revenue  depends 
in  some  degree,  and  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  people 
depends  wholly,  on  the  inland  trade.  Indeed,  the  true  cause  of  the 
distress  in  Bengal  is  that  the  Company's  servants  and  their  agents 
have  taken  the  whole  of  that  trade  into  their  own  hands — they  have 
traded  not  only  as  merchants,  but  as  sovereigns ;  and  by  grasping 
at  the  whole  of  the  inland  trade,  have  taken  the  bread  out  of 
the  mouths  of  thousands  and  thousands  of  merchants,  who  are 
now  reduced  to  beggary. 

He  showed  the  accounts  of  the  prime  costs  of  the  Company's 
investments  from  Bengal,  for  seven  years  preceding  the  acquisition  of 
the  "  Duannee  " ;  the  gross  collections  had  not  decreased  consider- 
ably till  1770 — which  was  the  year  of  the  famine;  but  the  civil  and 
military  expenses  had  been  gradually  increasing  "  ever  since  I  left 
Bengal,  in  the  beginning  of  1767.  And  here  lies  the  danger.  The 
evil  is  not  so  much  in  the  revenues  falling  short  as  in  the  expences 
increasing."  The  best  thing  is  to  reduce  these  charges.  Why 
should  we  try  to  increase  the  revenues  ?  They  are  of  no  use  unless 
we  can  invest  them ;  and  to  raise  them  beyond  a  certain  point  is 
to  distress  the  country,  and  ruin  numbers  who  have  from  time 
immemorial  derived  their  subsistence  from  them.  The  increase  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  before  the  Company  had  the  duannee,  their 
agents  had  other  ways  of  making  fortunes — they  had  presents. 
These  are  at  an  end.  They  had  to  find  some  other  channel — so 
they  increased  the  civil  and  military  charges.  "  Every  man  now, 
who  is  permitted  to  make  a  bill,  makes  a  fortune."  It  is  not  the 
simple  pay  of  officers  and  men — it  is  the  contingent  bills  of  con- 
tractors, commissaries,  engineers,  etc.  "  These  intolerable  expences 
have  alarmed  the  Directors,  and  persuaded  them  to  come  to  Parlia- 
ment for  assistance."  Soon  they  will  go  to  Administration,  and  tell 
them  they  cannot  pay  the  ^400,000,  and  must  lower  their  dividend. 

11 1  attribute  our  situation  to  four  causes — relaxation  of  govern- 
ment in  my  successors  ;  great  neglect  on  the  part  of  Administration ; 
notorious  misconduct  on  the  part  of  the  Directors;  and  the 
violent  and  outrageous  proceedings  of  the  General  Courts,  in  which 
I  include  contested  elections." 1 

1  In  Leadenhall  Street. 
VOL.  I. — 17 


258  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

As  for  Mr.  Verelst,  who  succeeded  me,  so  far  from  wanting 
humanity,  as  Mr.  Bolts  asserts,  he  had  too  much.  "  Humanity  has 
been  his  ruin  " — if  he  had  had  less,  it  would  have  been  better  for 
the  nation,  the  Company,  the  natives,  and  himself.  He  was  too 
lenient — if  he  had  followed  my  example  and  advice,  he  might  have 
kept  off  the  evil  day.  But  he  could  not  have  done  much  against 
the  mischiefs  done  by  the  Directors  themselves,  when  they  took 
away  the  powers  of  the  Select  Committee. 

The  Company  have  acquired  an  empire  more  extensive  than  any 
kingdom  in  Europe,  except  France  and  Russia.  It  might  have 
been  supposed  Administration  would  have  given  it  some  attention. 
They  treated  it  as  a  South  Sea  Bubble ;  "  they  thought  of  nothing 
but  the  present  time ;  they  said,  Let  us  get  what  we  can  to-day,  let 
to-morrow  take  care  of  itself;"  they  thought  of  nothing  but  the  im- 
mediate division  of  the  loaves  and  fishes.  They  even  instigated 
a  parcel  of  temporary  proprietors  to  bully  the  Directors  into  their 
own  terms. 

As  for  the  Directors — one  would  have  thought  that  they  would 
have  supported  the  Select  Committee,  which  had  restored  tran- 
quillity to  Bengal,  brought  good  order  out  of  anarchy,  made  peace 
with  Surajah  Dowla — so  obtaining ^"600,000  for  the  Company — got 
the  duannee  of  Bengal,  Bahar,  and  Orissa — which  gave  the  Company 
a  net  income  of  ^1,300,000 ;  paid  off  most  of  the  bond  debt  in 
Bengal — near  ^900,000  —  and  so  enabled  the  Company  to 
assist  Government  with  £400, 000  a  year,  and  increase  their 
dividend  by  ,£200,000.  But  they  dropped  the  prosecutions 
against  those  gentlemen  in  Bengal,  whom  the  Committee  had 
censured.  "Thus  they  gave  a  stab  to  their  own  vitals."  Their 
servants  in  India  were  anxiously  waiting  to  know  whether  they 
were  to  be  punished.  The  lenity  or  weakness  of  the  Directors 
removed  their  doubts.  From  that  instant  all  covenants  were 
forgotten,  and  that  relaxation  of  government  began,  which  is 
still  so  much  to  be  dreaded.  Next  they  destroyed  the  powers 
of  that  Committee  they  had  so  highly  approved.  They  divided 
the  powers  between  the  Council  and  the  Committee;  so  both 
have  been  distracted  with  altercations  and  disputes  for  power. 
As  if  this  was  not  enough,  they  restored  almost  every  civil 
and  military  transgressor,  who  had  been  dismissed — they  even 
rewarded  some  of  them.  And  now  they  come  to  Parliament, 
with  a  Bill  of  Regulations,  one  clause  of  which  is  to  put  such 
practices  out  of  their  power  in  future. 

"  With  regard  to  General  Courts  ;  I  believe  I  need  not  dwell 
long  on  the  consequence  of  them."     Their  violent  proceedings  were 


CLIVE'S  DEFENCE  259 

subversive  of  the  authority  of  the  Court  of  Directors.  The  agents 
abroad  knew  this,  so  they  never  scrupled  to  set  the  orders  of  the 
Directors  at  defiance,  and  they  have  escaped  punishment "  by  means 
of  the  over-awing  interests  of  individuals  at  General  Courts."  Now, 
the  first  half  of  the  year  is  employed  by  the  Directors  in  freeing 
themselves  from  the  obligations  incurred  by  their  last  elections; 
and  the  second  half  is  wasted  in  incurring  new  obligations,  to  secure 
their  next  election.  And  they  send  out  orders  so  fluctuating  and 
contradictory,  that  their  servants — who  generally  understand  the 
interest  of  the  Company  much  better  than  the  Directors — have  to 
follow  their  own  opinion. 

"  I  have  opened  my  budget :  it  is  not  a  ministerial  budget :  it  is 
an  East  India  budget;  which  contains  many  precious  stones — 
diamonds,  rubies,  of  the  first  water  and  magnitude;  and  there 
wants  only  a  skilful  jeweller  to  polish  them  and  ascertain  their  real 
value." 1 

With  this  broad  hint,  Give  ceased.  His  speech  had  produced 
a  great  impression,  but  Governor  Johnstone  made  short  work 
of  his  defence.  He  had  seen  the  charges,  and  Give's  answers 
had  rather  confirmed  than  lessened  his  idea  of  his  guilt.  In  the 
first  place,  Give  had  not  even  got  the  heads  of  the  charges 
correctly — he  was  never  accused  of  the  cotton  monopoly — the 
Council  did  that !  And  the  diamonds  were  made  an  illustration, 
not  a  charge.  As  to  the  salt  tax,  he  has  "  pretended  to  amuse  you 
with  calculations  of  the  most  cruel  and  fallacious  kind,  stating  how 
much  he  extracted  from  each  individual  on  the  article  of  salt," 
and  not  mentioning  the  other  commodities.  He  shows  you  how  fit 
these  poor  creatures  are  to  be  squeezed  in  his  engines  of  oppression. 
Who  does  not  know  that  every  species  of  extortion  can  be 
vindicated  by  such  arguments?  It  is  not  only  the  difference 
of  taxation  in  "free  and  arbitrary  countries,  it  is  the  wicked 
principle  of  such  regulations,  contrary  to  the  law  of  nature,  that 
destroys  human  industry,  checks  incitements  to  labour,  and  pro- 
duces famine  and  all  other  evil  consequences  that  have  followed 
in  Bengal."  The  charge  did  not  say  the  monopolising  of  salt, 
betle  nut,  and  tobacco  had  produced  the  late  famine — but  the 
monopoly  of  these  things,  and  "  of  other  commodities."  He 
owns  that  thousands  and  thousands  of  merchants  were  set  adrift 
— is  not  that  enough  to  convulse  any  state  to  its  centre?  The 
highest  salt  duty  ever  collected  in  Bengal  was  ^72,000  a  year — 

1  Lord  Clive  had  urged  that  he  had  had  opportunities  of  making  the  vastest 
fortune  that  could  have  been  acquired  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman  republic. — 
Walpole,  i.  206. 


26o  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  general  medium  was  £40,000.  The  orders  he  complains  of 
"were  all  wrote  by  one  whom  he  always  treated  as  his  most 
intimate  friend,  and  signed  by  others  whom  I  cannot  call  his 
friends,  indeed,  but  his  most  servile  tools  in  office."  Yet  he 
disobeyed  them !  He  owns  he  took  presents,  but  says  he  gave 
them  away  to  his  friends — £13,000  to  a  Mr.  Maskelyne — a  relation, 
and  once  his  fellow-writer — ,£15,000  to  Mr.  Strachey  ("whose 
merit  is  acknowledged  by  all") — £12,000  to  Mr.  Ingham,  £2000 
to  Mr.  Philpot,  his  footman — and  yet  he  says  he  has  not  broken 
his  covenant ! 

Then  the  fraudulent  coinage.  He  pleads  ignorance — do  not 
all  men  know  that  purity  of  coin  is  a  principal  consideration  in 
government?  Did  he  not  know  that  "the  private  principles  of 
the  coinage"  only  allowed  an  alloy  of  8  per  cent,  above  the 
current  standard?  In  the  progress  of  the  frauds,  it  was  coined 
with  30  per  cent.  "Will  he  deny,  that  in  two  years  from  its 
establishment,  the  once  flourishing  kingdom  of  Bengal  could  not 
exchange  100  gold  mohurs  at  the  presidency?  Will  he  deny 
that  the  Company  lost  £300,000  by  the  project?"  I  must 
believe,  after  what  he  has  said,  that  he  left  this  profit  also  to 
his  friends ! 

Johnstone  said  a  great  deal  about  the  peculation  of  revenues 
— Clive  had  been  charged  with  making  £300,000  out  of  this. 
"His  lordship  has  introduced  his  reasons  for  this  appropriation 
by  a  long-winded  minute,  with  a  catalogue  of  all  the  virtues  which 
ought  to  adorn  an  East  India  governor."  A  man  of  sense  would 
know  that  something  iniquitous  was  to  follow — "I  might  as  well 
quote  the  Cadi,  or  Judge's  commission,  to  prove  that  oppressions 
have  never  prevailed  in  Hindostan  ! "  Johnstone  openly  expressed 
his  doubts  about  the  legacy.  Mir  Jaffier  died  four  months  before 
Clive  arrived  at  Calcutta  the  last  time.  Several  months  more 
elapsed  before  any  man  heard  a  word  of  the  Will — at  length, 
Nuncomar,  the  late  minister,  was  imprisoned,  "and  soon  after  he 
was  delivered  of  this  wonderful  secret."  I  have  examined  this 
matter  in  another  place  much  more  exactly  than  I  can  do  here, 
and  am  satisfied  the  artful  minister  imposed  upon  his  lordship. 
Johnstone  charged  Clive  with  having  destroyed  all  government, 
and  established  "a  system  of  uncontrolled  fraud  and  rapine." 
And  he  has  taken  the  credit  for  other  men's  conquests — it  was 
not  he  who  added  Bengal,  Bahar,  and  Orissa  to  the  British 
Empire.  Johnstone  concluded  by  demanding  "  an  enquiry  into  the 
affairs  of  the  British  Empire  in  Asia." 

On  the  13th  of  April,  on  the  motion  of  Colonel  Burgoyne,  the 


CLIVE'S  DEFENCE  261 

motion  for  a  Select  Committee  of  thirty-one  members  was  carried 
without  a  division.1 

1  The  members  were  Colonel  Burgoyne,  Sir  W.  Meredith,  Sir  G.  Savile,  Lord 
George  Germaine,  Mr.  Rose  Fuller,  Mr.  F.  Vane,  Colonel  Barre,  Mr.  Solicitor- 
General,  Lord  Howe,  Mr.  R.  Sutton,  Mr.  Attorney-General,  Mr.  Thomas  Pitt, 
Mr.  Wellbore  Ellis,  Sir  Gilbert  Elliott,  Mr.  G.  Rice,  Mr.  Pulteney,  Mr.  Charles 
James  Fox,  Mr.  Cornwall,  Lord  Folkestone,  General  Conway,  Mr.  Hotham, 
Mr.  PI.  Ongley,  Mr.  G.  Johnstone,  Mr.  Alderman  Trecothick,  Mr.  Edward 
Bacon,  Mr.  A.  Curzon,  Sir  John  Turner,  Captain  Phipps,  Mr.  Gregory,  Lord 
Give,  and  Mr.  Strachey. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 
THE  SELECT  COMMITTEE 

"However  impolitic,  it  would  be  an  honest  wish  that  it  had  never  been  in 
our  power  to  use  the  words,  'our  Indian  empire.'" — Dr.  Burrell  on  the  Address, 
Nov.  26,  1772. 

"  When  the  state  of  the  season  made  it  apparent  that  the  crop  of  rice  would 
be  generally  defective,  the  English  capitalists  became  eager  purchasers.  ...  A 
traffic  of  unexampled  iniquity  now  began  .  .  .  the  cities  were  thronged  with 
starving  multitudes  .  .  .  thousands  died  daily  in  the  streets.  Thus  .  .  .  was 
an  unmerited  reproach  entailed  on  the  British  name.  .  .  .  Such  was  the  inter- 
mixture of  their  revenues  with  the  public  finance,  that  the  Company's  ruin  was 
regarded  as  portending  downfall  to  the  whole  edifice  of  the  British  Empire." — 
Adolphus,  Hist,  of  England,  i.  529-30. 

"We  now  talk  of  the  British  Empire,  and  of  Titus  and  Trajan,  who  were  ab- 
solute emperors.     In  my  time,  it  was  the  British  monarchy.'''' — Horace  Walpole. 

Sir  George  Savile  refused  to  serve  on  the  Select  Committee, 
"  being  against  the  whole  system  of  India  affairs.  He  looked  on 
their  trade  as  destructive,  either  from  bringing  in  too  great  an 
increase  of  money,  which  would  overturn  the  liberty  of  this 
country,  or  from  many  of  the  importations,  tea  especially,  being 
destructive  of  the  healths  of  the  people  of  England."  He  also 
protested  against  territorial  acquisitions,  as  "public  robberies  in 
the  name  of  the  kingdom,"  and  should  look  on  himself  as  an 
accomplice  if  he  abetted  these  transactions  in  any  way. 

The  Committee  came  at  once  to  the  dark  affair  of  the 
deposition  of  Surajah  Dowla — the  lac  of  rupees  given  by  Mir  Jaffier 
to  each  member  of  Council,  the  two  lacs  or  more  to  each  of  the 
Select  Committee,  the  sixteen  lacs  to  Clive  himself,  the  two  treaties, 
the  "fictitious"  and  the  "binding,"  and  the  Thirteenth  Article 
of  the  "binding"  treaty,  suppressed  by  Vansittart,  because  the 
Company  must  not  know  it  was  pledged  to  stand  by  Mir  Jafrler 
against  all  who  should  contest  his  right.  It  was  on  the  faith  of 
this  Article  that  Mir  Jafrler  agreed  to  all  the  rest.  This  was  the 
only  Article  which  bound  the  English  to  anything — the  other 
twelve  only  bound  Mir  Jafrler !  *  The  Directors  only  learned  the 
1  Article  XIII  was  the  only  one  written  in  English.     The  others  were  in  Persian. 


THE  SELECT  COMMITTEE  263 

existence  of  this  secret  Article  from  the  Dutch  East  India  Company, 
who  wrote  to  them  complaining  of  the  unwarrantable  conduct  of 
their  servants  in  India. 

Clive  acknowledged  writing  to  the  Directors  on  December  15 
1762,  that,  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge,  there  was  no  such  Article. 
He  now  hinted  pretty  plainly  that  when  he  entered  Moorshedabad 
at  the  head  of  his  victorious  army,  he  could  have  possessed 
himself  of  the  whole  of  Surajah  Dowla's  treasure.  "  On  that  day, 
being  under  no  kind  of  restraint  but  that  of  my  oivn  conscience,  I 
might  have  become  too  rich  for  a  subject."  He  did  not  say  how 
much  he  took,  but  he  protested  that,  since  then,  he  had  not 
benefited  himself  one  single  shilling — the  jaghir  only  excepted. 
"  /  have  been  placed  in  great  and  eminent  stations,  surrounded  with 
temptations  ;  the  civil  and  military  power  were  united  in  me,  a  circum- 
stance which  has  never  happetied  to  any  other  man ;  the  Committee 
will  therefore  judge  whether  I  have  been  moderate  or  immoderate 
in  the  pursuit  of  riches." 

To  add  to  the  embarrassment  of  the  Directors,  towards  the 
end  of  April,  news  came  that  the  Aurora,  with  Vansittart  and 
the  other  Supervisors  on  board,  had  never  been  heard  of  since 
she  left  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  the  27th  of  December  last. 
By  another  month,  it  appeared  certain  she  was  lost.1  At  once 
the  Company  began  to  consider  the  sending  out  new  Supervisors — 
it  must  account  for  being  unable  to  pay  the  ^400,000  to  Govern- 
ment ;  the  blame  must  be  thrown  on  somebody,  and  the  Company's 
servants  in  India  were  the   obvious   scapegoats.     Then,  in   May, 

J"May  31,  1 77 1. — The  Aurora  frigate  is  supposed  to  have  been  lost  or 
foundered  in  the  Gulph  of  Sofala,  or  Channel  of  Mozambique  ...  a  channel 
dangerous  at  all  seasons,  even  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  it,  on  account  of 
the  shoals  .  .  .  Mr.  Vansittart,  it  is  said,  was  so  averse  to  this  navigation,  that 
if  an  outward-bound  East  Indiaman  had  been  at  the  Cape,  he  would  have  quitted 
the  Aurora.  One  of  his  sons  accompanied  him  in  this  fatal  voyage." — Gentle- 
man's  Magazine,  1773,  237. 

There  were  many  reports — one,  on  July  1,  that  the  ship  was  taken  in  the 
eastern  seas  by  a  Dutch  man-of-war.  The  crew  had  mutinied,  killed  the  Captain 
and  officers,  and  "  commenced  pirates."  Had  made  themselves  immensely  rich 
by  plundering  the  Spaniards,  but  mistook  the  Dutchman  for  a  merchant  ship, 
and  were  secured.  It  appears  that  the  crew  really  were  much  dissatisfied  before 
they  sailed,  and  that  a  boy  who  was  going  with  Vansittart  ran  away,  because 
he  did  not  like  the  look  of  things.  The  passengers  of  the  Lord  Camden,  India- 
man,  told  the  pirate  story,  but  her  Captain  knew  nothing  of  it,  and  it  was  much 
doubted.  On  Nov.  19,  "A  black  who  said  he  was  one  of  five  persons  saved 
from  the  shipwreck  of  the  Aurora,"  was  examined  before  the  Directors,  and  said 
that  the  frigate  was  cast  away  "ona  reef  of  rocks  off  Mocoa"  ;  that  he  was  two 
years  on  a  desert  island,  before  he  was  taken  off  by  a  ship.  "It  is  believed 
that  he  went  out  in  the  Aurora,  but  that  he  had  quitted  her  at  the  Cape." 


264  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

came  news  that  the  Company  was  again  at  war.  This  time,  it 
was  the  "King"  of  Tanjore.  The  pretext  was  that  the  French 
meant  to  get  hold  of  that  kingdom  on  a  dormant  claim  for  an 
old  debt;  but  some  said  the  Council  of  Calcutta,  seeing  their 
power  threatened,  wanted  to  get  hold  of  the  spoils  of  Tanjore 
before  the  new  Charter  could  come  into  operation. 

Public  uneasiness  was  increased  by  the  failure  of  the  great  house 
of  Neal,  James,  Fordyce,  &  Downs,  in  June.  It  was  the  greatest 
blow  for  fifty  years  to  trade  and  credit.  It  seemed  at  first  that 
every  bank  in  London  would  go.  Sir  Richard  Glynn  broke,  and 
Sir  George  Colebrooke  (now  Chairman  of  the  East  India  Company) 
was  only  saved  by  the  Bank  of  England  issuing  notes  to  meet  the 
run  on  him.  The  news  reached  Edinburgh  in  forty-three  hours — 
a  space  of  time  scarcely  credible.  The  great  Bank  of  Ayr  had 
^300,000  of  paper  out  in  London  alone.  Colebrooke  was  one 
great  cause  of  the  calamity,  and  if  he  had  gone,  it  would  have 
spread  to  Holland.  Fordyce's  speculations,  which  started  the 
crash,  began  with  "a  great  stroke"  in  India  stock,  in  1765. 

All  this  while,  the  Company  was  like  a  man  who,  having  stumbled 
in  running,  tries  to  save  himself  by  running  faster.  Ever  since  1769, 
it  had  been  raising  its  dividend,  till  now  it  had  stood  for  eighteen 
months  at  1 2  J.  But  an  end  came.  On  the  8th  of  July,  the  cashier 
perceived  that  the  Directors  had  no  cash,  and  told  Sulivan. 

Something  must  be  done.  The  Company  would  need  £2, 247,000 
during  the  next  three  months,  and  could  only  look  to  receive 
^954,200 — a  deficiency  of  a  million  and  a  quarter.  On  the  15th, 
the  Directors  borrowed  ,£400,000  of  the  Bank  for  two  months ; 
on  the  29th,  they  asked  for  ^300,000  more.  The  Bank  would  only 
lend  ^200,000.  So  on  August  10,  "the  Chairman  and  Deputy" 
(Colebrooke  and  Sulivan)  waited  on  Lord  North,  and  told  him  they 
must  have  a  million.  North  "  heard  them  dryly,"  and  told  them 
they  must  go  to  Parliament.  At  last  the  dreaded  moment  had  come. 
To  go  to  Parliament  was  the  first  step  to  a  new  Charter. 

On  September  27,  1772,  at  a  great  meeting  of  Proprietors  in 
Leadenhall  Street,  Sir  George  in  the  Chair  told  an  angry  assembly 
that,  owing  to  unforeseen  circumstances,  it  was  desirable  to  postpone 
settling  the  next  half-year's  dividend  till  Christmas — the  reasons 
being  the  extraordinary  drafts  made  on  the  Company  from  Bengal, 
and  the  indemnity  on  teas.  Mr.  Creighton  asked  where  the  wonder 
would  cease  ?  One  while  we  are  told  the  Company  is  so  flourishing 
that  it  can  pay  a  dividend  of  5  £  per  cent,  for  the  half-year,  and 
then,  that  the  Company  is  in  such  straits,  it  can  pay  no  dividend 
at  all.     "How  can  twenty-four  great  merchants  be  so  far  out  in 


THE  SELECT  COMMITTEE  265 

their  calculations  ?  "  He  suggested  that  the  Directors  ought  to  be 
dismissed,  and  moved  for  a  Committee  of  Proprietors  to  enquire 
into  the  Company's  affairs.  Colebrooke  said  he  should  have  it  at 
once.  In  the  first  place,  he  was  not  in  the  Direction  when  the 
high  dividend  was  planned — he  really  did  not  know,  till  he  came 
to  the  Chair,  that  the  treasury  was  not  equal  to  the  demands.  It 
was  owing  to  their  servants  in  Bengal  drawing  so  much  more  than 
was  expected.  Then  the  indemnity  on  teas,  and  the  sum  due  to 
Government,  "all  coming  down  on  them  together."  By  Christmas, 
a  great  part  of  the  goods  now  in  warehouse  would  be  sold — then 
they  could  do  justice  to  their  proprietors.  Creighton  asked  indig- 
nantly how  Sir  George,  a  merchant,  a  man  of  immense  fortune, 
whose  trade  was  money,  had  not  foreseen  this  ?  Was  he  not  afraid 
of  the  spectres  of  the  widow  and  the  fatherless  ?  The  unfortunate 
Fordyce  well  saw  the  fate  of  East  India  stock — if  he  could  have 
held  out,  he  would  now  be  one  of  the  richest  subjects  in  these 
kingdoms.  General  Smith  urged  the  Directors  not  to  borrow  of 
Government.  Borrow  of  us !  He  would  begin  by  lending  them 
.£50,000  next  morning.  "  Mr.  Impey  " — a  sinister  name — also  came 
to  their  aid ;  so  did  Mr.  Dempster,  who  "  smiled  at  the  distresses 
of  the  Company  " — there's  only  a  little  temporary  scarcity  of  cash. 
When  our  ships  come  in,  you  will  all  be  one  million  sterling  more 
in  pocket  than  last  year. 

Meantime  some  rather  bad  news  seems  to  have  been  received 
from  Tanjore — at  the  end  of  October,  we  are  told,  "it  should  seem 
that  the  natives  begin  to  be  acquainted  with  the  advantages  of 
military  discipline." 

The  Gentleman 's  Magazine  for  December,  1772,  contains  a 
"Plan  for  relieving  the  East  India  Company  from  the  present 
temporary  Distress,  in  Point  of  Cash,  from  their  own  Resources, 
without  having  Recourse  to  Government,  for  any  Loan  whatever." 
The  plan  is,  to  turn  into  money  the  18  million  pounds  of  unsold 
tea,  which  will  remain  in  their  warehouses,  after  the  sales  of  1774, 
"besides  about  6  millions,  sold,  but  uncleared."  Already,  they 
have  17  millions  unsold;  and  thirteen  ships  will  bring  over  8 
millions  more  in  1773.  The  writer  explains  that  when  the  Company 
acquired  the  revenues  of  Bengal,  they  had  to  do  something  with 
their  money — or,  as  he  expresses  it,  to  increase  their  investments 
in  India.  They  could  not  use  it  for  the  purchase  of  the  textile 
manufactures  of  Bengal,  because,  to  encourage  our  own  manu- 
factures, "we  prohibit  the  wear  of  all  foreign  printed,  painted,  and 
stained  goods."  So  "  they  naturally  turned  their  thoughts  to  Tea," 
and   procured  the  Act  of  Parliament,  taking  off  is.  per  pound  on 


266  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

black  and  singlo  teas,  for  five  years,  undertaking  to  indemnify  the 
revenue  for  anything  it  lost  by  the  bargain.  And  expecting  the 
lowered  price  would  bring  increased  consumption,  they  enlarged 
their  sales.  The  Company,  however,  have  had  to  pay  very  large 
sums  on  the  indemnity — in  fact,  they  are  losing  at  the  rate  of 
.£285,000  per  annum,  all  told,  including  warehouse  rent  and 
expenses.  They  must  either  cease  to  buy,  or  find  a  "foreign  vent" 
for  their  superfluous  stock  of  teas  on  hand.  They  ought  to  be  allowed 
to  re-export  it,  free  of  duty.  The  writer  tries  to  show  the  certainty 
of  a  profit,  since  the  Company  could  then  afford  to  undersell  Sweden, 
Holland,  and  France.  But,  even  if  they  sold  at  cost  price,  they 
would  be  so  much  cash  in  hand,  to  meet  their  engagements.  As 
for  the  smuggling  of  tea  being  increased,  that  might  be  if  our 
smugglers  could  not  be  supplied  by  the  other  East  India  Companies. 
They  are  so,  constantly,  and  the  smuggler  makes  half  a  crown  a 
pound — and  more  on  the  high-priced  teas.  This  proposal,  after- 
wards referred  to  as  "  Mr.  Hemes'  scheme,"  makes  no  mention  of 
America  as  a  market  for  the  surplus  ;  but  early  in  January,  1773,  a 
General  Court  recommended  the  Directors  to  obtain  an  Act  "  for 
them  to  export  their  surplus  teas  to  foreign  markets,  clear  of  all 
drawbacks  and  duties,  as  well  as  to  take  off  the  threepence  in  the 
pound  duty  in  America."  The  application  was  made  to  Lord  North, 
but  he  refused.  There  were  only  two  discordant  notes  in  the  King's 
Speech  of  November  26,  1772,  but  these  two  were  on  weighty  matters 
— the  bad  harvest,  and  consequent  dearness  of  corn ;  and  the  East 
India  Company.  The  Hon.  Mr.  FitzPatrick  (Charles  Fox's  great 
friend),  who  moved  the  Address  in  the  Commons,  said  the  Company 
was  in  the  most  alarming  and  dangerous  situation — Parliament  must 
interpose  at  once.  The  dividend  has  fallen  to  6  per  cent,  and  it 
will  be  an  act  of  the  highest  fraud  if  the  Directors  divide  a  single 
shilling.  Here  the  speaker  digressed  into  expressions  of  thankful- 
ness that  the  country  was  out  of  the  European  war  between  Russia 
and  Turkey,  and  on  the  various  advantages  of  a  ten  years'  peace, 
and  the  happy  prospect  of  its  long  continuance. 

Dr.  Burrell,  who  seconded,  came  at  once  to  the  Company. 
Every  member  must  tremble  at  entering  on  the  discussion,  yet  entered 
on  it  must  be.  "  A  more  important  charge  was  never  offered  to  your 
care.  Whether  a  Charter,  even  supposing  it  unbroken,  is  so  sacred 
a  thing,  that  the  State  must  fall  rather  than  infringe  it,  is  a  question 
I  will  not  suppose  you  will  ever  be  called  upon  to  decide  on.  But 
we  may  ask  how  territorial  revenues,  nearly  equal  to  our  annual 
income,  have  been  squandered?  Was  it  folly  or  misfortune,  in- 
discretion or  crime  ?     This  is  no  trifling  question,  whether  men  of 


THE  SELECT  COMMITTEE  267 

this  or  that  description  shall  ascend  the  throne  of  Leadenhall 
Street.  It  is  the  stake  of  Empire ;  and  on  the  issue,  perhaps,  will 
be  determined,  whether  Great  Britain  is  to  be  the  first  nation  in 
the  world,  or  a  ruined  and  undone  country."  Then  he  uttered 
some  most  solemn  words,  which  must  have  resounded  in  the  ears  of 
all  those  who  were  afterwards  members  of  the  Secret  Committee. 
"  Great  and  powerful  was  Spain,  before  she  waded  through  blood  to 
the  sovereignty  of  Mexico  and  Peru.  Happy  perhaps  had  it  been,  and 
I  am  sure  more  honourable,  if  the  military  achievements  of  Britain 
had  never  stained  the  archives  of  Delhi.  If  report  has  not  exceeded 
the  bounds  of  truth,  the  Company  would  have  been  in  no  worse 
situation,  if  the  wealth  of  Bengal  had  never  been  wrung  from  the 
hands  of  its  innocent  possessors." 

That  same  day,  Lord  North  moved  for  a  Committee  of  Secrecy. 
Mr.  Hussey  said  Ministers  always  tried  to  conceal  matters.  He 
did  not  charge  them  with  "any  sinister  views  of  stock-jobbing," 
but  they  were  seldom  averse  to  it,  and  their  opportunities  of  early 
intelligence  made  it  to  them  "a  lucrative  trade."  Lord  North 
must  know  all  the  Company's  secrets  already — he  won't  need 
thirteen  friends  to  teach  him  how  to  speculate  in  the  Alley.  One 
of  the  greatest  services  he  can  render  this  country  is  to  stop  "  that 
destructive  gaming  in  the  funds  which  has  lately  shook  the  trading 
interest."     It  is  hard  to  say  where  it  will  end. 

North  replied  that  great  complaints  had  been  made  of  the 
disclosure  of  the  Company's  secrets  last  session.  Burgoyne — now 
General — defended  the  late  Select  Committee.  He  intended  to 
move  its  revival.  "It  is  universally  allowed,  and  clearly  proved, 
that  the  East  India  Company  is  rotten  to  the  core.  All  is  equally 
unsound,  you  cannot  lay  your  finger  on  a  single  healthy  spot ! " 
All  laws,  human  and  divine,  have  been  trampled  under  foot.  "  It 
seems  strange  to  pass  over  the  enormities  of  the  East,  and  institute 
a  minute  enquiry  into  the  petty  larcenies  of  Leadenhall  Street." 

The  motion  for  a  Secret  Committee,  and  that  for  the  revival  of 
the  Select  Committee,  were  both  carried. 

Then  came  the  Bill  to  Restrain  the  Company  from  appointing 
new  Supervisors.  The  Company  was  distressed  for  cash,  yet 
proposed  this  expensive  Commission,  "  which  they  say  will  be  paid 
out  of  the  savings  of  Mahomed  Resim  Aly  Cawm."  Mr.  Dempster 
said  the  very  idea  of  a  Secret  Committee  was  unconstitutional.  The 
Company  is  in  a  deficiency  of  cash,  but  not  in  a  ruinous  condition. 
The  abuses  in  India,  and  particularly  in  Bengal,  make  it  necessary 
to  appoint  a  set  of  independent  gentlemen — we  have  found  six,  and 
though  the  expense  has  been  calculated  at  ;£  120,000,  we  may  save 


268  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

millions  by  it.  Sulivan  said  the  Directors  had  already  suspended 
the  departure  of  the  Supervisors,  but  Wedderburn  replied  that 
was  not  enough — if  a  General  Court  ordered  them  to  sail,  they 
might  be  "  many  leagues  at  sea  before  we  can  possibly  meet."  So 
the  Restraining  Bill  ought  to  be  passed  at  once.  Governor 
Johnstone,  the  great  enemy  of  the  Directors,  yet  opposed  this 
Bill  as  unconstitutional.  One  of  his  statements  may  be  quoted. 
He  said  that  Mr.  Vansittart  had  confessed  to  him,  "  with  his  usual 
candour,  that  all  that  pretended  parade  which  is  generally  given 
out  as  a  reason  for  vindicating  such  a  waste  of  the  Company's 
money,  was  quite  unnecessary." 

The  Company's  counsel,  Impey  and  Adair,  were  heard  at  Bar- 
The  admissions  made  on  this  occasion  on  behalf  of  the  Company 
are  significant.  It  was  admitted  "  that  many  abuses  prevail  in 
India ;  that  those  in  Bengal  exceeded  those  in  Bombay,  and  those 
in  Bombay  those  at  Fort  St.  George ;  that  if  the  army  in  Bengal  were 
put  upon  the  same  footing  as  that  at  Fort  St.  George,  the  saving 
would  exceed  half  a  million ;  that  even  the  army  at  Fort  St.  George 
was  more  expensive  than  it  ought  to  be.  That  in  Bengal,  171 
civil  servants  cost  the  Company  ^265,000  annually;  that  at 
Bombay,  96  civil  servants  cost  ;£i  24,000  annually,  but  at  Fort 
St.  George  114  cost  only  ^50,000."  That  the  "arbitrary  tax 
called  Matoot,  under  colour  of  repairing  bridges,  ways,  etc.,  had 
been  diverted  by  the  Select  Committee 1  to  their  own  private  use, 
and  was  increased  if  the  harvest  was  plentiful,  so  that  in  one 
district  it  equalled  the  whole  annual  rent  of  the  farmers ;  that  this 
enormity  was  for  five  years  concealed  from  the  Directors";  and 
that  when  compelled  by  a  "refractory  member"  of  Council  to  let 
it  appear  in  the  minutes,  it  was  excused  by  saying,  "  that  it  would 
appear  insufferable  to  the  Direction,  however  necessary  it  might  be 
in  the  eyes  of  the  natives,"  "  those  miserable  wretches,  out  of  whose 
bowels  it  was  iniquitously  wrung."  That  Mr.  Sykes  of  the  Select 
Committee,  "  touched  of  this  Matoot  24,000  rupees  for  his  table, 
18,000  for  his  dresses,  and  18,000  for  other  expenses;  and  that 
this  tax,  when  mentioned  on  the  Company's  books,  was  wrote 
off,  'To  Profit  and  Loss'— that  is  a  total  loss."  That  the  "Salt 
Society  "  now  owed  the  Company  half  a  million,  for  monopolising 
salt,  betle  nut,  and  tobacco,  against  the  Company's  express  directions. 
That  for  the  last  three  years  "the  net  receipts  at  Bengal  had 
exceeded  the  disbursements  by  ;£  1,5 9 2, 644,  which  had  not  been 
accounted  for  by  the  Governor  and  Council."  With  a  long  list  of 
other  instances  in  which  the  Company  had  been  fleeced  of  the 
1  This  is,  of  course,  the  Select  Committee  of  1765,  sitting  at  Calcutta. 


THE  SELECT  COMMITTEE  269 

spoils  of  which  itself  had  fleeced  the  unhappy  natives  of  India. 
Well  might  the  Directors  plead  that  Supervisors,  if  honest,  might 
"  save  millions." 

After  excusing  the  Company's  embarrassments  by  making  these 
terrible  charges  against  the  Company's  servants,  Impey  and  Adair 
went  on  to  complain  that  "  the  scheme  of  the  indemnity  on  tea  " 
had  cost  the  Company  "between  payments  to  Government  and 
losses  on  shipping,  and  other  articles,  not  much  less  than  a  million 
sterling ;  that  "  the  Salt  Society  had  lent  the  Company  money 
at  compound  interest;  and  that  till  1765,"  that  is,  till  the  Select 
Committee  of  Lord  Clive  had  the  direction  of  affairs,  "the 
civil  and  military  expenses  of  the  Company  in  Bengal  had  never 
exceeded  ^700,000  ";  in  1766  they  amounted  to  ^900,000,  until 
in  1 77 1  they  had  swelled  to  the  enormous  sum  of  ;£  1,800, 000 
sterling. 

Witnesses  were  called  to  the  Bar,  "and  proved  everything 
alleged  by  the  Counsel."1 

In  the  Debate,  the  Company  members  tried  to  frighten  the 
Government  out  of  meddling.  If  the  Company's  interest  and 
credit  sink,  the  nation  may  sink  with  them.  But  the  supporters 
of  the  Bill  retorted  that  the  Company  could  not  be  trusted  to 
redress  these  grievances — it  had  already  tried,  and  had  only  made 
confusion  worse  confounded.  "Unlimited  power  will  for  ever 
debauch  the  best  of  men,"  said  Mr.  Crawford.  Sykes  and  Lord 
Clive  were  in  their  places,  and  heard  all  this.  Sykes  made  no 
reply;  Clive  made  a  brief  evasive  speech,  which  if  it  had  any 
meaning,  meant  that  the  Supervisors  could  not  do  any  good,  if 
they  tried,  and  probably  would  be  afraid  to  try.  Dempster  made 
a  miserable  defence.  The  Directors  did  not  know — the  Directors 
sent  out  "  most  positive  orders."  "  Nothing  that  could  be  done  by 
men  in  Leadenhall  Street "  had  been  omitted.  The  Salt  Society  has 
been  told  it  must  refund  or  be  prosecuted.  Why  is  the  Company 
treated  as  a  criminal  ?  The  territorial  revenues  have  not  enriched 
them  a  single  sixpence — they  have  not  embezzled  these  revenues, 
they  have  only  divided  the  profits  of  their  increased  trade.  The 
territorial  fund  has  been  exhausted  by  Government,  by  the 
Company's  servants,  "and  by  a  noble  lord,  who,  not  to  say  a 
word  of  his  friends,  has  reaped  more  of  that  harvest  than  the 
Company." 

It  was  not  till  then  that  Clive  made  his  great  speech. 

1  The  witnesses  were,  "  Mr.  Wilkes,  keeper  of  the  Company's  records  ;  Mr. 
Hoole,  auditor  of  Indian  accounts ;  and  Mr.  Tookey,  who  takes  care  of  their 
custom-house  accounts." — Parliamentary  Debates ;  XVI I ^  657. 


270  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Burke  declaimed  passionately  against  the  Bill,  hinting  that 
Government  only  wanted  to  seize  the  territorial  revenues  for  them- 
selves. It  was  in  the  course  of  this  speech  that  Burke  uttered 
the  memorable  words,  "Unconstitutional  acts,  founded  on  uncon- 
stitutional motives,  spring  from  unconstitutional  acts  founded  on 
constitutional  motives." 

North  denied  that  he  had  plundered  the  Company  ;  "  and  since 
their  affairs  have  turned  out  in  so  wretched  a  manner,  I  am  of 
opinion  that  the  two  millions  is  much  better  employed  in  this  country 
than  in  India,  to  build  walls  round  their  camps,  with  locks  and  keys 
to  keep  the  men  from  deserting."  Sykes  rose  at  last.  He  was 
concerned  to  find  his  honour  attacked.  The  Matoot  was  agreeable 
to  the  form  of  government  established  by  Lord  Clive  and  the 
Select  Committee. 

At  the  Bar  of  the  Lords,  on  December  3,  Mr.  Tookey  swore 
that  the  Company's  servants  had  drawn,  in  excess  of  their  orders, 
^1,063,067,  is.  2d.,  for  the  year  1771,  and  that  the  Company 
had  paid  to  Government  on  the  indemnity  on  tea  near  £"281,000, 
and  now  owe  for  the  same  £"202,000  more,  and  have  lost  £300,000 
on  the  price  of  tea.  That  since  their  agreement  with  Government, 
they  have  paid  into  the  Treasury  £1,800,000,  and  still  owe 
,£200,000  since  September ;  "  and  another  £200,000  will  fall  due 
the  25th  of  this  instant  December."  With  many  other  figures, 
showing  how  much  better  off  the  Company  was  before  it  possessed 
the  "  duana  "  of  Bengal. 

The  Restraining  Bill  passed  by  very  large  majorities  in  both 
Houses. 

All  through  this  year,  in  Debates  in  Parliament,  and  in  articles 
in  the  great  Magazines,  we  have  the  "Assize  of  Bread."  This 
Committee — of  which  Governor  Pownall  was  Chairman — reported 
in  favour  of  the  loaf  of  Queen  Anne,  made  of  the  whole  flour  of 
the  wheat,  without  bolting.  By  "some  defect"  in  Alderman 
Dickenson's  Act  of  1757,  though  none  of  this  bread  ("the  fittest 
for  the  poor ")  was  made,  "  the  wheaten,  that  is  commonly  sold,  is 
not  that  which  is  intended  by  law."  By  which  ingenious  arrange- 
ment, the  poor  suffered  not  only  in  the  nutritive  quality  of  their 
bread,  but  lost  also  one  pound  by  weight  in  every  8  lbs.  The 
millers  seem  to  have  been  the  gainers.  The  Committee  recommend 
that  the  miller  be  required  "to  return  the  whole  grit." 

So  ended  the  year  which  saw  the  First  Partition  of  Poland. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII 
THE  DOUBLE  VERDICT 

"  His  lordship  ironically  complimented  the  vast  extent  of  abilities  of  Lord 
North,  in  limiting  the  continuance  of  the  territorial  acquisitions  in  the  Company's 
possessions  for  six  years.  He  said  he  might  call  his  lordship  the  lion  of 
government,  and  the  India  Company  the  jackall,  or  lion's  provider." — Speech  of 
Lord  Clive,  May  3,  1773. 

"It  came  out  before  the  Secret  Committee  that  in  1766  he  had  obliged  the 
Great  Mogul,  his  tool,  to  write  a  letter  to  the  King,  telling  his  Majesty  that 
he  had  sent  him  a  rich  present  of  diamonds.  '  I  may  write  the  letter,'  said 
the  Mogul,  '  but  you  know  I  have  no  diamonds.'  '  Do  you  write  the  letter,' 
said  Clive,  'and  I  will  find  the  diamonds.'  He  did:  he  plundered  a  Nabob. 
One  of  the  diamonds  was  alone  worth  ,£12,000.  Thurlow,  a  proper  bloodhound 
to  pursue  such  a  tiger,  offered  to  take  up  Lord  Clive,  as  Attorney-General.  .  .  . 
Wedderburn,  the  Solicitor:General,  no  honester  than  the  accused  or  the  criminal, 
was  a  warm  advocate  for  the  latter.  .  .  .  Lord  North  wavered." — Walpole,  Last 
Journals,  i.  206. 

"  In  short,  the  appearance  on  Lord  Clive's  side  of  those  flimsy  and  contemptible 
men  Lord  Barrington  and  Jenkinson,  carried  the  tide  of  Court  favour  along  with 
them  ;  and  the  pusillanimous,  uncertain,  contradictory  variations  and  indeci- 
sion of  Lord  North,  who  wavered  from  censure  to  encomium,1  who  aimed  at 
punishment  and  held  out  recompense,  and  who  at  last,  almost  in  terms, 
proposed  to  take  away  his  fortune,  and  then  restore  it,  turned  the  scale. 
But  why  do  I  say  turned  the  scale  ?  ...  It  had  been  determined  before  ;  Lord 
Clive  had  bought  the  Court — it  was  past  a  doubt.  ...  To  complete  Lord 
Clive's  triumph,  and  its  own  shame  .  .  .  after  having  stated  that  presents 
acquired  by  military  influence  were  illegal,  they  acquitted  and  thanked  the 
man  who  had  confessed  and  gloried  in  the  facts  of  which  he  was  accused.  .  .  . 
Lord  North  .  .  .  wrote  immediately  to  the  King,  complaining  how  he  had  been 
abandoned  by  his  Majesty's  creatures.  His  Majesty  as  usual  soothed  him 
with  promises — and  he  deserved  the  treatment,  by  once  again  submitting  to 
be  soothed."— Ibid.  i.  244,  245. 

The  moment  had  come  when  America  and  Bengal  should  cross 
each  other's  path.  The  Company's  teas  were  now  become  a 
public  question.  In  January,  1773,  a  correspondent  writes  to  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine  on  "  the  present  distress  of  the  East  India 

1  He  said  Lord  Clive  had  virtues  enough  to  balance  his  faults.  (Walpole's 
note. ) 


272  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Company."  No  one  can  be  surprised  at  it,  says  the  correspondent, 
ignoring  the  Directors'  account  of  their'  servants'  depredations. 
"  Our  Colonies  sent  annually  to  England  ^"600,000  for  the  single 
article  of  tea."  But  when  they  had  to  choose  "whether  they 
should  be  slaves  under  that  importation,  or  freemen  importing 
it  from  a  foreign  market,  the  tea  remained  in  the  Company's  ware- 
houses, and  the  ^600,000  went  to  Holland  and  Denmark."  This 
has  been  going  on  for  five  years,  and  now  makes  three  millions  differ- 
ence in  their  cash  account,  is  the  true  cause  of  the  great  quantity 
now  on  hand,  and  has  helped  to  the  present  universal  stagnation 
of  all  business. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  a  General  Court  empowered 
Sir  George  Colebrooke  and  the  Directors  to  obtain  an  Act  of 
Parliament  for  exporting  the  surplus  teas  to  foreign  markets,  "  clear 
of  all  drawbacks  and  duties,  as  well  as  to  take  off  the  3  per  cent, 
duty  in  America." 

The  Company's  teas  were  becoming  nearly  as  pressing  a  question 
as  the  Company's  affairs — besides  the  threatened  ruin  to  the 
Company,  there  was  the  high  price  of  tea  in  England,  and  the 
increase  of  smuggling.  It  was  computed  that  about  two  million 
pounds  of  tea  were  smuggled  annually  into  this  country — "  an  article 
which  by  habit  is  now  become  a  necessary  of  life,"  says  a  corre- 
spondent of  the  Gentleman's  Magazine?- 

The  first  stage  was  the  debate  on  the  loan  (March  9).  Once 
more  the  House  resolved  itself  into  Committee,  "to  take  into 
consideration  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company,"  and  their 
Petition  for  a  loan  of  ;£i, 500,000  for  four  years,  at  4  per  cent.  North 
said  it  had  been  asserted  that  the  subsidy  paid  by  the  Company  to 

1  "It  is  found  by  the  last  year's  accounts  transmitted  by  the  Commissioners, 
that  the  balance  in  favour  of  Britain  is  but  about  eighty-five  pounds,  after 
payment  of  salaries,  etc.,  exclusive  of  the  charge  of  a  fleet  to  enforce  the 
collection.  Then  it  is  observed  that  the  India  Company  is  so  out  of  cash 
that  it  cannot  pay  the  bills  drawn  upon  it,  and  its  other  debts ;  and  at  the 
same  time  so  out  of  credit,  that  the  Bank  does  not  care  to  assist  them, 
whence  they  find  themselves  obliged  to  lower  their  dividends ;  the  apprehension 
of  which  has  sunk  their  stock  from  two  hundred  and  eighty  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty,  whereby  several  millions  of  property  are  annihilated  .  .  .  besides  a  loss 
to  the  treasury  of  four  hundred  thousand  pounds  per  annum,  which  the  company 
are  not  able  to  pay  as  heretofore." — Franklin  to  Cushing,  London,  Jan.  5,  1773. 

The  same  letter  remarks  on  the  imprudence  of  "losing  the  American  market 
by  keeping  up  the  duty  on  tea."  This  has  thrown  the  trade  into  the  hands  of 
the  Dutch,  Danes,  Swedes,  and  French,  who,  according  to  the  reports  of  customs 
officers  in  America,  "now  supply  by  smuggling  the  whole  continent,"  not  with 
tea  only,  but  with  India  goods,  "  amounting  as  is  supposed  in  the  whole  to  five 
hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling  per  annum." 


THE  DOUBLE  VERDICT  273 

Government  was  excessive,  and  that  therefore  Government  was 
bound  to  come  to  the  Company's  rescue;  but  the  fact  was, 
Government  had  lost  by  them — the  ^400,000  had  by  no  means 
made  up  for  the  loss  on  the  Customs.  The  Company  proposed 
the  amount — they  ought  to  have  known  whether  they  could  afford 
it.  He  complained  that,  after  all  the  Committees,  "  we  still  want 
the  necessary  information ;  there  is  still  much  to  come  to  light." 
We  only  know  enough  of  the  malversation  abroad  to  see  the 
absolute  necessity  for  immediate  interposition.  A  Company  with 
a  revenue  of  almost  ^4,000,000,  and  exporting  British  articles 
to  the  amount  of  ^400,000  a  year,  is  an  object  of  national  import- 
ance— and  next  September  it  will  be  deficient  ,£1,300,425.  But 
what  to  do  ?  The  Directors  have  borrowed  too  much  upon  bonds 
already.  And  we  can't  wait  to  find  out  whether  they  are  to  blame, 
and  make  them  find  the  deficit  if  they  are — the  Company  may  be 
ruined  by  delay.  "An  instantaneous  step  must  be  taken."  He 
proposed  that  the  public  should  advance  ;£i, 400,000,  and 
Government  should  forego  the  £400,000  from  the  territorial 
revenues  till  this  loan  should  be  repaid.  Meanwhile,  no  dividend 
to  be  above  6  per  cent.,  with  other  provisos  of  a  like  nature — in 
return  for  all  which  the  Company  may  keep  their  territorial  posses- 
sions for  the  six  unexpired  years  of  their  Charter. 

As  might  be  expected,  there  was  a  furious  opposition ;  General 
Courts  were  called,  there  was  much  mutual  recrimination,  and  much 
coming  and  going  between  Leadenhall  Street  and  Westminster. 
But  the  Ministry  was  strong,  and  the  revelations  of  the  doings  in 
Bengal  had  made  the  Company  odious.  To  save  those  territorial 
possessions  which  had  been  the  cause  of  all  their  woes,  they  even 
agreed  to  the  sweeping  changes  in  their  constitution.  The 
qualification  to  vote  in  the  Court  of  Proprietors  was  raised  from 
.£500  to  £1000  of  Stock ;  every  holder  of  .£3000  Stock  was 
to  have  two  votes;  holders  of  £"6000,  three;  of  £10,000,  four. 
Only  six  Directors  were  to  retire  every  year.  There  was  to  be  a 
Governor-General  of  the  provinces  of  Bengal,  Bahar,  and  Orissa, 
with  a  salary  of  £25,000  a  year,  and  four  Councillors  with  £"8000 
each.  The  other  Presidencies  were  to  be  subordinate  to  Bengal, 
and  a  Supreme  Court  of  Justice  was  to  sit  at  Calcutta,  with  a 
Chief  Justice  at  £8000  a  year,  and  three  assistant  Judges  at 
£6000  each — all  these  to  be  appointed  by  the  Crown. 

All  former  opposition  had  been  as  nothing  to  that  now  made.    It 

was  said  the  changes  were  subversive  of  the  Constitution — the  rights 

given  under  the  Charter  were  treated  as  dust.      Twelve  hundred 

Proprietors  were  suddenly  disfranchised — deprived  of  any  share  in  the 

vol.  1. — 18 


274  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

direction  of  their  own  affairs.  Moreover,  by  this  long  lease  of 
power  the  Directors  were  placed  beyond  the  control  of  their  con- 
stituents, and  could  gratify  themselves  and  their  friends  unchecked. 
And  while  the  Proprietors  will  be  helpless,  the  Company  will  be 
under  the  Minister's  thumb,  and  forced  to  pay  these  enormous 
salaries  to  officials  they  do  not  choose,  and  may  greatly  object 
to.1  The  City  of  London,  appealed  to  by  the  Company,  petitioned ; 
once  more  counsel  were  heard  at  the  Bar;  but  all  was  in  vain. 
On  the  ioth  of  June  the  East  India  Bill  passed  the  Commons 
by  more  than  6  to  i  ;  and  on  the  19th,  after  a  warm  debate,  it 
was  carried  in  the  Lords  by  74  to  17. 

The  Company  was  very  angry  with  all  these  Committees, 
which  dived  into  its  most  secret  affairs,  and  with  the  Debates  which 
proclaimed  them  as  from  the  house-tops — for  the  Debates  were  now 
printed  in  all  the  great  Magazines,  and  read  by  everybody.  Worst 
of  all  was  the  Bill,  which  was  taking  away  its  property 
without  its  consent.  The  Company's  embarrassments  were  a 
national  danger — its  discontent  was  a  political  danger,  for  it  was 
strong  enough  to  control  a  General  Election.  Something  had  to 
be  done  to  appease  its  resentment,  and  help  it  to  pay  its  debts. 
The  obvious  means  was  the  Tea.  So  a  Bill  was  brought  in  which 
virtually  gave  the  Company  the  monopoly  of  Tea  in  the  Colonies. 
The  measure  had  much  to  recommend  it.  It  might  be  made  the 
means  of  bringing  the  Colonies  to  reason.  When  Charles  Town- 
shend's  Revenue  Act  was  repealed,  the  duty  on  tea  was  left 
expressly  to  preserve  the  right  of  taxation.  The  same  thing  was  to 
be  done  again. 

The  Tea  Bill  was  agreed  to  by  the  Commons,  on  April  27,  in 
the  same  easy  fashion  as  the  Stamp  Act  had  been  agreed  to  nine 
years  before.  It  allowed  the  drawback  on  "all  teas  sold  at  any 
of  the  East  India  Company's  sales,  or  imported  under  licence, 
after  the  ioth  of  May,  1773";  and  included  "all  the  duties  of 
customs  paid  upon  the  importation  of  such  teas."  The  Com- 
missioners of  the  Treasury  were  empowered  "  to  grant  licences  to 
the  East  India  Company,  to  export  teas  to  the  British  plantations 
in  America,  or  to  foreign  parts,  provided  that  ten  million  pounds' 
weight  of  teas  be  left  remaining  in  the  Company's  warehouses." 

This  exempted  the  Company's  teas  from  all  duties  hitherto 
payable  in  England  on  re-exported  teas,  but  it  left  the  duty  of  three- 
pence on  the  pound  of  tea  exported  to  America.     And  there  can  be 

1 "  Downing-street  squeezed  Lead enhall -street ;  Leadenhall-street  was  there- 
fore compelled  to  squeeze  its  servants  in  India,  who  were  in  their  turn  com- 
pelled to  squeeze  the  natives." — Burke,  March  23,  1773. 


THE  DOUBLE  VERDICT  275 

no  doubt  that  this  threepence  was  the  final  determining  motive  for 
remitting  the  ninepence.  For,  as  was  once  more  urged,  if  the 
Company's  embarrassments  had  been  Government's  first  concern,  the 
duty  would  have  been  taken  off  "  Singlo  "  teas,  and  not  only  off 
"  Bohea."  It  was  "  Singlo  "  which  was  choking  their  warehouses. 
The  Directors  quickly  saw  that  the  Bill  was  not  as  good  as  it  looked. 
They  represented  to  Government  that  America  took  their  Bohea — 
that  sort  of  tea  was  never  a  burden.  But  considerable  pressure  was 
brought  to  bear.  It  was  asserted  that  the  resolution  for  allowing  the 
drawback  was  agreed  to  by  a  Committee  of  three  Directors — when 
there  ought  to  have  been  eleven.  But  it  was  in  vain  that  Govern- 
ment was  entreated  to  let  the  American  duty  be  taken  off  Singlo. 
The  object  was  to  tempt  the  colonist  with  the  good  tea,  not  with  the 
inferior.  The  Directors  even  waited  on  North  more  than  once  at 
his  own  house.  The  last  time,  wearied  by  their  importunity,  he 
told  them  it  was  to  no  purpose  making  objections — the  King  would 
have  it  so.     "  The  King  meant  to  try  the  question  with  America" x 

Before  this,  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  incidents  in  Clive's 
extraordinary  story  had  taken  place.  On  the  10th  of  May 
Burgoyne  brought  up  the  Report  of  the  Select  Committee.  He 
said  it  contained  accounts  of  crimes  which  it  shocked  human  nature 
even  to  conceive  of — he  particularised  Clive's  enormous  bribe  to 
Omichund  to  procure  the  assassination  of  his  master  the  Nabob.  He 
said  he  looked  on  the  deposition  of  Surajah  Dowla,  and  bringing 
about  the  revolution  in  favour  of  Mir  Jaffler,  in  1756,  as  the  origin 
of  all  the  subsequent  evils,  and  of  the  temporary  distress,  "  if  not  the 
total  destruction,"  of  the  Company.  He  moved  three  Resolutions  : 
That  all  acquisitions  made  by  a  military  force,  or  by  treaty  with 
foreign  Powers,  belong  of  right  to  the  State ;  That  it  is  illegal  to 
appropriate  them  to  private  use;  and  That  very  great  sums  of 
money  and  other  valuable  property  have  been  acquired  in  this  way, 
in  Bengal,  from  Princes  and  others,  and  been  converted  to 
private  uses. 

Clive  said  little,  "  and  with  arrogant  haughtiness,  referred  to  his 
great  services,  to  the  approbation  of  the  King  and  the  public,  and 
to  the  insolent  defence  he  had  already  made."2 

At  past  ten  at  night  it  had  not  yet  been  decided  what  should  be 
put  to  the  House  !  Wedderburn's  motion  for  the  previous  question 
had  not  been  seconded,  and  so  could  not  be  put — "  there  remained 
none  but  Burgoyne's,  which  had  not  been  mitigated  or  corrected." 

1  Letter  of  Sir  Philip  Francis,  quoted  in  the  Chatham  Correspondence,  iii. 
444>  note. 

2  Walpole's  description  of  the  debate,  Last  Journals, 


276  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

It  happened  that  the  House  was  exceedingly  crowded.  There  had 
been  no  talk  of  spying  strangers — it  would  have  been  impolitic  to 
exclude  many  "who  might  be  proprietors  of  India  Stock,  and 
impolite,  as  many  ladies  were  present  too  " — and  the  ladies  might 
hold  Stock,  and  have  votes.  But  the  heat  was  intolerable — "the 
younger  men,  who  had  gone  away  to  dinner  and  returned  flushed 
with  wine,"  were  roaring  impetuously  for  the  question.1  And  so, 
almost  without  a  negative,  and  "in  a  tumultuous  manner,"  the 
"  Sovereignty  of  three  Imperial  vast  provinces  "  was  transferred  from 
the  Company  to  the  Crown. 

It  was  no  sooner  done  than  North  began  to  waver.  But  the 
attack  on  Clive  continued.  On  the  19th — after  a  two  days'  debate 
— Burgoyne  went  once  more  through  the  catalogue  of  Clive's 
crimes — the  fictitious  treaties,  the  murder  of  Surajah  Dowla,  the 
bribes,  the  treacheries,  the  presents.  At  last  it  was  carried  by  119 
to  81  to  hear  Clive's  witnesses,  and  the  House  adjourned  to 
the  2 1  st. 

That  day  Burgoyne  moved  his  terrible  motion  :  "  That  it  appears 
to  this  House,  that  Robert  Lord  Clive,  baron  of  Plassey  in  the 
kingdom  of  Ireland,  about  the  time  of  the  deposing  of  Surajah 
Dowla,  Nabob  of  Bengal,  and  the  establishing  of  Mir  Jaffier  on 
the  musmud,  did,  through  the  influence  of  the  powers  with  which 
he  was  entrusted  as  member  of  the  Select  Committee,  and 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British  forces,  obtain  and  possess  him- 
self of  2  lacs  of  rupees  as  Commander-in-Chief;  and  a  further 
sum  of  16  lacs  of  rupees,  or  more,  under  the  denomination  of 
private  donation ;  which  sums,  amounting  together  to  20  lacs  and 
80,000  rupees,  were  of  the  value  in  English  money  of  ^234,000 ; 
and  that  in  so  doing  the  said  Robert  Lord  Clive  abused  the  powers 
with  which  he  was  entrusted,  to  the  evil  example  of  the  servants  of 
the  State." 

There  was  a  strange  medley  of  attack  and  defence — Meredith, 
Thurlow,  Fox,  Barr£,  for  the  question;  Wedderburn,  Burke, 
Admiral  Saunders,  and  Lord  George  Germaine,  for  Clive. 

Burgoyne  had  given  notice  that  if  his  motion  was  carried,  he 
should  propose  one  on  Clive's  jaghir.  Ministerialists  were  alarmed 
— Clive  commanded  ten  votes — he  must  not  be  driven  to  despera- 
tion. The  House  agreed  to  divide  the  motion,  and  to  take  first  the 
statement  of  facts,  ending  with  the  words,  "English  money,  of 
^234,000."     At  five  in  the  morning,  this  portion  was  carried;  and 

1  In  a  letter  to  Mason,  of  May  15,  1773,  Walpole  maliciously  says  that  the 
House  was  so  very  hot  "  the  young  members  thought  it  would  melt  their  rouge 
and  wither  their  nosegays." 


THE  DOUBLE  VERDICT  277 

then  Burgoyne  moved  the  last  clause,  containing  the  censure. 
This,  too,  was  carried.  Then  the  Solicitor- General  moved  :  "  That 
Robert  Lord  Clive  did,  at  the  same  time,  render  great  and  meritorious 
services  to  this  country."  This  also  was  carried ;  and  so  Clive  was 
condemned  and  acquitted  in  the  same  breath.1 

The  10th  of  May,  1773,  is  a  memorable  date.  An  event  took 
place,  little  noted  at  the  time,  but  destined  to  be  remembered  when 
Surajah  Dowla  and  Mir  Jaffier  are  forgotten,  and  even  the  services 
and  the  crimes  of  Clive  are  confused  together  in  a  dim  memory  of 
Plassey.     For  on  that  10th  of  May  the  Tea  Bill  came  into  force. 

1  Lloyd  Kenyon,  the  future  Chief  Justice,  wrote  to  his  father  :  "I  am  quite 
out  of  temper  with  all  politics.  Ten  days  ago  I  was  in  hopes  Lord  Clive  and  the 
other  Nabobs  would  have  been  brought  to  justice  for  their  peculations,  but  on 
Wednesday  last,  the  House  of  Commons  thought  good  to  acquit  him,  by  a  large 
majority.  The  whole  Rockingham  party  joined  in  his  favour.  Before  this 
sample  of  their  virtue,  I  had  a  better  opinion  of  them  than  of  any  other  party, 
but  now  my  opinion  of  them  is  very  much  altered,  and  some  of  their  leaders 
know  it.  I  cannot  forbear  suspecting  that  some  lacs  of  rupees  have  been 
employed  in  obtaining  this  victory." — Letter  of  May  25,  1773.  Hist.  MSS. 
Comm. ,  Kenyon  Papers.  A  few  days  later,  another  letter  gives  a  less  improbable 
explanation.  "  The  upshot  of  this  business  is  to  be  imputed  to  the  Rockingham 
party,  who,  for  reasons  best  known  to  themselves,  all  in  a  body  took  part  with 
Lord  Clive,  with  a  view,  I  suppose,  to  add  him  and  his  friends  to  their  number.  I 
thought  much  better  of  them  before  than  I  shall  ever  do  again. " — June  8. 

"...  the  person  whose  arguments  were  most  serviceable  to  the  accused  was 
Lord  George  Germaine.  He  was  allowed  to  have  surpassed  himself,  and  to  have 
compressed  into  a  few  pithy  manly  sentences  the  sum  of  all  that  could  possibly 
be  said  in  alleviation  or  excuse,  in  justice  or  policy." — Walpole. 

On  November  22,  1773,  Clive  died  by  his  own  hand.  He  had  long  been 
subject  to  fits  of  melancholy. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV 
A  LULL  IN  THE  STORM 

"  There  is  a  lull  at  this  moment.  Now,  then,  is  the  time  to  refit  your  rigging, 
to  work  out  the  vessel  from  amidst  these  breakers,  and  to  get  her  under  way  in 
her  old  safe  course.  ...  If  the  present  season  is  suffered  to  pass  away  without 
anything  being  done  by  parliament,  the  settlement  of  the  affairs  of  America  will, 
perhaps,  be  forever  impracticable.  .  .  .  When  we  consider  this  law  as  a  measure 
of  finance,  the  fact  upon  your  table  proclaims  its  insufficiency,  for  the  sum 
returned,  as  its  whole  net  produce,  amounts  but  to  £29$  and  a  few  shillings." — 

POWNALL. 

"  You  may  think  me  prolix,  but  it  is  from  not  desiring  that  the  heat  of  a  boy 
may  throw  me  so  much  off  my  guard  as  to  draw  this  country  into  another  addi- 
tion of  50  millions  to  the  National  Debt ;  we  must  get  the  Colonies  into  order 
before  we  engage  with  our  neighbours." — The  King  to  Lord  North,  Kew, 
Aug.  1,  1772. 

For  the  first  two  years  after  the  repeal  of  the  Revenue  Act  it  did 
indeed  seem  as  though  the  King  had  triumphed.  That  Act  had  hardly 
been  repealed  three  months,  when  non-importation  was  at  an  end. 
The  July  packet  took  orders  to  England  for  everything  but  Tea. 
But  the  Government  was  not  satisfied — it  wanted  to  punish,  and  to 
prevent.  Never  again  must  an  insolent  colony  say  what  taxes  it 
will  and  what  it  will  not  pay.  So  Hutchinson  was  ordered  to  hand 
over  Castle  William  to  the  King's  troops.  Boston  was  made  the 
rendezvous  for  the  King's  ships,  instead  of  Halifax.1  The  Assembly 
was  not  recalled  from  Cambridge.  The  King  was  planning  a  com- 
plete subjugation  of  his  rebellious  province  of  Massachusetts. 
Hutchinson  was  writing  to  Hillsborough,  making  suggestions, 
mentioning  "  ringleaders  "  by  name,  and  assuring  his  Majesty  that 
"  if  the  kingdom  is  united  and  resolved,  I  have  but  very  little  doubt 
we  shall  be  as  tame  as  lambs."  He  even  debated  the  relative 
advantages  of  laying  aside  taxation  as  inexpedient,  or  of  dealing  with 
the  people  as  being  "  in  a  state  of  revolt."  He  proposed  to  starve 
them  into  submission,  by  no  longer  allowing  the  New  England 
fishermen  to  fish  on  the  shores  of  Newfoundland. 

1  By  the  Order  of  Council  of  July  15,  1770,  which  also  ordered  the  seizing  of 
Castle  William. 

278 


A  LULL  IN  THE  STORM  279 

In  July,  1 77 1,  the  never-ending  altercation  between  the  Assembly 
and  the  Governor,  on  the  question  of  removal,  took  on  a  new  phase. 
For  fifty  years  the  Commissioners  of  Customs  had  paid  the  Colonial 
income-tax.  They  chose  this  moment  to  complain  to  the  Colonial 
Secretary,  and  Hillsborough  sent  orders  that  the  Governor  must  refuse 
consent  to  any  Bill  which  taxed  the  salary  of  any  officer  paid  by  the 
King.  The  sum  was  not  worth  regarding — the  Commissioners  had 
been  assessed  at  no  more  than  was  paid  by  persons  with  less  income 
— but  the  Assembly,  as  a  matter  of  principle,  sent  up  the  Bill  with 
these  items,  and  Hutchinson  was  compelled  to  reject  the  whole 
Bill. 

The  Assembly  said  that  it  knew  of  no  Commissioners  of  his 
Majesty's  Customs,  "  nor  of  any  revenue  which  his  Majesty  had  a 
right  to  establish  in  America  " ;  and  that  the  Governor,  in  withhold- 
ing his  consent  from  the  Bill,  had  "  effectually  vacated  the  Charter." 
Fortunately,  the  session  was  just  at  an  end;  and  the  news  from 
England  of  a  great  change  of  opinion  in  favour  of  America,  and  of 
the  probable  fall  of  the  North  Cabinet,  brought  a  lull  in  the  storm. 
The  people  were  weary  of  strife,  and  would  have  hailed  a  complete 
reconciliation.  There  was  also  a  split  in  the  patriotic  party — Han- 
cock, a  vain  and  unstable  man,  had  quarrelled  with  Samuel  Adams, 
and  Hutchinson  had  hopes  of  tempting  him  over  to  the  side  of 
Government.  Samuel  Adams  was  in  despair — the  spirit  of  liberty 
seemed  to  have  fallen  asleep,  and  the  twelve  men-of-war  in  Boston 
Harbour  were  the  visible  sign  of  the  overwhelming  power  of  Great 
Britain.  Otis  had  become  hopelessly  insane.  There  was  no  heart 
left  in  anyone.  Yet  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  the  Royal 
Governors  had  incensed  the  people ;  and  in  North  Carolina,  Tryon 
and  his  creature  Fanning  had  by  their  oppressions  caused  an  actual 
insurrection  of  the  "  Regulators,"  which  had  just  been  quenched  in 
their  blood.  The  people  of  Illinois,  tired  of  the  corruption  and 
exactions  of  the  military  commander,  were  demanding  a  Governor 
whom  they  should  appoint  for  themselves.  Gage  scouted  the  idea 
of  a  regular  constitutional  government  for  these  backwoodsmen — 
"they  don't  deserve  so  much  attention."  And  in  Virginia,  the 
legislature  was  trying  to  get  rid  of  the  slave-trade.  The  curse  of 
slave  labour  was  making  itself  felt,  and  the  numbers  of  the  negroes 
and  coloured  people  were  increasing  so  much  that  the  province  was 
alarmed.  Thomas  Jefferson  was  bringing  in  a  Bill  for  permitting 
unrestricted  emancipation.  It  was  not  Virginia's  first  attempt  to 
abolish  the  slave-trade,  but  all  her  laws  on  the  subject  had  been 
disallowed.  On  December  10,  1770,  the  King  issued  an  instruction 
under  his  own  hand,  commanding  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  "on 


28o.  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

pain  of  the  highest  displeasure,  to  assent  to  no  law  by  which  the 
importation  of  slaves  shall  be  in  any  respect  prohibited  or  restricted." 
There  was,  indeed,  a  movement  throughout  the  provinces  for  abol- 
ishing the  whole  accursed  institution.  Maryland,  New  Jersey, 
Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  North  Carolina,  were  all 
ready  to  join.  Franklin  was  denouncing  the  pharisaic  hypocrisy  of 
a  nation  which  had  just  refused  to  allow  a  single  slave  to  be  carried 
away  from  England  to  be  sold  abroad,  and  yet  was  rejecting 
the  petition  to  put  an  end  once  for  all  to  the  traffic  in  human 
flesh.1 

Great  and  manifold  have  been  the  consequences,  and  it  is 
impossible  that  we  as  a  nation  can  wash  our  hands  of  them. 

For  five  years  there  had  been  no  contested  election  in  Massa- 
chusetts. At  last,  after  the  legislature  had  been  compelled  for 
between  two  and  three  years  to  sit  at  Cambridge,  Hutchinson,  in 
the  summer  of  1772,  suddenly  recalled  it  to  Boston.  And  now  there 
ensued  an  obstinate  struggle  on  the  whole  question  of  the  salaries  of 
Crown  officials,  now  paid  through  warrants  under  the  King's  sign- 
manual,  drawn  on  a  perennial  fund  raised  by  an  Act  of  Parliament. 
The  Assembly  maintained  that,  while  the  power  of  the  King  was 
protected  by  the  right  of  nomination,  the  power  of  the  colony  was 
protected  by  the  exclusive  right  of  finding  the  money.  It  was  sound 
constitutional  doctrine,  and  anything  short  of  such  a  distribution  of 
power  was  an  abnegation  of  the  Charter.  The  Assembly  aimed 
especially  at  Hutchinson,  whose  salary  of  ^1500  a  year  was  so 
paid  as  to  render  him  entirely  independent  of  the  people. 

Hillsborough  had  begun  his  career  as  Colonial  Secretary  by 
granting  Hutchinson  ^200  a  year  out  of  the  new  Customs.  He 
ended  it  by  announcing  that  the  King,  "  with  the  entire  concurrence 
of  Lord  North,"  had  made  provision  for  rendering  the  Judges 
also  stipendaries  of  the  Crown.  Hillsborough's  "  firmness  "  had  not 
gained  him  friends,  even  in  the  Cabinet.  The  King  himself  was 
tired  of  his  bullying  way.  But  he  fell  because  he  had  opposed  a 
grant  to  the  Ohio  Company  of  twenty-three  million  acres  west  of  the 
Alleghanies.  These  were  the  "  Lands  of  the  Ohio,"  which,  together 
with  Nova  Scotia,  had  so  large  a  share  in  bringing  about  the  Seven 
Years'  War.  Hillsborough  opposed  this  grant,  fearing  that  the 
backwoodsmen  would  be  too  independent.  Dr.  Franklin  persuaded 
Camden,  Gower,  and  others,  to  become  shareholders,  and  by  their 
influence  the  Board  of  Trade  was  able  to  persuade  the  Lords  of 

1  He  referred  to  the  case  of  the  negro  Sommerset,  whose  master  brought  him 
to  England,  turned  him  adrift  when  he  fell  sick,  and  two  years  afterwards 
seized  him  as  his  slave. 


A  LULL  IN  THE  STORM  281 

Council  to  plant  the  new  province.     On  this,  Hillsborough  resigned 
in  a  huff,  and  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  became  Colonial  Secretary.1 

The  King  thought  he  had  gained  the  day,  when  he  made  Judges 
and  Governors  dependent  on  his  good  pleasure  for  their  salaries. 
He  had  only  focussed  the  spirit  of  resistance.  Britain  soon  had 
some  reason  for  calling  America  rebellious.  Roused  by  the  appeal 
of  Boston,  the  towns  of  Massachusetts,  assembling  at  town-meetings, 
were  uttering  very  alarming  sentiments.  Marblehead — rather  cool 
formerly — now  said  that  it  felt  "  unavoidable  disesteem  and  reluctant 
irreverence  for  the  British  parliament "  ;  adding  that  it  was  "  a  great 
and  uncommon  kind  of  grievance  "  to  be  compelled  to  carry  the 
produce  of  Spain  and  Portugal — received  in  exchange  for  its  fish — to 
Great  Britain,  and  there  pay  duty.  Further,  that  it  "  detested  the 
name  of  Hillsborough."  Petersham  said  that  the  late  appointment 
of  salaries,  whereby  Judges  depended  on  mere  will  and  pleasure, 
completed  a  system  of  bondage  as  wicked  as  was  ever  fabricated  by 
man.  Gorham  said,  "Better  risk  our  lives  and  fortunes  in  the 
defence  of  our  rights,  than  die  piecemeal  in  slavery."  The  small 
new  town  of  Woolwich  did  not  think  its  answer  "  perfect  in  spelling," 
but  sent  it  all  the  same.  A  little  before  this  Dr.  Joseph  Warren  of 
Plymouth  had  said  despondently,  "the  towns  are  dead."  But  now 
there  were  ninety  votes  to  one  in  Plymouth  alone  for  "fighting 
Great  Britain."  By  the  end  of  December  the  towns  were  in  session 
in  town-meeting  "from  the  Kennebec  to  Buzzard's  Bay,"  and  a 
Union  of  Colonies  began  to  be  talked  of  as  a  practical  possibility. 
Cushing  and  Samuel  Adams  began  to  write  letters  in  the  Boston 

1  "  Who  wears  a  coronet  and  prays."  Dartmouth's  appointment  was  hailed 
in  America  as  an  earnest  of  a  change  of  policy.  He  received  many  con- 
gratulatory letters,  and  a  negress  wrote  him  an  ode.  Unhappily,  he  threw  him- 
self into  the  policy  of  coercion  with  as  little  reluctance,  if  with  less  insolence, 
than  Hillsborough  himself.  His  conscience  does  not  seem  to  have  revolted  either 
at  the  employment  of  Indians,  or  at  the  maintenance  of  the  slave-trade.  It  is, 
however,  certain  that  a  more  conciliatory  feeling  prevailed  in  England  at  this 
moment.  Franklin  says:  "With  regard  to  the  sentiments  of  the  people  in 
general  here  concerning  America,  I  must  say  that  we  have  among  them  many 
friends  and  well-wishers.  The  dissenters  are  all  for  us,  and  many  of  the 
merchants  and  manufacturers.  There  seems  to  be  even  among  the  country 
gentlemen  a  general  sense  of  our  growing  importance,  a  disapprobation  of  the 
harsh  measures  with  which  we  have  been  treated,  and  a  wish  that  some  means 
may  be  found  of  perfect  reconciliation.  A  few  members  of  parliament  in  both 
Houses,  and  perhaps  some  in  high  office,  have  in  a  degree  the  same  ideas ;  but 
none  of  these  seem  willing  to  be  active  in  our  favour,  lest  adversaries  should  take 
advantage  and  charge  it  upon  them  as  betraying  the  interests  of  this  nation." — 
Letter  of  Dr.  Franklin,  July,  1773,  "possibly  to  the  Provincial  Congress." 
Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Report  XI,  App.  5  (MSS.  of  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth), 
P-  337. 


282  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Gazette  very  much  bolder  than  any  which  had  appeared  before. 
"  The  people  in  every  town  must  instruct  their  representatives  to 
send  a  remonstrance  to  the  King,  and  assure  him,  unless  their 
liberties  are  immediately  restored  whole  and  entire,  they  will  form 
an  independent  commonwealth  after  the  example  of  the  Dutch 
provinces,  and  offer  a  free  trade  to  all  nations"  This  was  high 
language  indeed ;  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Samuel  Adams,  the  towns 
of  Massachusetts  resumed  a  regular  correspondence  on  the  infringe- 
ments of  Colonial  rights,  and  the  best  methods  of  asserting  them. 
Hutchinson  thought  this  scheme  "  such  a  foolish  one  that  it  must 
necessarily  make  them  ridiculous." 

But  it  was  the  Commissioners  of  the  British  Stamp  Office  who 
looked  ridiculous,  when  they  came  to  make  up  their  accounts  for 
America,  and  found  that  the  expenses  of  collecting  ^1500  exceeded 
;£i  2,000.  And  most  of  the  ^1500  was  from  Canada  and  the  West 
Indies.  As  for  the  tax  on  tea,  it  had  done  still  worse — even  in  Boston 
seven-eighths  of  the  tea  consumed  was  Dutch,  and  in  the  South  the 
proportion  was  greater  still.  The  whole  remittance  of  last  year  on 
teas  and  wines,  and  other  articles  taxed  indirectly,  was  hardly  ^85, 
and  the  ships  and  soldiers  used  in  collecting  it  had  cost  "some 
hundred  thousands,"  while  the  East  India  Company  had  lost  sales  to 
the  amount  of  over  ^600,000  a  year — enough  to  have  paid  the  subsidy 
due  to  Government,  and  left  a  handsome  balance  for  the  dividend. 

There  was  no  end  to  the  anti-commercial  nature  of  our  scheme. 
But  for  this  miserable  threepence  the  East  India  Company  would 
have  got  the  whole  American  tea-trade  into  their  hands — their  tea 
was  considered  of  better  quality  than  what  was  smuggled ;  if  offered 
at  the  same  price,  the  contraband  trade — which  we  professed  to 
desire  to  stop — would  have  stopped  of  itself.  It  would  no  longer  have 
paid  to  smuggle  tea,  when  tea  was  ninepence  a  pound  cheaper  than 
before.     But  the  King  "  meant  to  try  the  question  with  America." 

Not  content  with  the  irritation  already  excited,  the  British 
Government  was  reviving  the  attempt  to  bring  offenders  to  England 
for  trial.  Those  Rhode  Islanders  who  burned  the  Government 
schooner  Gasfiee1  were  to  be  delivered  to  Admiral  Montagu,  and 
sent  over  to  England  for  condign  punishment.  Thurlow  had 
already  said  their  crime  was  "  worse  than  piracy  " — yet  no  one  had 
been  killed  in  the  affair.  When  Admiral  Montagu  held  his  court, 
and  demanded  the  arrest  of  these  men,  Stephen  Hopkins,  sometime 
Governor,  and  now  Chief  Justice  of  Rhode  Island,  refused  either  to 
do  it  or  allow  it  to  be  done. 

There  were  now  eighty  towns  in  committee,  and  the  Speaker  of 
1  On  June  9,  1772. 


A  LULL  IN  THE  STORM  283 

Massachusetts  was  writing  to  the  Speaker  of  Virginia.  The  first 
thing  the  Boston  Assembly  did  when  it  met  in  January,  1773,  was 
to  vote  the  salaries  of  the  Judges.  Hutchinson  delayed  his  assent. 
The  House  sent  to  say  that  the  people  without  doors  were  alarmed 
at  the  report  that  Judges  were  to  be  paid  by  the  Crown.  The  very 
next  day  Hutchinson  informed  them  that  his  Majesty  had  ordered 
the  salaries  to  be  allowed,  but  no  warrants  for  payment  had  been 
issued,  so  he  must  delay  his  assent,  lest  the  warrants  when  they 
come  should  overlay  as  to  time.  Eight  days  after  a  deputation 
waited  upon  the  Governor.  They  were  sure  his  Majesty  would 
never  have  made  this  order  if  he  had  not  been  misinformed  as  to 
the  constitution  and  appointment  of  our  Judges.  Did  he  not  say 
on  his  accession  that  he  "looked  upon  the  independence  and 
uprightness  of  the  judges  as  essential  to  the  impartial  administration 
of  justice  "  ?  At  last,  after  more  altercation,  Hutchinson  assented  to 
the  grants  for  last  year ;  but  when  the  House  voted  similar  grants 
for  the  current  year,  he  declined  to  confirm,  saying  he  had  always 
waited  till  the  year  had  expired.  He  seemed  determined  to  make 
the  dependence  of  the  Judges  as  conspicuous  as  possible. 

A  long  list  of  grievances  had  been  put  forth,  and  was  in  print  in 
English  publications  by  August  of  1773.  It  began  by  saying  that 
"The  spirit  of  governing  by  force  a  populous  and  wide-extended 
empire,  is  too  mighty  for  the  feeble  race  of  party  politicians,"  who 
have  ruled  since  the  commencement  of  the  present  reign.  While  the 
colonists  "were  suffered  to  enjoy  the  rights  of  Englishmen,  they 
gloried  in  the  English  name."  But  now  the  British  legislature  has 
assumed  the  powers  of  legislation  for  the  colonists  without  their 
consent.  We  are  treated  with  less  decency  and  regard  than  the 
Romans  showed  even  to  the  provinces  they  had  conquered — they 
left  every  province  to  raise  the  taxes  in  the  way  most  easy  to  them- 
selves. The  new  army  revenue-officers — invested  with  powers  more 
arbitrary  than  any  man  or  body  of  men  ought  to  have ;  the  revenue 
thus  raised  applied  to  destroy  the  liberties  of  the  people,  by  making 
their  Governors  and  Judges  independent  of  the  people,  and  by 
quartering  troops  in  a  free  city;  the  adjourning  of  Assemblies  to 
inconvenient  places  of  meeting ;  the  forbidding  the  Council  to  meet, 
unless  called  by  the  Governor ;  the  seizing  of  Castle  William,  the 
provincial  fortress;  the  late  suspension  of  the  Assembly  of  New 
York,  till  they  should  comply  with  an  arbitrary  act  of  the  British 
Parliament;  the  extension  of  the  power  of  Admiralty  Courts, 
whereby  we  lose  the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  and  can  be  dragged  from 
one  part  of  the  continent  to  another;  the  restraining  us  from 
erecting  slitting-mills,  to   manufacture  our  own   iron — an  infringe- 


284  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

ment  of  the  right  God  has  given  us  to  use  our  own  skill  and 
industry;  and  the  unreasonable  and  grievous  restraint  on  the 
manufacture  of  hats ;  the  proposal  to  send  us  to  England  for  trial, 
so  that,  whether  condemned  or  acquitted,  we  shall  be  ruined  by  the 
expense;  the  attempt  to  establish  an  American  Episcopate;  and 
lastly,  the  frequent  alteration  of  boundaries  of  colonies,  whereby 
many  settlers,  having  bought  the  soil  of  the  natives,  and  obtained 
confirmation  of  their  title  from  this  province,  have  found  themselves 
transferred  without  their  consent  to  New  Hampshire,  and  have  had 
to  get  a  new  confirmation.  And  now  they  hear  they  are  to  be 
again  transferred,  to  New  York. 

This  last  grievance  was  evidently  felt  very  bitterly,  and  the 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire  was  charged  before  the  Privy  Council 
with  acting  in  collusion  with  his  Council  to  deprive  people  of  their 
lands,  and  changing  the  Judges  until  he  found  some  to  decide  the 
question  in  his  favour. 

With  inconceivable  want  of  judgment,  Hutchinson  lost  no 
opportunity  of  a  wrangle  with  the  House.  Thus,  in  June  he  had 
refused  to  confirm  a  number  of  bills  because  the  year  of  the  King's 
reign  was  "expressed  in  plain  English,  instead  of  the  Roman 
language  as  usual."  The  House  said  if  the  Governor  thought  this 
made  the  bills  of  an  extraordinary  nature,  they  would  put  the  year 
in  Latin — it  was  immaterial  to  them. 

Meanwhile,  as  a  result  of  our  policy,  the  whole  of  the  American 
revenue  in  each  of  the  last  two  years  was  considerably  less  than  that 
collected  on  molasses  alone  "  before  the  new  laws."  "  Exclusive  of 
the  great  expense  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners,  and  other 
appointments,"  it  is  said  to  amount  to  about  ;£  14,000  a  year. 
Hutchinson  was  growing  alarmed,  and  the  more  alarmed  he  was 
the  more  uncompromisingly  he  insisted  on  the  supremacy  of 
England.  He  had  the  folly  to  talk  to  a  continent  seething  with 
discontent,  about  the  impossibility  of  anything  between  supreme 
authority  of  Parliament  and  total  independence.  His  Council 
replied  that  he  supposed  an  unlimited  power  in  Parliament,  which 
can  only  belong  to  the  Sovereign  of  the  Universe.  From  the  nature 
and  end  of  government,  the  power  of  supreme  authority  of  Parlia- 
ment must  be  limited ;  and  they  appealed  to  Magna  Charta,  and  the 
Petition  and  the  Bill  of  Rights.  But  they  declared  that  "Inde- 
pendence they  had  not  in  contemplation."  Hutchinson,  who  had 
himself  provoked  this  discussion,  answered  with  legal  quibbles, 
persistently  evading  the  great  question  whether  there  was,  or  was  not, 
any  limit  to  the  power  of  Parliament.1 

1  See  Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts ;  vol.  iii. 


A  LULL  IN  THE  STORM  285 

The  friends  of  Government  were  talking  of  nothing  but  the 
revocation  of  Colonial  charters,  and  Hutchinson  was  privately 
advising  "the  prohibition  of  the  commerce  of  Boston."  On  the 
other  side,  each  year,  as  the  5  th  of  March  came  round,  and  the 
"  martyrs  "  were  commemorated  in  Faneuil  Hall  or  the  Old  South, 
the  speakers  grew  more  uncompromising  in  their  assertion  of  pro- 
vincial rights. 

Just  about  this  time  Mr.  Commissioner  Temple  said  the  King's 
cause  in  America  had  been  more  hurt  by  his  own  servants  than  by 
all  the  world  beside.  Temple  now  returned  to  England,  and 
presently  became  involved  in  the  mysterious  affair  of  Hutchinson's 
Letters. 


CHAPTER   XXXV 
THE  LETTERS 

"  I  have  been  basely  betrayed.  A  number  of  my  letters,  four  it  is  said,  which 
I  had  wrote  to  the  late  Mr.  Whately,  in  confidence,  together  with  a  number 
of  other  letters,  wrote  him  by  my  very  good  friend  Gov1".  Hutchinson,  have 
been  somehow  or  other  filched  out  of  his  Cabinet,  and  transmitted  hither,  with 
design  to  injure  us  .  .  .  most  people  suspect  Mr.  Temple,  but  I  mention  his 
name  to  you  in  confidence.  He  is  suspected,  I  say,  but  I  know  no  other  reason 
for  it  but  because  he  was  the  late  Mr.  Whately's  correspondent." — Lieutenant- 
Governor  Oliver  to  Robert  Thompson,  Esq.,  Boston,  June  3,  1773.  (Given  in  the 
Diary  and  Letters  of  Thomas  Hutchinson. ) 

"Though  I  have  never  wrote  anything  criminal — yet — I  have  wrote — what 
ought  not  to  be  made  public. " — Letter  of  Govei-nor  Hutchinson. 

"The  favorite  part  of  his  discourse  was  levelled  at  your  agent,  who  stood 
there  the  butt  of  his  invective  ribaldry  for  near  an  hour,  not  a  single  Lord 
adverting  to  the  impropriety  and  indecency  of  treating  a  public  messenger  in  so 
ignominious  a  manner,  who  was  present  only  as  the  person  delivering  your 
petition.  ...  If  he  had  done  a  wrong,  in  obtaining  and  transmitting  the  letters, 
that  was  not  the  tribunal  where  he  was  to  be  accused  and  tried.  The  cause  was 
already  before  the  Chancellor.  .  .  .  This  part  of  his  speech  was  thought  so  good, 
that  they  have  since  printed  it,  in  order  to  defame  me  everywhere  .  .  .  but  the 
grosser  parts  of  the  abuse  are  omitted,  appearing,  I  suppose,  in  their  own  eyes, 
too  foul  to  be  seen  on  paper." — Franklin  to  Thomas  Cushing,  describing  the 
hearing  of  the  Petition  for  the  recall  of  Governor  Hutchinson,  by  the  Lords 
of  the  Committee  for  Plantation  Affairs,  Jan.  29,  1774. 

Franklin  never  divulged  from  whom  he  had  the  Letters  written 
by  Governor  Hutchinson,  Lieutenant-Governor  Oliver,  Paxton, 
Commissioner  of  Customs,  and  other  persons  in  Boston,  to  Mr. 
Thomas  Whately,  a  member  of  Parliament  who  had  connections  in 
Pennsylvania.  Whately,  a  man  of  great  political  ability,  had  been 
an  Under  Secretary  of  State  in  George  Grenville's  Ministry,  and  was 
his  intimate  friend.1  He  died  in  June,  1772,  and  his  papers  came 
into  the  possession  of  his  brother  William,  a  banker  in  Lombard 
Street.  A  little  before  the  death  of  Grenville,  Franklin  was  one  day 
conversing  with  "a  gentleman  of  character  and  distinction,"  and 

1  He  was  Member  for  Castle  Rising  ;  also  "  Keeper  of  his  Majesty's  private 
roads,  and  Guide  to  his  Royal  Person  in  all  progresses,  etc." — See  Gentle- 
man's  Magazine,  June  and  July,  1772. 


THE  LETTERS  287 

strongly  condemning  the  sending  of  troops  to  Boston  as  a  most 
dangerous  step.  The  gentleman  replied,  "Not  only  the  measure 
you  censure,  but  all  the  other  grievances  you  complain  of,  were 
proposed  to  Administration,  solicited,  and  obtained  by  some  of 
the  most  respectable  among  Americans  themselves,  as  necessary 
measures  for  the  welfare  of  that  country."  Franklin  refused  to 
believe  this,  whereupon  the  gentleman  promised  to  bring  him  proof. 
A  few  days  after  he  produced  the  Letters.  Franklin  could  no 
longer  doubt — he  recognised  the  hands.  The  Letters  were  signed, 
but  the  name  of  the  person  addressed  was  not  on  them ;  and  when 
Franklin  sent  them  to  America  he  did  not  know  to  whom  they 
had  been  written.  They  were  given  to  him  as  Agent  for  the 
Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives,  on  purpose  that  he  might 
transmit  them  to  the  Colonies.  That  he  was  not  justified  in  doing 
so  can  only  be  maintained  by  those  who  are  prepared  to  maintain 
that  if  Franklin  had  discovered  a  correspondence  revealing  a 
conspiracy  to  murder  King  George  in,  he  would  have  been  bound 
in  honour  to  keep  the  secret.  These  Letters  contained  proof  of  a 
plan  for  destroying  the  liberties  and  institutions  of  a  Continent. 
But  Franklin  believed  that  in  making  them  known  he  was  pro- 
moting a  reconciliation,  by  showing  that  the  most  obnoxious 
measures  had  not  originated  with  the  British  Government.  As  he 
wrote  to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  at  Boston,  "  My  own 
resentment  has  by  this  means  been  exceedingly  abated."  And  so 
it  would  have  been  with  all  in  America,  but  for  the  manner  in 
which  the  British  Government  took  the  affair. 

Franklin  had  received  the  Letters  subject  to  certain  restrictions 
as  to  copying,  etc.,  and  they  had  been  in  America  six  months  before 
they  were  laid  before  the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts.  The  wonder 
is  that  such  a  secret  was  so  long  kept  in  any  sense.  At  last  (after 
John  Adams  had  taken  them  round  with  him  on  a  tour)  it  became 
impossible  to  prevent  whispers.  Hutchinson  was  away,  settling  a 
very  old  boundary  dispute  between  New  York  and  Massachusetts. 
He  settled  it  to  the  advantage  of  Massachusetts,  and  flattered 
himself  he  should  be  received  cordially  on  his  return.  He  had 
some  little  uneasiness  about  the  Letters — the  whispers  had  reached 
him — but  ever  since  the  Council  got  hold  of  Governor  Bernard's 
letters,  more  caution  had  been  exercised  to  prevent  copies  being 
taken,  and  he  trusted  he  was  safe.1 

The  Assembly  had  not  met  many  days,  when  Mr.  Hancock  in- 
formed the  House  that  within  forty-eight  hours  a  discovery  would  be 

1  In  1 766  it  began  to  be  asserted  that  the  Stamp  Act  had  originated  in  the 
province.     They  began  to  publish  Bernard's  Letters  in  '66  and  on  into  '6$. 


288  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

made  which  would  put  the  province  in  a  happier  state  than  it  had 
been  in  for  fourteen  years  past.  The  audience  in  the  gallery,  of 
course,  told  everybody.  Great  expectation  was  excited.  When  the 
time  came,  Samuel  Adams,  after  desiring  that  the  galleries  might 
be  cleared,  produced  the  Letters,  and  read  them  to  the  House. 

After  a  debate,  the  Assembly,  by  101  to  5,  voted  that  the 
tendency  and  design  of  the  Letters  was  to  subvert  the  Constitution 
of  the  Government,  and  to  introduce  military  law  into  the  province. 
Hutchinson  knew  not  what  to  do.  To  stop  the  proceedings  by  pro- 
rogation or  dissolution  would  be  worse  than  letting  them  continue. 
He  contented  himself  with  sending  to  ask  for  a  transcript  of  their 
proceedings,  and  by  somewhat  feebly  denying  that  he  had  ever 
written  any  letter  tending  to  subvert  the  Constitution — the  King 
himself  desired  rather  to  preserve  it  entire.  His  Letters,  if  genuine, 
could  be  only  part  of  a  private  correspondence  on  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Colonies  in  general.  Finally,  in  his  speeches  to  the 
Assembly  he  had  said  everything  which  was  in  the  Letters.  As  for 
the  sentence,  "  There  must  be  an  abridgement  of  what  are  called 
English  liberties,"  he  only  meant  that,  in  a  remove  from  the  state  of 
nature  to  the  most  perfect  state  of  government,  there  must  be  a 
great  restraint  of  natural  liberty ;  and  that  a  colony,  three  thousand 
miles  distant,  cannot  enjoy  all  the  liberty  of  the  parent  State,  "as 
they  might  have  done  if  they  had  not  removed  " ;  a  remark  which 
shows  at  what  a  loss  Hutchinson  was  for  an  excuse — for  none  could 
know  better  than  the  Historian  of  Massachusetts  that  a  colony 
three  thousand  miles  distant  from  the  parent  State  is  apt  to  take 
to  itself  as  much  liberty  as  it  chooses. 

It  happened  as  Franklin  had  expected.  As  soon  as  these 
Letters  were  shown  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  resentment  was 
withdrawn  from  the  Mother  Country,  and  fell,  "  where  it  was  proper 
it  should,"  on  the  heads  of  Hutchinson  "and  those  caitiffs,  who 
were  the  authors  of  the  mischief."  Both  the  Council  and  the  House 
took  this  view.  They  passed  a  number  of  resolutions,  one  of  which 
said  that  these  Letters  show  there  has  been  for  many  years  a  plan 
formed  by  men  born  and  educated  among  us,  to  raise  their  own 
fortunes,  and  advance  themselves  to  posts  of  honour  and  profit  at 
the  expense  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  American  Colonies  ; 
and  that,  therefore,  they  are  justly  charged  with  "  the  great  corrup- 
tion of  morals,  and  all  that  confusion,  misery,  and  bloodshed,  which 
have  been  the  natural  effects  of  the  introduction  of  troops  " ;  with 
much  more  in  the  same  strain,  ending  with  a  resolution  for  a 
Petition  to  his  Majesty  to  remove  his  Excellency  Thomas  Hutchin- 
son,   Esquire,    Governor,   and    the    Honourable   Andrew    Oliver, 


THE  LETTERS  289 

Esquire,  Lieutenant-Governor,  of  this  province,  from  the  govern- 
ment thereof  for  ever. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  in  England  that  the  Letters  had  been 
divulged,  everybody  asked  who  did  it  ?  Temple  was  the  first  to  be 
suspected.  Though  a  Commissioner  of  Customs,  he  was  known  to 
favour  the  "  patriot "  party  in  America,  and  he  was  the  son-in-law 
of  Bowdoin.  He  also  had  a  grudge  against  Hutchinson,  who,  as 
Temple  wrongly  supposed,  got  him  dismissed x  the  public  service  as 
Surveyor-General  of  Customs  for  Massachusetts.  William  Whately 
was  also  accused.  He  defended  himself  in  the  Public  Advertiser, 
and  mentioned  that  Temple  had  asked  to  see  Thomas'  papers,  in 
the  hope  of  finding  among  them  a  certain  paper  on  the  Colonies 
which  he  had  sent  Thomas.  Temple  took  this  as  a  suggestion  that 
he  had  used  this  opportunity  to  purloin  the  Letters,  and  demanded 
that  William  should  retract.  He  did  so  in  a  manner  which  Temple 
considered  unsatisfactory.  He  challenged  Whately ;  a  duel  was 
fought,2  and  Whately  was  rather  dangerously  wounded.  Franklin 
then  wished  he  had  spoken ;  and  upon  a  rumour  that  Whately — 
who  felt  the  accusation  acutely — meant  to  meet  Temple  again,  he 
wrote  to  the  Advertiser?  entirely  exculpating  both  gentlemen — 
"  both  of  them  are  totally  ignorant  and  innocent.  ...  I  alone  am 
the  person  who  obtained  and  transmitted  the  letters  in  question. 
— Mr.  W.  could  not  communicate  them,  because  they  were  never 

1  This  was  not  so,  and  Temple  was  very  penitent  when  he  found  his  mistake. 
He  called  on  Hutchinson  in  London,  in  August,  1774,  and  expressed  great  regret 
at  having  fought  Mr.  Whately,  but  does  not  seem  to  have  categorically  denied 
procuring  the  Letters.  William  Whately,  who  was  on  very  friendly  terms  with 
Hutchinson,  told  him  of  some  circumstance — Hutchinson  does  not  say  what  it 
was — which  would,  if  true,  exonerate  Temple  from  having  purloined  the  Letters 
from  Whately's  files.  Franklin,  in  his  letter,  had  already  done  so.  And  though 
he  does  not  say  that  Temple  could  not  have  taken  the  Letters  from  someone  else, 
his  words,  • '  a  transaction  and  its  circumstances  of  which  both  of  them  are  totally 
ignorant  and  innocent,"  can  only  mean  that  Temple  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
affair.  Again,  Franklin  had  said  publicly  that  the  Letters  were  given  him  by 
"an  English  member  of  parliament."  Some,  therefore,  suspected  "  Mr.  Fownall " 
— I  presume  this  must  mean  ex-Governor  Pownall,  and  not  his  brother,  who  held 
a  government-secretaryship.  A  passage  in  John  Adams'  Memoirs  only  leaves 
the  question  more  uncertain  than  ever.  Mr.  Adams,  writing  to  Dr.  Hosack  on 
January  28,  1820,  says,  "Mr.  Temple,  afterwards  Sir  John,  told  me  in  Holland 
that  he  had  communicated  these  letters  to  Dr.  Franklin."  But  Mr.  Adams  adds, 
"  Dr.  Franklin  declared  publicly  that  he  received  them  from  a  member  of  parlia- 
ment, which  Mr.  Temple  was  not."  See  Hutchinson's  Diaries,  passim,  for  his 
interviews  with  Temple.     They  were  extremely  friendly. 

2  They  met  in  Hyde  Park,  on  December  11,  1773.  Temple  is  described  as 
"  Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  Hampshire." 

3  December  25,  1773. 

VOL,  I. — 19 


290  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

in  his  possession  ;  and,  for  the  same  reason,  they  could  not  be  taken 
from  him  by  Mr.  T." 

The  whole  fury  of  indignation  was  now  turned  on  Franklin. 
He  was  accused  of  having  stolen  the  Letters,  and  violated  every 
principle  of  honour.  It  happened  that  at  this  very  moment,1 
the  Massachusetts  Petition  for  the  removal  of  Hutchinson 
and  Oliver  was  to  be  heard  at  the  Cockpit,  before  the  Privy 
Council.  Thirty-five  lords  were  present,  "so  large  a  number 
not  having  been  known  upon  any  occasion."  Franklin  had 
already  been  served  with  a  subpoena,  at  the  suit  of  William 
Whately,  on  the  charge  that,  the  Letters  having  "  by  some  means 
or  other"  come  into  Franklin's  hands,  to  prevent  discovery, 
Franklin,  or  some  other  person  by  his  orders,  had  erased  the 
address.  But  the  petition  was  based  on  the  Letters,  Franklin 
had  to  present  it;  the  opportunity  was  too  good  to  be  lost. 
There  was  no  shred  of  proof,  or  attempt  of  proof,  and  the  whole 
charge  was  false,  except  that  Thomas  Whately  had  delivered  the 
Letters  to  some  other  person  for  perusal.  Franklin  was  questioned 
on  oath,  but  the  plaintiff  was  not  required  to  make  his  charge  on 
oath.  Franklin  said  on  oath  that  the  Letters  were  given  to  him, 
as  Agent  for  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Massachusetts  Bay ; 
when  they  were  given  to  him,  he  did  not  know  to  whom  they 
had  been  addressed,  nor,  till  then,  that  such  Letters  existed,  nor 
did  he  erase  any  address,  nor  know  that  any  other  had  done  so. 

For  nearly  an  hour  Wedderburn,  now  Solicitor-General,  baited 
Dr.  Franklin,  while  the  Lords  of  the  Council  frequently  burst  out 
in  loud  applauses  or  laughed  outright.  Wedderburn's  "invective 
ribaldry"  descended  to  the  most  odious  personal  allusion. 
Franklin  had  stolen  the  Letters — "they  could  not  have  come  to 
him  by  fair  means."  He  had  violated  the  sacredness  of  private 
correspondence,  he  had  forfeited  all  the  respect  of  societies  and  of 
men.  People  will  lock  up  their  escritoires,  and  hide  their  papers 
from  him.  He  will  henceforth  think  he  is  libelled  if  he  is  called 
a  man  of  letters — he  will  think  they  mean,  a  man  of  three  letters  t 
He  robbed  one  brother,  and  nearly  caused  the  murder  of  another — 
and  perhaps  the  hanging  of  another  party ;  hurt  a  worthy  Governor, 
put  the  fate  of  America  in  suspense,  and  then,  with  the  utmost 
insensibility,  avows  himself  the  author  of  all.  "  I  can  only  compare 
it  to  Zanga,  in  Dr.  Young's  Revenge." 

Franklin  "stood  close  to  the  fireplace,"  with  the  Council 
seated  at  the  table.  His  old  friend,  Dr.  Bancroft,  who  stood  on 
the  opposite  side,  had  a  full  view  of  him  as  he  stood  there,  "  con- 

1  January  29,  1774. 


THE  LETTERS  291 

spicuously  erect,"  in  "a  full-dress  suit  of  spotted  Manchester 
velvet."  Franklin  once  boasted  that  he  "could  on  occasion  keep 
his  countenance  as  immovable  as  if  his  features  had  been  made 
of  wood,"  he  did  so  now.  Dr.  Priestley — smuggled  in  by  Mr. 
Burke — was  watching  his  friend,  and  noting  that  no  person 
belonging  to  Council,  except  Lord  North,  behaved  with  a  decent 
gravity.  Next  morning,  these  two  breakfasted  together,  and 
Franklin  told  Priestley  he  had  never  before  been  so  sensible  of  the 
power  of  a  good  conscience,  for  if  he  had  not  considered  the 
thing  for  which  he  had  been  so  much  insulted  as  one  of  the  best 
actions  of  his  life,  he  could  not  have  supported  it.  He  repeated 
that  he  did  not  know  such  Letters  existed,  till  they  were  brought 
to  him,  as  Agent  for  the  Colony,  to  be  sent  to  his  constituents. 
This  was  Saturday.  On  Monday  morning  Franklin  received  an  in- 
timation from  the  Postmaster-General  that  the  King  had  no  further 
occasion  for  his  services  as  Deputy  Postmaster-General  in  America. 

Their  Lordships  unanimously  dismissed  the  petition  of  the 
Assembly,  as  "groundless,  vexatious,  and  scandalous." 

Franklin  put  away  the  suit  of  spotted  Manchester  velvet. 
The  next  time  he  wore  it  was  the  day  he  signed  the  Treaty 
between  the  King  of  France  and  the  United  States  of  America. 

Careful  comparison  of  dates  often  throws  much  light  on  a 
difficulty.  These  Letters  were  first  mentioned  to  Franklin  a  little 
before  George  Grenville's  death — which  took  place  on  November 
13,  1770.  They  were  given  to  him  only  "a  few  days"  later,  so 
were  probably  given  before  Grenville  died.  They  were  given 
to  Franklin  in  his  character  of  Agent,  that  they  might  be  shown 
to  certain  persons  in  America,  for  the  exoneration  of  the  Home 
Government.  Thomas  Whately,  to  whom  it  is  acknowledged  the 
Letters  were  written,  died  on  May  26,  1772.  At  the  time  of 
receiving  the  Letters,  Franklin  did  not  know  to  whom  they  were 
written.  He  received  them  under  certain  restrictions,  and  this 
may  account  for  the  delay  in  forwarding  them.  They  had  been 
six  months  in  America  before  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  met 
in  May,  1773.  It  usually  met  on  the  15th  of  the  month. 
Hutchinson  says,  "a  few  weeks  before  the  session  began,  it  was 
whispered  that  there  were  letters  procured  from  England,  written 
by  some  great  men,  which  were  proofs  of  a  conspiracy,  etc." ;  and 
on  the  3rd  of  June,  Oliver  was  writing  that  he  had  been  betrayed. 
We  must  take  it,  therefore,  that  the  Letters  reached  America  not 
later  than  November,  1772;  and  this  implies  that  they  left 
England  somewhere  about  six  weeks  earlier  —  probably  in 
September.     This    would    suggest    that    Whately's    death    made 


292  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Franklin  feel  free  to  use  the  Letters,  if  we  did  not  know  that  the 
giver  had,  eighteen  months  before,  intended  them  to  be  seen  in 
America.  That  giver  was  a  member  of  Parliament.  The  only 
member  of  Parliament  conspicuously  mixed  up  with  the  business 
is  Thomas  Whately  himself.  At  any  rate  these  dates  show  that 
the  originals  of  the  Letters  were  out  of  his  possession  from 
November,  1770.  Therefore,  of  course,  his  brother  William  "could 
not  communicate  them." 

Mr.  Bancroft  and  Biglow  with  him  think  that  the  Letters  were 
intended  to  produce  an  effect  on  Grenville,1  were  shown  by 
Whately  to  Grenville,  by  Grenville  to  Temple,  and  at  Grenville's 
death  were  among  his  papers.  But  this,  besides  other  difficulties, 
is  incompatible  with  the  Letters  being  in  Franklin's  hands  before 
Grenville's  death.  We  may,  perhaps,  say  with  safety  that  the 
Letters  were  never  in  the  hands  of  the  executors  either  of  George 
Grenville  or  of  Thomas  Whately — Franklin's  possession  of  them 
effectually  prevented  this.  Is  it  possible  that  Thomas  Whately 
himself  gave  the  Letters  to  Franklin,  intending  them  to  be  shown ; 
but  that  he  could  not  make  up  his  mind  as  to  the  proper  time 
for  showing  them — probably  for  Hutchinson's  sake;  and  that  he 
restrained  Franklin  from  time  to  time  during  the  remaining 
eighteen  months  of  his  life — never,  however,  withdrawing  the 
permission  to  show  them  some  time  ?  Mr.  Bancroft  suggests  that 
Hutchinson  wrote  the  Letters  for  Grenville's  eye,  and  there  is 
no  difficulty  in  supposing  this.  But  in  that  case  Grenville  must 
either  have  returned  them  to  Whately,  or  handed  them  on  till  they 
reached  the  unnamed  member  of  Parliament  who  gave  them  to 
Franklin.  It  would  still  be  quite  possible  for  this  unnamed  person 
to  have  been  Thomas  Whately.  William's  statement  is  at  second- 
hand, and  does  not  tally  with  a  known  fact.  He  says  that  Temple 
told  him  he  had  seen  the  Letters  among  Thomas'  papers,  "and 
would  have  them  in  a  day  or  two."  This  must  mean  after  Thomas' 
death;  and  William  Whately's  account  of  Temple's  looking  over 
the  paper  probably  suggested  the  story.  But  how  could  Temple 
see  them  there  when  Franklin  had  them?  Lastly,  we  have 
Franklin's  assurance  that  Temple  and  William  Whately  were 
"  both  of  them  totally  ignorant  and  innocent " ;  and  Hutchinson's 
statement  that  a  year  after  William  Whately  told  him  of  some 
circumstance  which  would  exonerate  Temple.  Whately  was  so 
incensed  with  Temple  that  he  thought  of  fighting  a  second 
duel — it  is  not  likely  he  would  be  over-ready  to  defend  him  to 
Hutchinson.  We  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  object  of  publication 
1  To  induce  him  to  urge  coercion  more  definitely. 


THE  LETTERS  293 

was,  with   both  giver   and   receiver,   to   lessen   the  anger   of  the 
colonists  with  the  Home  Government. 

Notes.— On  August  15,  1774,  Dartmouth  told  Hutchinson  that  "  a  gentleman 
of  very  good  character "  had  assured  him  that  before  the  Letters  were  sent  to 
America,  Temple  informed  him  he  had  seen  them  among  Whately's  papers, 
and  would  have  them  in  a  day  or  two ;  that  Temple  accordingly  showed  him 
a  packet  addressed  to  Dr.  Franklin,  and  said  these  were  the  Letters  referred 
to.  Dartmouth  said,  either  the  gentleman  or  Temple  must  have  spoken 
falsely.  Hutchinson  remarks,  "This  leaves  the  affair  still  in  a  strange  state." 
A  few  days  later,  Hutchinson  wrote  to  Dartmouth,  to  ask  whether  Temple's 
declaration  might  consist  with  his  having  only  received  the  Letters  from 
Franklin,  and  sent  them  back  again,  without  having  taken  them  himself  from 
Whately's  files — "as  I  wished  not  to  be  unjust." — Hutchinson's  Diary. 

In  November  of  the  same  year,  John  Pownall  told  Hutchinson  that 
Williams  ("now  Commissioner  of  Customs  in  America")  was  the  man  who 
told  North  he  saw  the  Letters  directed  to  Franklin  in  Temple's  possession, 
and  that  it  was  on  this  information  that  Temple  was  removed.  This  Williams 
made  himself  very  disagreeable  to  the  other  Commissioners. — Diary. 

The  Cabinet  prevented  Franklin's  constituents  of  New  England  from 
paying  him  anything,  or  even  reimbursing  his  expenses,  and  issued  a 
special  instruction  to  the  Governor  not  to  sign  any  warrant  for  that  purpose 
on  the  Treasury  of  Massachusetts.  Franklin  says,  "  The  injustice  of  thus 
depriving  the  people  there  of  the  use  of  their  own  money,  to  pay  an  agent 
acting  in  their  defence,  while  the  Governor,  with  a  large  salary  out  of  the 
money  extorted  from  them  by  act  of  Parliament,  was  enabled  to  pay  plentifully 
Mauduit  and  Wedderburn  to  abuse  and  defame  them  and  their  agent,  is  so 
evident  as  to  need  no  comment.  But  this  they  call  Government  !  "  (Franklin's 
Letter. )  Franklin  also  says  that  he  was  surprised  at  William  Whately's  attack. 
He  could  have  excused  him  for  not  thanking  him  for  saving  him  a  second  duel — 
it  might  have  looked  as  if  he  were  afraid.  Bnt  Franklin  had  helped  him  to 
recover  an  estate  in  Pennsylvania,  which  had  belonged  to  Whately's  grandfather, 
a  Major  Thompson.  One  day,  however,  William  Strahan,  M.P.,  the  King's 
Printer,  called  on  Franklin,  just  after  being  at  the  Treasury,  and  showed  him 
what  he  called  "a  pretty  thing" — an  order  for  ,£150  payable  to  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson,  said  to  be  one  half  his  yearly  pension,  and  drawn  by  the  Secretary 
to  the  Treasury  on  William  Whately.  "  I  then  considered  him  as  a  banker 
to  the  Treasury  for  the  pension  money,  and  thence  as  having  an  interested 
connexion  with  Administration,  that  might  induce  him  to  act  by  direction  of 
others  in  harassing  me  with  this  suit ;  which  gave  me  if  possible  a  still  meaner 
opinion  of  him  than  if  he  had  done  it  of  his  own  accord." — See  "Franklin's 
own  Account  of  the  Letters,"  Works ;  v.  p.  378,  etc. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI 
"THE  BOSTON  TEA-PARTY " 

"I  sincerely  believe  the  destroying  of  the  tea  was  the  effectof  despair." — Chatham 
on  the  Bill  for  Regulating  the  Government  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  May  27,  1774. 

"  When  I  see  that  all  petitions  and  complaints  of  grievances  are  so  odious  to 
government,  that  even  the  pipe  which  conveys  them  becomes  obnoxious,  I  am  at 
a  loss  to  know  how  peace  and  union  are  to  be  maintained.  .  .  .  Grievances  cannot 
be  redressed  unless  they  are  known ;  they  cannot  be  known  but  through  com- 
plaints and  petitions.  .  .  .  Where  complaining  is  a  crime,  hope  becomes  despair." — 
Franklin  to  Thomas  Cushing,  Feb.  15,  1774. 

While  Mr.  Solicitor-General  was  calling  Dr.  Franklin  a  common 
thief,  an  event  had  already  taken  place  at  Boston  which  changed 
the  whole  face  of  affairs.  The  people  had  thrown  the  East  India 
Company's  tea  into  Boston  Harbour,  and  instead  of  helping  the 
Company  to  pay  their  debts,  it  was  tossing  in  the  waters  of  the  bay. 

The  Home  Government  had  thought  it  would  accomplish  four 
great  purposes  at  once,  by  leaving  the  threepenny  duty  on  tea — 
establish  a  precedent  for  taxing  America ;  raise  a  large  revenue  there  ', 
save  the  credit  of  the  East  India  Company;  and  recover  the 
^400,000  a  year  which  the  Company  could  pay  if  it  sold  its  tea. 
The  Company,  however,  were  never  sanguine — they  did  not  like  the 
scheme;  they  were,  they  protested,  unwilling  to  interfere  in  this 
quarrel,  and  the  decision  to  "  risque  it,"  and  send  the  tea-ships,  is 
said  to  have  been  carried  by  a  majority  of  one  Director,  and  that 
one  the  Chairman.  Even  so,  the  Company  only  agreed  to  send 
the  tea  on  the  Government  undertaking  they  should  not  be 
losers. 

As  soon  as  ever  the  Americans  heard  the  tea  was  coming,  they 
resolved  that  it  should  not  be  landed.  New  York,  Boston, 
Philadelphia,  South  Carolina,  all  resolved  on  this.  Boston  had  been 
selected  for  the  largest  consignment.  One-third  of  it  was  consigned  to 
the  Governor's  sons.1  In  the  night  between  November  1  and  2,  a 
knock  came  to   the   door  of  each   consignee,  with  a  summons  to 

1  "History  of  the  Dispute  with  America."  From  the  Boston  Gazette. — 
Almon,  1775. 


"THE  BOSTON  TEA-PARTY"  295 

appear  without  fail  at  Liberty  Tree,  next  Wednesday  at  noon,  and 
resign  his  consignment.  Notices  were  posted  up  desiring  the 
freemen  of  Boston  and  the  neighbour-towns  to  meet  as  witnesses,  at 
the  same  time  and  place.  On  the  appointed  day,  a  large  flag  was 
hoisted  on  the  pole  by  the  Tree,  the  bells  of  the  Old  South  rang 
from  eleven  till  noon.  Adams,  Hancock,  Phillips,  and  the  rest  of 
the  town  Committee,  with  five  hundred  more  "witnesses,"  were  there. 
But  the  consignees  did  not  appear ;  so  after  a  while  the  assembly 
marched  to  Clarke's  warehouse  in  King  Street,  where  they  knew  the 
consignees  were.  "From  whom  are  you  a  Committee  ? "  asked  Clarke. 
"From  the  whole  people."  "And  who  are  the  Committee?"  "I 
am  one,"  said  Molineux.  Dr.  Warren  read  a  paper,  requiring  the 
consignees  to  promise  to  send  the  tea  back.  "  I  will  have  nothing 
to  do  with  you ! "  cried  Clarke  angrily,  and  so  said  all  the  others. 
So  Molineux  read  another  paper,  declaring  those  who  refused  to 
comply  enemies  to  their  country,  and  no  more  was  done  that  day. 

On  the  17th,  a  ship  which  had  had  a  short  passage  brought 
news  that  the  tea-ships  had  sailed.  Next  day  a  legal  town-meeting 
was  held,  to  entreat  the  consignees  to  resign.  They  were  inflexible. 
But  they  were  frightened  at  the  silence  in  which  the  meeting  had 
broken  up ;  and  Hutchinson  proposed  to  flee  to  the  Castle. 

The  meeting  had  adopted  the  resolves  of  Philadelphia,  and  had 
pledged  themselves,  by  all  means  in  their  power,  to  prevent  the 
sale  of  the  East  India  Company's  teas.  Three  vessels  were  expected 
every  hour.  "A  man  of  the  most  influence"  among  the  people 
advised  the  Governor  to  recommend  the  consignees  to  reship  the 
tea.  This  person  warned  Hutchinson  that  he  could  protect  neither 
the  persons  of  the  consignees  nor  their  tea,  if  the  ships  came  into 
harbour  above  the  Castle.  There  was  a  little  rioting  that  night — 
Clarke's  windows  were  broken.  A  consignee  fired  with  ball  on  the 
mob  from  one  of  the  windows. 

From  this  day  there  were  almost  daily  town-meetings.  The 
Governor  called  his  Council.  One  of  the  members  reminded  him 
how  Sir  Robert  Walpole  had  abandoned  the  Excise  Bill,  when  he 
found  he  could  not  enforce  it  without  bloodshed.  The  consignees 
sent  up  a  petition  for  protection — they  promised  to  wait  further 
directions  from  the  Company,  and  meanwhile  not  to  sell  the  tea.1 
The  Council  were  afraid  of  becoming  liable  for  any  damage  to  the 
tea.  All  the  near  towns,  Dorchester,  Brookline,  Cambridge, 
Charlestown,  Roxbury,  were  rallying  to  Boston. 

1  The  teas  were  consigned  to  three  different  houses — one  part  to  two  of  the 
Governor's  sons,  another  to  Clarke,  and  the  third  to  Benjamin  Faneuil  and 
Joshua  "VVinslow. 


296  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

On  Sunday  night,  November  28,  the  Dartmouth^  Captain  Hall, 
with  six  hundred  chests  of  tea  on  board,  came  into  Boston  Harbour. 
In  his  Diary  Hutchinson  says  he  wished  the  ship  to  anchor  below 
the  Castle,  so  that  she  could  go  out  to  sea  again 1  if  the  tea  could 
not  be  landed,  but  that  Adams  and  others  of  the  Committee 
ordered  the  captain  at  his  peril  to  bring  up  the  ship  to  land  the 
other  goods.  The  ship  was  brought  up  to  Griffin  Wharf,  and 
was  constantly  watched  by  the  people. 

It  was  proposed  to  let  the  tea  be  landed,  but  locked  up.  But  it 
was  urged  that  this  was  too  great  a  risk — once  let  the  tea  come 
ashore,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  prevent  its  being  sold ;  and  in 
any  case,  if  the  tea  were  landed  the  town  would  be  liable  for  the 
duty.  While  the  Governor  was  sitting  in  Council  at  the  State 
House,  the  town  was  sitting  "  in  legal  meeting  "  in  a  meeting-house 
close  by — Hutchinson  felt  that  the  government  was  no  longer  in  his 
hands.  The  consignees  had  taken  refuge  in  the  Castle.  That 
afternoon  the  town-meeting  resolved  that  Rotch,  owner  of  the  ship, 
should  be  directed  not  to  enter  the  tea,  and  Captain  Hall  not  to 
suffer  any  of  it  to  be  landed,  at  their  peril.  Twenty-five  of  the 
inhabitants,  with  a  captain,  kept  watch  over  the  ship  that  nights 
Next  day,  when  the  town-meeting  resumed  its  sitting,  Hutchinson 
sent  the  Sheriff  with  a  proclamation,  ordering  those  present  to 
separate  at  their  peril.  When  the  proclamation  had  been  read 
there  was  a  general  hiss.  The  question  was  put  whether  they  would 
cease  their  proceedings.     The  meeting  refused,  nemine  contradicente.2 

After  this,  the  Committees  of  Correspondence  held  daily  meet- 
ings in  Faneuil  Hall.  Two  other  tea-ships  had  now  come  in — 
they  were  ordered  to  lie  alongside  the  same  wharf,  that  all  might  be 
under  one  guard. 

It  was  clear  that  the  tea  would  never  be  landed;  but,  once 
above  the  Castle,  ships  required  a  pass  from  the  Customs,  and 
this  the  Collector  refused  to  give  till  his  dues  were  paid.  After 
twenty  days,  on  the  duty  being  still  refused,  the  ship  could  be 
seized.  Something  must  be  done.  On  the  14th  of  December 
there  was  a  great  meeting  in  the  Old  South ;  the  people  came  into 
Boston  from  twenty  miles  round,  Rotch  was  sent  for  and  ordered 
to  demand  a  clearance  from  the  Collector,  that  the  Dartmouth  might 
put  to  sea.  A  Committee  of  ten  was  appointed  to  accompany  him, 
and  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to  Thursday  the  16th.  That  day, 
which  was  destined  to  decide  the  future  of  America,  would  be  the 

1  He,  however,  says  that  this  ship  brought  the  winter  supply  of  goods  for 
New  England,  and  the  merchants  would  not  have  submitted  to  such  a  loss. 

2  Hutchinson. 


"THE  BOSTON  TEA-PARTY"  297 

twentieth  since  the  arrival  of  the  Dartmouth.  The  moment  mid- 
night sounded  that  night,  the  Customs  officers  could  seize  her,  and 
land  her  cargo  at  the  Castle.  Rotch  reported  that  the  clearance 
was  refused.  He  was  ordered  to  go  at  once  to  the  Governor  and 
apply  for  a  pass.  Seven  thousand  of  the  men  of  New  England  sat 
waiting.  From  time  to  time  some  of  the  leaders  addressed  the 
meeting  from  the  pulpit,  but  often  the  silence  was  so  profound  that 
the  rain  could  be  heard  driving  against  the  windows.  In  one  of 
these  pauses,  Josiah  Quincy  the  Younger  spoke  from  the  gallery. 
"Shouts  and  hosannahs,"  he  said,  "will  not  end  this  day's  trials. 
Let  us  consider  the  issue."  The  great  assembly  replied  as  one  man 
that  they  had  considered — they  were  resolved  that  the  tea  should 
not  be  landed.  Again  he  spoke,  warning  them  that  there  must  be 
more  than  words.  It  was  now  five  o'clock,  and  Rotch  had  not 
returned.  It  was  resolved  to  wait  one  hour  more.  It  was  known 
that  Rotch  had  had  to  go  out  to  Milton,  to  the  Governor's  country- 
house.  With  his  usual  tactics,  Hutchinson  had  gone  there  to  be  as 
far  off  as  possible.  The  sands  were  running  out — the  tea-ships 
must  be  got  past  Castle  William  before  midnight.  All  had  been 
prepared — men  were  waiting  ready  to  work  them  down  the  harbour 
the  instant  the  pass  arrived.  Without  a  pass  the  Castle  would  fire 
on  them,  and  Rotch  had  said  he  was  loath  to  stand  the  shot  of 
3  2 -pounders. 

It  was  six  o'clock,  and  a  number  of  candles  had  long  been 
lighted,  when  Rotch  and  the  two  gentlemen  sent  with  him  as 
witnesses  returned,  weary  and  muddy  with  their  journey  on  that 
stormy  day.  The  whole  assembly  rose  to  its  feet  as  the  three  made 
their  way  up  the  long  aisle  of  the  Old  South,  to  the  table  below  the 
pulpit — the  table  on  which  the  sacramental  symbols  had  so  often 
been  spread.  Amidst  breathless  silence  it  was  announced  that  the 
Governor  refused  to  grant  a  pass  until  the  ships  should  have  cleared 
the  Customs.  A  sound  "  between  a  sigh  and  a  groan  "  broke  from 
the  vast  assembly.  Then  Samuel  Adams  put  the  resolution  that 
Rotch  had  done  what  he  could;  and  added  solemnly,  "This 
meeting  can  do  no  more  to  save  the  country."  So  he  dissolved  the 
meeting,  with  an  exhortation  to  keep  order. 

Just  then  a  wild  Indian  whoop  was  heard  in  the  street,  and  was 
answered  by  some  in  the  galleries.  "  Boston  harbour  a  tea-pot  to- 
night ! "  shouted  a  voice,  and  amid  cries  of  "  Hurrah  for  Griffin's 
Wharf!"  the  whole  assembly  poured  out,  and,  mingling  with  a  great 
multitude  collected  outside,  took  the  way  to  the  southern  wharves. 

The  secret  of  what  happened  next  was  so  well  kept,  that  only  a 
few  doubtful  traditions  have  attempted  to  identify  any  of  the  actors. 


298  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

All  that  is  certain  is,  that  as  the  multitude  flocked  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  persons  disguised  as  Mohawks  mingled  with  it— by 
twos  and  threes,  coming  no  one  could  tell  whence — until  they 
gathered  in  a  troop,  estimated  by  some  at  about  fifty.  In  all  that 
great  multitude  there  was  almost  utter  silence. 

The  rain  had  ceased,  and  the  moon  was  shining  brightly  as  the 
multitude  came  out  in  sight  of  the  wharves.  Sentinels  had  been 
posted — no  one  was  allowed  to  pass  to  Griffin's  Wharf,  but  the 
shores  and  other  wharves  were  black  with  people.  All  Boston  was 
looking  on,  as  the  Mohawks  swiftly  boarded  the  tea-ships.  So 
profound  was  the  silence  that  the  spectators  heard  the  ripping 
open  of  the  chests,  and  the  splash  as  the  tea  was  thrown  into  the 
gleaming  water.  In  less  than  four  hours  every  chest  in  the  three 
ships  had  been  emptied — 342  chests  in  all.  When  all  was  done, 
the  Mohawks  marched  back  to  the  sound  of  fife  and  drum,  escorted 
by  the  multitude.  It  is  said  that  as  they  passed  Admiral  Montagu's 
house,  the  Admiral  called  from  the  window,  "Well,  boys,  you've 
had  a  fine  pleasant  evening  for  your  Indian  caper — but  there'll  be 
the  fiddler  to  pay  yet ! " 

That  night  more  than  the  Company's  tea  was  lost — British 
sovereignty  in  America  was  cast  into  the  sea. 

Next  day,  and  for  many  days  after,  the  tea  lay  in  long  lines  like 
seaweed,  tossing  on  the  ripples  of  the  harbour. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII 
THE  DISMISSAL  OF  FOX 

"  The  part  of  Mr.  Fox  must  naturally  beget  speculations ;  it  may,  however,  be 
all  resolved,  without  going  deeper,  into  youth  and  warm  blood." — Chatham  to 
Shelburne,  March  6,  1 774. 

Fox  is  so  important  a  figure,  that  even  at  this  moment,  when  the 
American  quarrel  was  hurrying  on  to  civil  war,  the  circumstances 
attending  his  dismissal  ought  to  be  told.  They  were  singular 
enough — or  rather,  it  was  singular  that  Fox  should  have  played  the 
part  he  did  in  them.  They  were  the  indirect  cause  of  transforming 
Charles  James  Fox  from  a  truculent,  insubordinate,  and  indiscreet 
ministerialist,  ready  to  defend  the  most  doubtful  measures,  into  a 
statesman  of  wide  views  and  definite  aims.  Incidentally  the  affair 
afforded  the  Thirteenth  Parliament  the  opportunity  of  making 
another  blunder. 

Thomas  de  Grey  and  William  Tooke  both  held  land  in  the 
parish  of  Tottington  in  Norfolk.  De  Grey,  who  was  lord  of  the 
manor,  had  cast  his  eye  upon  the  "  common  fields,"  and  was  trying 
to  enclose  them.  He  put  up  a  fence.  Tooke — who  had  gone  to  law 
with  him  before  this  on  questions  of  fish-ponds  and  common  rights 
— pulled  it  down.  There  was  an  action  for  trespass,  a  challenge, 
and  a  citation  in  the  King's  Bench.  While  this  case  was  still  pend- 
ing, and  the  title  to  the  lands  still  in  litigation,  de  Grey  got  Sir 
Edward  Astley  to  present  a  private  Bill,  "  to  enable  Thomas  de 
Grey  to  divide  and  enclose  the  common  fields  of  Tottington  parish." 
Astley  also  presented  a  petition  from  de  Grey  and  another  from 
Tooke — de  Grey  setting  forth  that  the  enclosure  and  division  would 
greatly  improve  the  lands;  while  Tooke  represented  that  a  great 
part  of  the  owners  had  not  consented  to  the  proposal,  "  which,  they 
have  reason  to  believe,  is  solely  intended  for  the  great  gain  and 
emolument  of  Thomas  de  Grey,  Esq.,  who  hath  already  made  many 
encroachments  upon  the  commons  of  the  said  parish."  This 
petition  also  alleged  that  no  notice  had  been  given  for  a  meeting  of 
landowners,  and  asked  that  leave  for  a  Bill  be  refused  until  the  dis- 

299 


300  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

puted  rights  be  settled,  "  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land."  Not- 
withstanding this,  de  Grey's  influence  was  sufficient  to  get  the  Bill 
brought  in  and  read  a  first  time  three  days  after  (February  10). 

Tooke  had  no  friend  in  the  House  to  speak  for  him,  except  the 
two  Aldermen,  Townsend  and  Sawbridge,  and  he  knew  their  support 
would  do  him  more  harm  than  good.  He  consulted  his  friend  Mr. 
Home,  who  hit  upon  a  strange  expedient  for  creating  a  sensation 
which  would  delay  the  Bill.  He  resolved  to  libel  the  Speaker,  in  a 
letter  to  the  Public  Advertiser.  The  letter  was  signed,  "Strike — 
but  Hear."  It  was  very  long,  and  very  abusive.  The  Speaker  had 
prevented  Astley  from  presenting  the  Petitions  to  the  House,  by 
having  them  presented  only  to  himself,  professing  to  be  astonished 
that  the  same  person  should  present  counter-petitions,  and  putting 
off  the  House  by  saying,  "It  is  only  a  common  petition  for  a 
common  enclosure."  This  Home  called  a  "  wilful  falsehood  and  pre- 
meditated trick,"  and  a  "scandalous  violation  of  the  trust  reposed  in 
you  " ;  and  so,  by  your  connivance,  the  rights  and  property  of  any 
private  gentleman  in  this  kingdom  may  be  transferred  by  the  House 
of  Commons  to  another,  in  a  fortnight  (the  time  to  be  taken  in 
passing  the  Bill),  even  without  its  own  knowledge.1  And  if  he 
happens  to  have  gone  to  Yorkshire,  when  he  comes  back  he  may 
find  his  land  transferred. 

The  same  afternoon,  in  a  very  full  House,  the  Speaker  explained 
why  he  had  come  in  late — he  had  been  charged  with  a  crime  which 
if  true  would  make  him  unworthy  of  that  honourable  seat,  or  even 
of  a  place  in  the  House.  He  was  charged  with  a  predilection  for  Mr. 
de  Grey — whom  he  did  not  so  much  as  know,  except  for  seeing  him  in 
the  House — and  for  his  brother  the  Chief  Justice,  who  was  a  party 
to  the  Bill.  Sawbridge  himself  exonerated  the  Speaker  from  partial- 
ity ;  the  Speaker  said  he  was  satisfied,  if  members  approved  his  con- 
duct, and  the  Clerk  was  going  to  read  the  Order  of  the  Day,  when 
there  were  cries  of  "  Privilege  ! "  and  "  Move  ! "  and  Herbert  rose  and 
moved  that  Henry  Sampson  Woodfall,  the  printer  of  the  Public 
Advertiser,  do  attend  this  House  on  Monday  next.  Mawbey  said 
the  Speaker  could  appeal  to  the  Courts  of  Law ;  and  the  House 
would  have  been  but  too  glad  to  be  excused  from  fighting  his  battle 
if  Fox  had  not  joined  in  the  fray.  The  Speaker,  he  said,  had  been 
grossly  libelled — he  hoped  they  would  preserve  their  prerogative, 
and  not  appeal  to  an  inferior  Court  for  protection.     That  House 

1  "The  moment  Mr.  de  Grey's  Petition  was  read,  the  Speaker  instantly 
muttered  in  a  low  voice,  and  as  hastily  as  possible,  '  All  you  that  are  for  the 
question,  say  Aye  ;  all  you  that  are  against  it,  say  No  ;  the  Ayes  have  it.  Now 
bring  up  the  other.'  " — Hornets  Letter. 


THE  DISMISSAL  OF  FOX  301 

was  as  much  above  the  King's  Bench  as  the  King's  Bench  was 
above  the  Common  Pleas !  The  printers  had  got  off  so  easily 
last  time  they  thought  they  had  a  right  to  libel  members. 
"We  are  now  warm  in  the  matter,  and  had  better  go  through 
with  it !  " 

North  agreed  that  the  liberty  of  the  Press  had  got  to  such  a  height 
that  something  must  be  done.  He  supposed  the  printer  would  not 
come  ;  they  must  then  send  their  Messenger  to  take  him  up  ;  then 
some  City  Alderman  would  take  up  the  Messenger,  and  then  the 
Alderman  would  be  taken  up — he  would  go  to  prison  for  two  or  three 
months — it  would  make  him  popular  and  "  establish  him  a  patriot." 
Dempster  asked  the  House  to  consider  "  of  what  our  power  con- 
sists :  is  it  not  the  power  of  the  people  ?  Can  we  destroy  their 
liberty  without  destroying  our  own  ?  "  This  motion  is  levelled  at 
our  greatest  blessing,  the  liberty  of  the  Press.  But  it  was  of  no  use 
— Fox's  speech  had  stung  them  ;  they  ordered,  nem.  con.,  that 
Woodfall  attend  this  House  on  Monday. 

He  came  (February  14).  He  confessed  that  he  printed  the  letter ; 
he  had  it  from  Mr.  Home ;  he  saw  that  the  petitions  were  quoted, 
and  he  read  no  more,  his  business  subjecting  him  to  hurry.  Asked 
if  that  was  all  he  had  to  say,  he  replied  that  he  had  been  a  printer 
twenty  years,  and  had  never  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  House 
before.  "I  have  voluntarily  obeyed  the  summons,  and  throw 
myself  upon  the  mercy  of  the  House."  The  House  would  have 
been  content  to  commit  him  to  the  custody  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms ; 
but  Fox  in  a  furious  speech  demanded  he  should  go  to  Newgate — 
he  had  committed  an  atrocious  crime.  The  House  had  lost  the 
confidence  of  the  people,  not  by  the  Middlesex  Election  ("as  was 
foolishly  thought "),  but  by  tamely  submitting  to  so  many  insults — 
they  had  allowed  John  Miller,  "  a  paltry  printer,"  to  hold  them  in 
contempt — he  had  not  yet  obeyed  their  summons,  and  he  supposed 
never  would.  But  this  time  Charles'  eloquence  failed — he  could 
not  persuade  the  House  to  punish  Woodfall,  who  had  come,  because 
Miller  had  not  come.  Fox  insisted  on  dividing  the  House — North 
felt  obliged  to  vote  with  Fox,  but  begged  his  friends  not  to  do  so, 
and  by  153  to  68  Woodfall  was  handed  over  to  the  Sergeant- 
at-Arms. 

The  House  next  sent  for  Home.  The  House  was  crowded  in 
expectation,  but  instead  they  got  a  polite  letter,  explaining  that 
Home  did  not  know  whether  they  meant  him,  as  they  called  him 
"  reverend." 1  Herbert  moved  that  Home  had  committed  a  breach 
of  privilege,  and  that  "the  said  reverend  John  Home,  for  his 
1  Home  had  lately  left  the  Church. 


302  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

said  contempt,  and  breach  of  privilege,  be  taken  into  the  custody 
of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms."  William  Burke  asked  them  if  this  was  how 
they  preserved  their  honour?  Not  long  ago  they  took  up  a 
chimney-sweeper  and  a  milkman,  and  brought  them  to  the  Bar. 
Was  it  for  their  dignity  to  have  the  lowest  wretches  in  God's 
creation  kneel  prostrate  before  them  ?  Onslow  said  it  was  true  he 
had  brought  a  milkman  before  the  House — but  he  was  so  respect- 
able that  a  Magistrate  refused  ^400  bail  for  him.  And  the 
chimney-sweeper  might,  for  aught  he  knew,  be  of  as  much  conse- 
quence as  some  of  our  modern  patriots.  It  was  all  done  to  discover 
the  author.  If  he  had  been  supported  on  that  occasion,  the 
House  would  not  have  been  troubled  now.  My  life  was  once 
actually  threatened — "  I  had  the  honour,  Sir,  to  be  hanged  in  effigy 
on  Tower-Hill,  on  the  same  gibbet  with  you;  indeed,  in  the 
dying  speeches,  the  patriots  paid  me  the  greater  compliment,  for 
they  gave  out  that  I  died  penitent,  but  that  you,  Sir,  remained 
hardened  to  the  last."  The  House  roared,  but  the  motion  was 
carried. 

Next  day  Home  appeared — "  neatly  dressed  in  grey,"  but  with- 
out his  gown.  He  spoke  respectfully,  denying  his  contempt.  There 
was  an  adjournment.  It  appeared  that  the  witnesses  were  com- 
positors of  Woodfall's — one  printed  the  MS.  but  did  not  know  the 
writing,  the  other  had  heard  his  master  say  that  Home  was  the 
author.  After  long,  tedious,  and  foolish  debate,  Woodfall  and 
Home  were  brought  in  and  freely  forgiven  by  the  Speaker.  And 
two  days  after  Fox  pounced  on  Woodfall  again.  He  had  dis- 
covered a  letter  in  that  morning's  Public  Advertiser,  signed  "  A  South 
Briton,"  tracing  the  corruption  of  the  times  to  the  rebellion  against 
James  11 — thus  libelling  the  Glorious  Revolution.  He  persuaded 
the  uneasy  House  to  order  the  Attorney-General  to  proceed  against 
the  author  and  publisher  of  the  said  false,  scandalous,  and  traitorous 
libel.  The  words  of  Junius  were  fulfilled — "  The  time  is  come  when 
the  body  of  the  English  people  must  assert  their  own  cause :  .  .  . 
they  will  not  surrender  their  birthright  to  ministers,  parliaments,  or 
kings."  l 

Fox's  conduct  had  been  so  outrageous,  that  people  would  not 
believe  he  did  not  act  under  secret  orders  from  the  King.  Chatham 
wrote  that  sensible  people  thought  he  could  not  have  behaved  to 

1  It  was  in  this  debate  that  Fox,  egregiously  in  the  wrong  as  he  was,  yet  pro- 
tested against  the  names  of  Dr.  Sheebeare  and  Dr.  Johnson  being  coupled 
together.  Charles  was  good  enough  to  add  that  he  "  would  be  very  much  against 
prosecuting  a  man  of  great  literary  abilities,  for  any  opinions  which  he  may 
happen  to  drop  in  works  not  professedly  political." 


THE  DISMISSAL  OF  FOX  303 

North  as  he  did  without  support  from  some  part  of  Administration, 
and  that  that  part  must  have  some  encouragement  from  the  Closet. 
But  they  were  wrong — Fox's  own  wild,  reckless  temperament  and 
ungoverned  passions  could  account  for  all.  But  there  is  little  doubt 
that  he  was  much  irritated  with  North,  who  had  refused  a  grant 
of  lands  in  St.  Vincent's.  Walpole  says  that  Burke  and  Garrick 
engaged  Fox  to  solicit  this  grant,  and  adds  that  Burke  had  a  double 
motive — if  the  grant  was  made  he  could  have  sold  his  shares.  If 
it  was  refused,  Fox  might  be  disgusted  and  join  Opposition.  The 
King  had  never  forgiven,  and  never  would  forgive,  Fox  for  his 
speeches  on  the  Royal  Marriage  Act ;  and  though  he  had  till  now 
been  on  the  right  side,  the  King  very  clearly  perceived  his  danger- 
ous independence,  and  still  more  dangerous  courage.  George  111 
liked  more  supple  servants.  Charles'  tone  on  the  Dissenters' 
Relief  Bill  had  also  offended  the  King.  "That  young  man,"  he 
wrote  to  North,  "has  so  thoroughly  cast  off  every  principle  of 
common  honour  and  honesty  that  he  must  become  as  contempt- 
ible as  he  is  odious,  and  I  hope  you  will  let  him  know  you  are  not 
insensible  of  his  conduct  towards  you." 

Charles  knew  he  had  gone  too  far.  On  the  15  th  of  February, 
when  his  friends  asked  him  at  Almack's  whether  North  had  turned 
him  out,  he  replied,  "  No ;  but  if  he  does,  I  will  write  to  congratulate 
him,  and  tell  him,  if  he  had  always  acted  with  the  same  spirit,  I 
should  not  have  differed  with  him  yesterday." 

A  week  afterwards,  a  Messenger  of  the  House  gave  Fox  a 
note.  It  was  short,  even  shorter  than  a  former  one  attributed  to 
Charles — 

"Sir;  His  Majesty  has  thought  proper  to  order  a  new  Com- 
mission of  the  Treasury  to  be  made  out,  in  which  I  do  not  see  your 
name. — North." 

So  ended  Charles  Fox's  career  as  a  Tory. 

He  was  just  twenty-five.  Hitherto  his  oratory  had  been  effective 
chiefly  for  its  reckless  vigour,  and  for  the  art  with  which  every  now 
and  then  he  would  turn  an  opponent's  argument  against  him. 
It  is  scarcely  unfair  to  say  that  his  eloquence  had  consisted  in 
bluster — of  a  superior  kind,  indeed,  but  still  bluster.  Charles  was 
always  too  much  of  a  fighting  man  to  please  the  King — his  Majesty 
had  always  considered  Charles  a  dangerously  irrepressible  person. 
But  his  extraordinary  vigour  made  him  terrible.  Without  becoming 
less  vigorous,  he  was  now  to  take  a  side  which  would  call  out 
qualities  that  till  now  had  lain  all  but  dormant.  For  the  present,  he 
left  himself  at  liberty.  He  had  for  some  time  been  intimate  with 
Burke,  but  he  did  not  as  yet  join  Opposition ;  and  on  February  25, 


304  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

he  was  a  teller  for  the  Noes  in  the   division   for  making   George 
Grenville's  Election  Bill  perpetual.1 

1  The  essence  of  this  excellent  Bill  was  a  Committee  of  members  of  the  House, 
so  chosen  as  practically  to  ensure  impartiality.  Not  daring  to  abuse  the  Bill 
itself,  Ministers  tried  as  much  as  they  dared  to  set  a  limited  term — say,  seven 
years.  It  was  only  to  be  an  experiment.  De  Grey  said  it  was  ' '  an  innovation. " 
Rigby  had  more  courage.  He  outdid  himself  in  coarse  and  indiscreet  bluntness. 
He  asked  Sir  Edward  Astley  whether  he  thought  his  voters  would  go  for  him 
from  Lynn  to  Norwich  without  so  much  as  a  pot  of  beer  ? — "  and  yet  by  the  Act 
of  King  William  the  new  Committee  must  find  this  bribery  after  >  the  test  of  the 
writ."  Some,  he  said,  had  talked  of  gentlemen  being  in  leading  strings  ;  for 
his  part,  he  had  never  found  any  inconvenience  from  his  !  Walpole  says  he 
helped  the  Bill,  by  disgusting  several  who  had  been  disposed  to  vote  against  it, 
"  and  nobody  said  a  word  more  against  the  Bill  but  Sir  William  Dolben,  a  bigoted 
tory,  who,  however,  reflected  on  Charles  Fox,  and  observed  that  he  talked  as  if 
the  fate  of  Caesar  and  of  Rome  depended  upon  his  conduct.  He  was  tender  in 
years,  but  tough  in  politics,  and  if  he  did  not  mistake  had  already-been  twice  in 
and  twice  out  of  place." — Walpole,  i.  324-5. 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII 
THE  PUNITIVE  BILLS 

"  It  is  through  the  American  trade  of  tea  that  your  East  India  conquests  are 
to  be  prevented  from  crushing  you  with  their  burden  .  .  .  they  must  have  that 
great  country  to  lean  upon,  or  they  will  crush  you  with  their  burden. 

"  Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  you  know  that  you  have  deliberately  thrown  away 
a  large  duty,  which  you  held  secure  and  quiet  in  your  hands,  for  the  vain  hope 
of  getting  one  three-fourths  less,  through  every  hazard,  through  certain  litigation, 
and  possibly  through  war.  No  man  ever  doubted  that  the  commodity  of  tea 
could  bear  an  imposition  of  three-pence.  But  no  commodity  will  bear  three- 
pence, or  will  bear  a  penny,  when  the  general  feelings  of  men  are  irritated,  and 
when  two  millions  of  people  are  resolved  not  to  pay.  The  feelings  of  the 
colonists  were  formerly  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Hampden,  when  called  upon  for 
the  payment  of  twenty  shillings." — Burke  on   American    Taxation,  April    19, 

1774- 

"  Lord  North  expressed  himself  in  higher  terms  than  ever  upon  the  news  from 
Boston,  and  said  it  was  to  no  purpose  any  longer  to  think  of  expedients  ;  the 
Province  was  in  actual  rebellion,  and  must  be  subdued.  He  would  not  allow  the 
thought  that  the  Kingdom  was  not  able  to  do  it.  As  for  Hessians  and  Hanover, 
ians,  they  could  be  employed  if  necessary ;  but  he  was  of  opinion  there  was  no 
need  of  foreign  force ;  at  present  they  could  not  be  sent ;  two  regiments  it  was 
determined  should  go  from  Ireland  in  the  spring,  and  as  many  more  might  go 
from  one  part  or  another  as  should  be  wanted.  The  Acts  must  and  should  be 
carried  into  execution." — Hutchinson 's  Account  of  a  Conversation  at  Lord  North's, 
Nov.  19,  1774. 

Vengeance  did  not  tarry. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1774,  Lord  Dartmouth  brought  down 
the  King's  Message  about  the  "  violent  and  outrageous  proceedings 
at  the  town  and  port  of  Boston,"  and  the  measures  to  be  taken  for 
"  securing  the  just  dependence  of  the  colonies  upon  the  Crown  and 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain."  In  the  short  debate  which  followed, 
Opposition  said  this  was  the  effect  of  the  Stamp  Act,  and  Ministers 
said  it  was  the  effect  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 

On  the  14th  Lord  North  moved  the  Boston  Port  Bill. 
.    The  Boston  Port  Bill  was  a  Bill  to  kill  Boston.     Boston  will  not 
let  the  tea  be  landed.     Nothing  shall  be  landed  at  Boston.     The 
Bill   was   for  the    "immediate   removal   of  his  Majesty's   revenue 
vol.  1. — 20 


3o6  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

officers  from  the  town  of  Boston,  and  the  discontinuance  of  landing 
and  discharging,  lading  and  shipping  of  goods,  wares  and  merchan- 
dise at  the  said  town,  or  within  the  harbour  thereof." 

Boston  has  been  the  ringleader  in  all  riots — on  Boston  therefore 
the  punishment  ought  to  fall.  Boston  has  been  in  riot  and  confusion 
for  seven  years.  The  other  Colonies  are  peaceably  inclined.  North 
explained  that  the  port  would  not  be  reopened  until  full  satisfaction 
had  been  made  to  the  East  India  Company — nor  then,  unless  his 
Majesty  should  be  thoroughly  convinced  that  the  laws  of  this  country 
would  be  better  observed  in  future.  v  Nor  was  this  Bill  all  he  meant 
to  propose — "  other  parts,  of  more  nice  disquisition,  will  remain  for 
future  consideration  of  Parliament." 

He  quoted  precedents  for  a  collective  punishment — the  City 
of  London,  fined  when  Dr.  Lambe1  was  killed  by  unknown 
persons;  the  City  of  Edinburgh,  fined  for  the  affair  of  Captain 
Porteous ;  and  the  town  of  Glasgow,  part  of  the  revenue  seques- 
tered till  satisfaction  was  made  for  the  pulling  down  of  Mr. 
Campbell's  house.  (But  none  of  these  towns  had  its  trade 
taken  away.) 

Mr.  Grosvenor,  who  seconded,  said  the  proceedings  of  Boston 
were  "  all  entirely  owing  to  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act."  Dempster, 
a  Company  member,  was  unwilling  the  indemnification  should  be 
collected  all  over  America — from  innocent  people.  When  Alderman 
Sawbridge  began  to  speak,  the  House  began  to  cough,  and  to  call 
for  the  question.  Byng  asked  whether  we  were  not  punishing 
ourselves  in  preventing  English  ships  from  trading  to  Boston? 
Barre  was  for  a  fine  instead  of  the  Bill.  "  I  think  Boston  ought  to 
be  punished,  she  is  your  eldest  son."  Here  the  House  laughed, 
and  he  went  on,  "  I  mean  your  daughter,  she  is  a  noble  prop,"  you 
had  better  cherish  her.  But  as  he  thought  that  if  the  Commons 
were  unanimous,  Boston  would  pay  the  indemnity,  he  would  vote 
for  the  Bill. 

On  the  23rd,  in  Committee,  Rose  Fuller  urged  that  the  punish- 
ment was  too  severe  for  the  first  offence — the  precedents  were  not 
in  the  least  similar.  The  Bill  would  only  "  lead  to  confederacies  " ; 
it  cannot  be  carried  into  execution  without  a  military  force — if  we 
send  a  small  one,  the  Boston  militia  "  will  immediately  cut  them  to 
pieces  "  \  if  we  send  a  larger — 6000  or  7000 — the  Americans  will 
"debauch  them."  Either  way,  we  shall  only  hurt  ourselves.  He 
moved  for  a  fine — he  thought  ,£15,000  would  make  amends  to  the 

1  Lambe  was  Buckingham's  physician.  In  June,  1628,  when  Buckingham 
was  being  denounced  in  the  Commons,  Lambe  was  set  on  and  beaten  to  death  in 
the  street,  none  of  the  perpetrators  being  ever  discovered. 


THE  PUNITIVE  BILLS  307 

East  India  Company  ("and  be  in  some  measure  a  relief  to  poor 
Malcolm"1). 

y  Herbert  said  Boston  would  certainly  refuse  to  pay  a  fine — and 
then  we  must  take  this  measure.  Better  take  it  at  once.  It  is 
useless  to  reason  with  them — Americans  are  a  strange  set  of 
people — they  always  decide  the  matter  by  tarring  and  feathering. 
North  denied  it  was  the  first  offence — Boston  began  many  years  ago 
to  endeavour  to  throw  off  obedience  to  this  country ;  this  was  the 
first  time  Parliament  had  punished  her.  This  Bill  will  show 
her  we  are  in  earnest,  and  "  It  will  be  enough  to  show  that 
Great  Britain  is  in  earnest."  Boston  wont  submit  unless  we  show 
we  mean  to  punish  her.  We  can't  prevent  some  of  our  people 
suffering  aTittle,  but  we  must  compare  these  temporary  inconven- 
iences with  the  loss  of  that  country,  and  its  due  obedience.  Fuller 
had  said  the  Americans  would  not  pay  their  debts  unless  we 
complied  with  their  wishes.  They  threatened  us  with  the  same 
thing  if  we  did  not  repeal  the  Stamp  Act.  We  repealed  it,  and 
they  did  not  pay  their 'debts.  Our  "unanimity  will  go  half-way  to 
their  obedience  to  this  Bill " — it  won't  take  an  army.  "  The  good 
of  this  Act  is,  that  4  or  5  frigates  will  do  the  business  without  any 
military  force."  But  if  a  military  force  is  necessary,  I  shall  not 
hesitate.  If  the  Act  does  produce  rebellion,  "  the  rest  of  the 
colonies  will  not  take  fire  at  the  proper  punishment  inflicted  on 
those  who  have  disobeyed  our  authority."  And  then  lenient  measures 
will  be  at  an  end,  and  the  consequences  of  their  rebellion  will  be  upon 
them,  and  not  on  us.     Let  us  be  firm. 

Gascoigne  asked  if  the  late  proceedings  of  the  Assembly  looked 
peaceable?  They  had  passed  a  law  for  purchasing  twelve  brass 
cannon.  This  people  will  hardly  ever  be  brought  to  reason,  except 
by  the  Bill — the  moment  a  person  offers  to  reason,  they  tar  and  feather 
him,  or  daub  his  house  "  with  excrement  and  tar."  A  military  force 
will  not  be  in  the  least  necessary.  Limiting  their  trade  is  the  only 
way  to  bring  such  merchants  to  their  senses.  Byng  was  totally 
against  prohibiting  British  trade — by  preventing  importation  to 
Boston,  you  will  create  that  association  you  wish  to  annihilate. 
"You  are  not  punishing  the  Bostonians;  you  are  punishing  the 
English  merchants."  Dempster  denounced  the  Stamp  Act  as  the 
cause  of  all  the  disorders.  "  He  was  very  sure  the  destruction  of 
America  would  be  certain  if  we  should  offer  to  tax  it."  He  thought 
the  Bill  gave  Government  too  much  power — there  was  no  limit  of 
time.     We  should  treat  the  Colonies  as  our  children — "nourish  and 

1  A  Custom-house  officer  who  had  been  tarred  and  feathered,  and  made  to 
ride  a  rail. 


308  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

protect  them."  Fox  took  the  same  view.  Conway  spoke  for 
the  Bill  but  thought  old  grievances  should  not  be  raked  up.  The 
incorrigible  Mr.  Van  said  the  town  ought  to  be  knocked  about  their 
ears.  "  You  will  never  have  proper  obedience  till  you  have  destroyed 
that  nest  of  locusts.  '  Delenda  est  Carthago.' "  This  expression 
shocked  Barre — he  reminded  the  House  that  this  was  "the  first 
vengeful  step  " ;  he  feared  the  next  proposition  "  would  be  a  black 
one."  He  added:  "You  have  not  a  loom  nor  an  anvil  but  what 
is  stamped  with  America;  it  is  the  main  prop  of  your  trade. 
America  employs  all  your  workmen  here." 

On  the  third  reading,  Dowdeswell  said  the  Bill  punished  British 
merchants  more  severely  than  the  Bostonians.  Nor  was  it  just  to 
single  out  Boston — Philadelphia  and  New  York  sent  back  the  tea ; 
and  if  Charlestown  (in  South  Carolina)  let  it  be  landed,  it  was  only 
to  be  put  in  a  damp  cellar,  where  it  was  all  mildewed.  "  You  ask 
why  the  Americans  don't  pay  their  debts  ?  If  you  stop  the  exports, 
you  of  course  stop  the  payment  of  the  debts." 

The  Port  Bill  passed  the  Commons  on  the  25th  of  March.  It 
was  late,  the  House  was  noisy,  there  was  no  division. 

Nor  was  there  in  the  Lords,  though  Shelburne,  writing  to  Chatham 
(again  too  ill  to  take  any  active  part),  says  that  the  Port  Bill  had 
a  fuller,  "and  by  all  accounts  a  fairer,"  discussion  there  than  in 
the  Commons.  The  Ministry  were  divided — some  called  it  only 
"  commotion,"  some  "  open  rebellion "  in  Boston.  Mansfield 
called  it  "  the  last  act  of  overt  treason " — but  the  luckiest  for  this 
country,  because,  if  it  passes,  we  "  shall  be  passed  the  Rubicon  " ; 
the  Americans  will  know  that  we  shall  temporise  no  longer ;  and  if 
the  Bill  passes  with  tolerable  unanimity,  Boston  will  submit,  and 
"  all  will  pass  sine  ccede" 

The  House  listened  patiently,  "  though  very  late  at  night,"  while 
Shelburne *  described  the  loyal  state  in  which  he  left  the  Colonies, 
"with  some  other  very  home  facts."  The  Bill  passed  on  the  29th, 
and  received  the  Royal  Assent  on  the  31st. 

In  vain  Boston  petitioned.  In  vain  Franklin  offered  to  pay  the 
Company  for  the  tea.  Ministers  were  determined  to  have  obedi- 
ence, and  Boston  was  as  determined  as  ever  not  to  obey.  North 
reiterated  the  necessity  of  unanimity.  If  we  carry  this  Bill  unan- 
imously, that  will  go  far  to  convince  the  Americans  that  we  mean  it. 
The  beauty  of  this  Act  is,  that  three  or  four  frigates  will  do  the 
business. 

Gage  2  had  told  the  King  that  the  Americans  would  be  "  lyons, 

1  Shelburne  to  Chatham,  April  4,  1774. 

2  Gage  had   only  lately  come  over  to   England.      As  soon  as  he  heard 


THE  PUNITIVE  BILLS  309 

whilst  we  are  lambs;  but,  if  we  take  the  resolute  part,  they  will 
undoubtedly  prove  very  meek."  He  thought  he  could  play  the  lion 
effectually  with  four  regiments. 

On  the  28th  North  asked  and  obtained  leave  to  bring  in  the 
"other  parts,  of  more  nice  disquisition."  The  gist  of  the  "Bill 
for  Regulating  the  Government  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  was  to 
strengthen  military  power  in  America.  "  The  civil  magistrate  has 
been,  for  a  series  of  years,  uniformly  inactive."  The  Governor 
cannot  call  out  the  military  without  the  consent  of  seven  of  his 
Council.  "  I  propose  to  take  the  executive  power  from  the  hands 
of  the  democratic  part  of  government."  The  Governor  was  in  fact 
to  have  the  whole  power — to  "  act  as  a  justice  of  peace  " ;  and  to 
appoint  all  civil  officers,  except  the  Chief  Justice  and  the  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  who  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  Crown,  and 
to  be  removable  only  by  his  Majesty.  Town-meetings  must  not 
be  held  without  the  consent  of  the  Governor,  except  for  the  annual 
elections.  "Juries  are  improperly  chosen;  I  think  a  degree  of 
regulation  highly  necessary." 

Lord  George  Germaine  did  not  think  the  Bill  went  far  enough — 
he  wished  to  "  add  his  mite  of  preservation  "  to  America,  by  pro- 
posing more  changes  still.  For  instance,  in  the  election  of  the 
Council.  He  would  certainly  put  an  end  to  their  town-meet- 
ings. "I  would  not  have  men  of  a  mercantile  cast  every  day 
collecting  themselves  together,  and  debating  about  political  matters." 
The  juries  "  require  great  regulation."  I  would  wish  to  make  the 
constitution  of  America  as  much  like  ours  as  possible — the  Council 
like  the  House  of  Lords.  And  a  Court  of  Chancery  should  be 
established — the  Assembly  of  the  province  ought  not  to  determine 
matters.  "  At  present,  their  assembly  is  a  downright  clog  upon  all 
the  proceedings  of  the  governor;"  the  Council,  too,  are  always 
thwarting  him.  There  is  really  no  government — only  "  a  tumult- 
uous and  riotous  rabble,"  who  ought  to  be  "following  their 
mercantile  employment,"  and  not  troubling  themselves  with 
politics  and  government,  which  they  do  not  understand. 

North  thanked  the  noble  lord  for  every  proposition  he  had 
thrown  out — "  they  are  worthy  of  a  great  mind,"  and  ought  to  be 
adopted.     "  I  see  the  propriety  of  them." 

The  Bill  was  brought  in  on  April  15.  Dowdeswell  said  it 
destroyed  the  Charter,  under  which  the  Americans  had  flourished 
for  nearly  fourscore  years,  "and  we  have  reaped  the  benefit  of  their 
labour."     Their  charter  was  granted  in  King  William's  time,  and 

that  "  coercive  measures  "  were  contemplated,  he  offered  the  King  to  return  "  at 
a  day's  notice." — George  m  to  Lord  North,  February  4,  1774. 


310  ENGLAND   AND  AMERICA 

"  is  more  adapted  to  the  spirit  of  a  free  people  than  any  charter  that 
can  possibly  be  framed  by  any  minister  now."  Governor  Pownall 
gave  the  House  an  account  of  how  juries  were  chosen  in  America. 
"  The  House  at  first  did  not  much  attend ; "  but  his  knowledge  of 
American  affairs  soon  compelled  them  to  listen.  He  explained  that 
the  Assembly,  not  the  whole  body  of  the  people,  chose  the  Council. 
The  Selectmen  were  "  a  kind  of  aldermen."  There  was  a  careful 
and  ample  arrangement  for  ensuring  a  supply  of  proper  persons  to 
serve  on  juries.  Business  would  almost  stand  still  if  town-meetings 
could  not  be  held  without  consent  of  the  Governor — these  towns  were 
often  three  hundred  miles  from  the  capital,  and  all  municipal  business 
was  done  at  the  town-meetings.  He  ended  by  begging  that  the 
Laws  of  Massachusetts  Bay  might  be  laid  before  the  House. 

Along  with  this  Bill  went  one  which  was  ironically  called,  "  A  Bill 
for  the  Impartial  Administration  of  Justice  in  Massachusetts  Bay." 
North  said  he  hoped  it  would  effectually  secure  the  province  from 
future  disturbances — it  was  a  Bill  to  give  every  man  a  fair  trial, 
which  the  juries  of  that  country  were  not  likely  to  do.  So  the 
Governor  was  to  be  empowered  to  send  him  to  any  other  colony, 
"  where  the  same  spirit  has  not  prevailed  " ;  or  to  Great  Britain,  if 
he  cannot  have  a  fair  trial  in  any  of  the  Colonies.  The  Customs  of 
England  to  pay  the  costs.  He  only  proposed  this  Bill  for  four 
years.  "We  must  consider,  that  everything  that  we  have  that  is 
valuable  to  us  is  now  at  stake;  and  the  question  is  very  shortly 
this ;  whether  they  shall  continue  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  or 
not  ?  "  "  One  thing  I  much  wish — the  punishment  of  those  individ- 
uals who  have  been  the  ringleaders.  Our  attention  will  be  active  in 
that  point."  But  we  must  guard  against  any  illegal  proceedings, 
or  we  shall  find  ourselves  at  last  in  the  same  dilemma  we  were  in 
at  first.  In  this  speech  North  announced  that  Hutchinson  was 
recalled,  and  that  General  Gage  was  appointed  Governor  and 
Commander-in-Chief — thus  uniting  the  military  and  civil  powers. 
This,  and  the  allusion  to  his  desire  to  punish  the  ringleaders, 
betrayed  the  true  object  of  the  Bill. 

Many  opposed  this  Bill  who  had  acquiesced  in  the  Port  Bill* 
It  happened  that  it  was  read  a  first  time  (April  21)  in  a  very  thin 
House — only  41  members  present.  Sawbridge  said  they  were 
taken  by  surprise — "  It  is  cowardly."  And  the  Bill  is  cruel  and 
ridiculous — does  anyone  suppose  that  a  man  who  chanced  to  see  a 
person  murdered  in  America  would  come  over  here  to  give 
evidence  against  the  aggressor?  Would  any  American  hazard  a 
trial  here,  or  expect  justice  here  ?  North  said  he  could  not  foresee 
a  thin  House.     If  the  Bill  is  bad,  in  God's  name  throw  it  out ;  but 


THE  PUNITIVE  BILLS  311 

if  it  is  good,  you  cannot  be  too  unanimous.     The  more  unanimous 
you  are,  the  more  effect  the  Bill  will  have. 

In  the  Debates  of  May  2  it  was  urged  that  the  Americans  had  not 
been  heard  in  their  defence.  The  Bill  was  really  intended  to  protect 
soldiers  who  should  have  shot  down  the  people.  Dunning  said  it  was 
neither  peace  nor  the  olive-branch — "  it  was  war,  revenge,  and  hatred 
against  our  own  subjects.  We  are  now  come  to  that  fatal  dilemma, 
'  resist,  and  we  will  cut  your  throats ;  submit,  and  we  will  tax 
you.'" 

The  most  powerful  speech  was  Barre's.  He  fulfilled  his  promise 
of  reserving  his  opposition  for  the  worse  measures  yet  to  come- 
He  said  the  Bill  was  "glaring,  unprecedented."  The  noble  lord  has 
not  produced  one  instance  of  a  man  not  having  a  fair  trial — what  has 
happened  is  in  the  teeth  of  his  proposition.  Captain  Preston  and 
the  soldiers,  who  shed  the  blood  of  the  people,  were  fairly  tried,  and 
acquitted,  by  a  Boston  jury.  li  When  a  Commissioner  of  the  Customs, 
aided  by  a  number  of  ruffians,  assaulted  the  celebrated  Mr.  Otis  in 
the  midst  of  the  town  of  Boston,  and  with  the  most  barbarous  violence 
almost  murdered  him,  did  the  mob,  which  is  said  to  rule  the  town, 
take  vengeance  on  the  perpetrators  of  this  inhuman  outrage 
against  a  person  who  is  supposed  to  be  their  demagogue  ?  No,  Sir, 
the  law  tried  them;  the  law  gave  heavy  damages  against  them, 
which  the  irreparably  injured  Mr.  Otis  most  generously  forgave 
upon  an  acknowledgment  of  the  offence." 

This  Bill  sets  the  military  power  above  the  civil.  "  I  have  been 
bred  a  soldier.  I  respect  the  profession  .  .  .  but  there  is  not  a 
country  gentleman  of  you  all  who  looks  upon  the  army  with  a  more 
jealous  eye,  or  would  more  strenuously  resist  the  setting  them  above 
the  control  of  the  civil  power.  No  man  is  to  be  trusted  in  such  a 
situation."  (Every  man  who  heard  his  words  must  have  thought  of 
what  Clive  had  said  about  such  a  situation.)  "  When  I  stand  up 
as  an  advocate  for  America,"  he  went  on,  "I  feel  myself  the 
firmest  friend  of  this  country.  Alienate  your  colonies,  and  you 
subvert  the  foundations  of  your  riches,  and  your  strength."  Instead 
of  the  olive-branch,  you  have  sent  the  naked  sword.  "  By  the 
olive-branch  I  mean  the  repeal  of  all  the  late  laws." 

Wedderburn  said  the  olive-branch  ought  to  go  in  one  hand, 
but  the  sword  in  the  other.  Captain  Phipps  observed  that  he  was 
glad  Hutchinson  was  recalled — he  thought  him  one  of  the  worst 
servants  the  Crown  ever  had.  Lord  Carmarthen  (eldest  son  of  the 
Duke  of  Leeds)  made  one  of  those  fatal  speeches  which  must  have 
seemed  to  the  Americans  as  the  tearing  off  of  a  mask.  He  asked 
why  the  colonists  were  suffered  to  go  to  America,  "unless  the  profit 


312  ENGLAND   AND  AMERICA 

of  their  labour  should  return  to  their  masters  here  ?  "  No  one  seems 
to  have  protested  against  this  doctrine.  North  rose  to  defend 
Hutchinson.  He  did  not  know  a  man  of  greater  merit,  "  nor  did 
I  ever  hear  any  charge  brought  against  him."  He  is  not  recalled 
for  any  misconduct — he  deserves  the  thanks  of  this  assembly.  Van 
wound  up  the  debate  in  a  characteristic  speech.  If  the  Americans 
oppose  these  measures,  "I  would  do  as  was  done  of  old,  in  the 
time  of  the  ancient  Britons,  I  would  burn  and  set  fire  to  all  their 
woods,  and  leave  their  country  open  ...  if  we  are  likely  to  lose 
that  country,  I  think  it  better  lost  by  our  own  soldiers  than 
wrested  from  us  by  our  rebellious  subjects."  The  furious  Welshman 
had  his  wish — we  lost  America  that  way.  Leave  for  the  Bill  was 
granted  without  a  division,  and  it  passed  on  May  9  by  239  to  64. 

In  the  midst  of  these  Debates,  Rose  Fuller  made  a  desperate 
effort,  on  April  1 9,  to  get  the  tea-duty  repealed  before  these  punitive 
measures  were  passed.  He  urged  that  the  other  measures  would 
be  totally  ineffectual  without  a  repeal  of  the  tea-duty.  Those  who 
spoke  against  his  motion  did  so  on  the  score  of  supremacy  of 
Parliament.  They  wished  "  to  keep  the  right."  Phipps  once  more 
told  them  they  would  be  as  much  hurt  as  the  Americans.  The  tax 
was  "trifling  and  absurd."  Sure,  too,  to  be  evaded — "God  and 
nature  had  given  them  an  extensive  coast,  and  of  course  an 
opportunity  of  smuggling."  And  how  can  we  "expect  obedience 
from  them,  when  the  emoluments  of  that  country  are  taken  from 
them  to  supply  the  luxuries  of  men  who  live  in  this  ? "  Before 
Lord  Botetourt  was  Governor,  Virginia  "was  annnally  plundered 
of  ^5000  by  the  non-residence  of  former  governors."  He  knew 
a  person  in  that  country  who  held  eleven  offices,  "the  emoluments 
of  which  were  appropriated  to  the  support  of  men  of  bad  description 
in  this." 

This,  however,  was  but  carrying  out  Carmarthen's  theory,  that 
the  colonists  were  only  there  to  work  for  their  masters  here. 

The  great,  the  immortal  speech  was  Burke's.  Passages  from  it 
have  been  so  often  quoted  that  they  are  known  to  everyone.  But 
these  refer  to  the  characters  of  Ministers,  and  the  changes  of 
administration.  The  statesmanlike  review  of  the  past  is  less  well- 
known,  and  at  this  crossing  of  the  Rubicon  it  is  full  of  lessons  and 
warnings  on  more  crises  than  this  of  America.  Here  is  the  gist  of  it, 
as  briefly  as  is  compatible  with  conveying  any  just  idea  of  the  views 
taken  by  Opposition  at  this  momentous  turning-point.  As  far  as 
possible  Burke's  very  words  are  used. 

The  speech  was  immediately  provoked  by  Cornwall's  attack  on 
the  Rockingham  Administration,  and  its  Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 


THE  PUNITIVE  BILLS  313 

Burke  asked  why,  if  Government  disapproved  of  the  Repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  they  repealed  five  taxes  of  the  Revenue  Act  ?  You  say 
you  repealed  them  on  commercial  principles — Lord  Hillsborough's 
Circular  Letter  to  the  Governors  says  so.  Then  repeal  the 
remaining  tax  on  the  same  principles !  You  say,  if  we  repeal  it, 
what  will  become  of  the  preamble  ? x  Where  is  the  revenue  ?  Five- 
sixths  are  already  abandoned.  Does  the  poor  solitary  tea-duty 
give  you  a  revenue  ?  The  object  of  the  Act  is  gone  already.  And 
if  commercial  principles  are  to  be  studied,  tea  was  the  last  article 
you  should  have  left.  The  taxes  you  repealed  were  without 
comparison  fitter  to  be  kept — infinitely  less  likely  to  be  evaded  by 
contraband.  For  instance,  there  was  red  and  white  lead.  You  have, 
in  this  kingdom,  an  advantage  in  lead  amounting  to  a  monopoly. 
You  sometimes  tax  your  own  export — you  ventured  to  do  so  after 
the  last  war,  when  you  put  a  duty  on  coals.  But  "  tea  is  perhaps 
the  most  important  article  in  the  mighty  circle  of  our  commerce. 
This  is  an  awful  and  instructive  lesson  on  the  mischief  of  not  having 
large  and  liberal  ideas  in  the  management  of  great  affairs.  You 
have  never  looked  at  your  interests  in  one  connected  whole.  The 
servants  of  the  State  have  taken  bits  and  scraps,  without  regard  to 
their  relations."  "They  never  had  any  kind  of  system,  right  or 
wrong ;  but  only  invented  some  miserable  tale  for  the  day,  in  order 
meanly  to  sneak  out  of  difficulties  into  which  they  had  proudly 
strutted."  So  it  has  come  about  that  "a  tax  of  three-pence  has 
shaken  the  pillars  of  a  commercial  empire  that  circled  the  whole 
globe." 

Do  you  forget  how  you  were  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy  last 
year?  "The  monopoly  of  the  most  lucrative  trades,  and  the 
possession  of  imperial  revenues,  had  brought  you  to  the  verge  of 
beggary  and  ruin."  The  vent  of  the  ten  millions,  locked  up  in 
this  tea,  rotting  in  the  Company's  warehouses,  would  have  pre- 
vented this  distress ;  America  would  have  been  that  vent — America, 
where  tea  is  next  to  a  necessary  of  life.  "It  is  through  the 
American  trade  of  tea  that  your  East  India  conquests  are  to  be 
prevented  from  crushing  you  with  their  burthen  .  .  .  they  must  have 
that  great  country  to  lean  upon,  or  they  tumble  upon  your  head." 
The  same  folly  has  lost  you  the  benefit  of  the  West  and  the  East. 
Never  did  people  suffer  so  much  for  the  empty  words  of  a  preamble  ! 

You  will  force  the  Colonies  to  take  the   teas  ?     Has   a   seven 

1  The  preamble  of  the  Revenue  Act  asserted  the  expediency  that  a  revenue 
should  be  raised  in  America  for  defraying  certain  charges  of  administration 
there.  Burke  called  on  the  Clerk  of  the  House  to  read  the  preamble,  which  was 
done. 


314  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

years'  struggle  forced  them?  We  all  know  that  tea  will  bear  an 
imposition  of  threepence,  but  no  commodity  will  bear  a  penny 
when  two  millions  of  people  are  resolved  not  to  pay.  Would  20s. 
have  ruined  Mr.  Hampden  ? 

You  say  your  dignity  is  tied  to  it.  What  dignity  is  there  in 
perseverance  in  absurdity?  Five  years  ago,  when  we  proposed 
repeal,  we  were  laughed  down.  Five  days  afterwards,  Lord 
Hillsborough  wrote  his  Circular  Letter,  promising  repeal,  and 
assuring  the  Colonies  that  we  did  not  mean  to  lay  any  fresh 
taxes. 

Then  Burke  showed  how  all  our  laws — Navigation  Acts,  and  all 
— had  been  directed  to  establishing  a  monopoly  of  trade,  and  not  for 
raising  a  revenue.  And  as  long  as  we  "forgot  revenue,"  we  not 
only  acquired  commerce  but  "  created  the  very  objects  of  trade  in 
America,"  and  raised  the  trade  of  this  kingdom  at  least  fourfold. 
America  had  the  compensation  of  our  capital,  "which  made  her 
bear  her  servitude."  She  also  had  "the  substance  of  the  British 
constitution."  She  chose  most  of  her  magistrates ;  she  paid  them 
all.  "This  whole  state  of  commercial  servitude  and  civil  liberty 
is  certainly  not  perfect  freedom ;  but  comparing  it  with  the 
ordinary  circumstances  of  human  nature,  it  was  a  happy  and  a 
liberal  condition."  You  are  now  going  to  take  away  these  com- 
pensations. 

Then  he  spoke  of  Charles  Townshend,  who,  "in  a  brilliant 
harangue,"  dazzled  the  country  gentlemen  "by  playing  before 
their  eyes  the  image  of  a  revenue  to  be  raised  in  America."  This 
was  "the  first  glimmering  of  this  new  colony  system."  George 
Grenville  was  a  great  man,  and  we  owe  him  much,  continued 
Burke,  referring  to  Grenville's  Election  Bill ;  he  had  a  masculine 
understanding,  and  if  he  was  ambitious,  his  ambition  was  of  a 
noble  and  generous  strain.  But  he  took  too  narrow  and  legal 
a  view  of  things,  and  thought  our  flourishing  trade  was  due  more 
to  our  laws  than  to  our  liberty.  He,  too,  "considered  his  objects 
in  lights  that  were  rather  too  detached."  The  Act  of  Navigation 
was  his  idol.  He  "  looked  with  too  exquisite  a  jealousy "  on 
smuggling,  and,  to  put  it  down,  he  straitened  the  bonds  of 
navigation,  and  stopped  the  coasting  intercourse  between  the 
Colonies  till  America  was  on  the  point  of  having  no  trade 
at  all.  The  idea  of  an  American  revenue  opened  out  a 
new  principle ;  and  we  cried  out  for  fresh  taxes,  just  as  the 
Colonies  were  crying  out  that  they  were  crushed  by  those  the 
war  had  brought. 

At    this   point   Burke   would    have   stopped,   but   the   House 


THE  PUNITIVE  BILLS  315 

called  to  him  to  go  on.  He  continued  his  masterly  recapitulation. 
He  referred  to  the  stock  accusation  of  the  Court  party,  that  the 
disturbances  in  America  were  owing  to  the  change  of  Ministry. 
It  was  pretended  that  the  colonists  only  took  courage  when  their 
friends  were  in  power.  Burke  showed  that  the  news  had  not 
reached  them.  "Thus  perish  the  miserable  inventions  of  the 
wretched  runners  for  a  wretched  cause ! " 

After  describing  the  Patchwork  Cabinet,  Burke  returned  to 
Townshend.  "  He  was  the  delight  and  ornament  of  this  House. 
If  his  knowledge  was  not  equal  to  that  of  some  others,  he  knew 
how  to  bring  together  all  that  was  necessary  to  his  argument, 
"better  by  far  than  any  man  I  ever  was  acquainted  with.  He 
hit  the  House  just  between  wind  and  water."  And  not  being 
too  zealous  for  any  question,  he  was  never  more  earnest  or  more 
tedious  than  the  House  wanted  him  to  be.  He  seemed  to  lead, 
because  he  always  followed.  In  this  question,  said  Burke,  the 
characters  of  men  are  of  great  importance.  "  Great  men  are 
the  guide-posts  and  land-marks  in  the  State."  Those  who  never 
saw  Charles  Townshend  do  not  know  what  a  ferment  he  was 
able  to  excite  in  everything  by  his  mixed  virtues  and  failings. 
As  soon  as  he  found  that  repeal  was  in  bad  odour,  he  declared 
that  a  revenue  must  be  got  out  of  America.  And  then  "the 
whole  body  of  the  courtiers  drove  him  onward."  They  always 
talked  as  though  the  King  was  humiliated,  until  something  of 
the  kind  was  done.  In  his  Revenue  Act,  Townshend  tried  to 
please  everybody — the  partisans  of  a  revenue,  by  the  preamble ; 
the  colonists  by  taxing  British  manufactures;  and  the  British 
merchants  by  making  the  taxes  trivial,  and,  except  that  on  "the 
devoted  East  India  Company's  tea,"  laid  on  none  of  the  grand 
objects  of  commerce.  "This  Revenue  Act  of  1767  formed 
the  fourth  period  of  American  policy."  How  have  we  fared 
since  then?  "What  woeful  variety  of  schemes,  what  enforcing, 
what  repealing,  what  bullying,  what  submitting,  what  doing  and 
undoing,  what  shiftings,  changes,  and  jumblings  ! " 

Then,  coming  to  the  immediate  question,  he  asked  if  they 
meant  to  draw  a  revenue  from  America.  If  you  do,  speak  out ; 
fix  this  revenue,  define  it,  provide  for  its  collection.1  Fight 
when  you  have  something  to  fight  for.  If  you  kill,  take  posses- 
sion— do  not  appear  as  madmen,  who  murder  without  an  object. 

1  According  to  an  estimate  laid  before  Parliament  in  1774,  the  exports  from 
Great  Britain  in  1773  were  ^13,226,740;  and  the  imports  were  ;£i  1,832,469. 
Exports  to  America  on  an  average  of  three  years  were  ^3,370>00°j  and  com- 
modities imported  from  the  Colonies  for  the  same  period  ^3,924,606,  13s.  4d. 


316  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

But  a  better  way  will  be  peace.  I  am  not  going  into  metaphysical 
distinctions  of  right.  Be  content  to  bind  America  as  you  always 
did — by  trade.  You  did  not  tax  her  in  the  beginning.  Let  that 
be  a  reason  for  not  taxing  her  now.  "Nobody  will  be  argued 
into  slavery."  They  bear  the  burdens  of  unlimited  monopoly, 
will  you  bring  them  to  bear  the  burdens  of  unlimited  revenue 
too?  "The  Englishman  in  America  will  feel  that  this  is  slavery. 
Reflect  how  you  are  to  govern  a  people  who  think  they  ought 
to  be  free,  and  think  they  are  not  ?  " 

Rose  Fuller's  motion  was  lost  by  182  to  49. 

The  Third  Reading  of  a  Bill  for  Quartering  Troops  in  America 
was  put  off  that  Chatham  might  be  well  enough  to  attend.  Of 
his  speech  on  May  25,  Mr.  Sheriff  Sayre  said  to  Lady  Chatham, 
that  if  the  two  countries  could  have  heard  it  "they  would  have 
run  and  embraced  each  other."  Chatham  said  that  the  spirit 
shown  by  the  Americans  was  the  same  spirit  which  had  moved 
them  to  leave  their  native  country,  "where  slavish  and  tyrannical 
principles  "  then  prevailed.  "  They  are  great  instances  to  instruct 
the  world,  what  great  exertions  mankind  will  naturally  make,  when 
they  are  left  to  the  free  exercise  of  their  own  powers."  He 
condemned  the  destruction  of  the  tea;  but  said  "they  perceived 
your  intention  was  renewed  to  tax  them,  under  a  pretence  of 
serving  the  East  India  Company."  "I  sincerely  believe  the 
destroying  of  the  tea  was  the  effect  of  despair."  Throughout, 
Administration  had  purposely  incited  them  to  these  violent  acts. 
"  What  other  motive  could  there  have  been  to  dress  taxation  in 
the  robes  of  an  East  India  Director,"  but  to  break  peace  and 
harmony  ?  "lam  an  old  man — I  would  adopt  a  more  gentle  mode 
of  governing  America ;  for  the  day  is  not  far  distant,  when  she  may 
vie  with  us,  not  only  in  arms,  but  in  arts."  The  Bill  passed  the 
Lords  by  57  to  16. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1774,  the  old  King  of  France,  Louis  xv, 
died  of  the  small-pox,  and  his  very  young  grandson  became 
Louis  xvi.  King  George  much  regretted  the  death  of  Louis  xv, 
being  unable  to  "  foresee  who  will  have  credit  with  his  successor." 1 

Opposition  had  long  been  calling  for  a  Government  for  Canada, 
and  at  last  Ministers  brought  in  the  Quebec  Bill.2  This  Bill 
excited  more  uneasiness  and  opposition  than  any  of  the  Bills  for 
punishing  the  old  Colonies.  The  line  taken  by  Ministers  in 
defending  it  was  very  curious — they  seemed  to  be  using  the 
language  of  Opposition  when  they  said  that  they  had  not  given 
Canada  an  Assembly  because  "  it  was  thought  very  unequal,  even 

1  Letter  to  Lord  North,  of  May  4.  2  May  26. 


THE  PUNITIVE  BILLS  317 

cruel,"  that  an   Assembly,  chosen   by  the   small  body  of  English 
settlers,  should  govern  so  large  a  one   as  the  French;   and  that 
it  was  thought   "more   humane"  to  leave  them  their  old  French 
laws,  "  which  they  understood."     Opposition  insisted  on  an  enquiry, 
and  witnesses  were  examined  at  the  Bar.    The  evidence  given  was 
very  interesting.     General  Carleton  said  the  Canadians  would  rather 
be  without  an  Assembly,  seeing  the  troubles  that  came  of  them ; 
and  when  they  found  an  Assembly,  if  they  had  one,  would  be  chosen 
from  the  old  British  subjects  only,  "they  expressed  horror  at  the 
idea  of  one."    There  were   but   360   Protestants  in  Canada,  and 
most  of  them  not  even  men  of  substance,  but  traders  and  "  reduced 
soldiers" — most  of  them  "by  no  means   proper  for  an  assembly 
to  be  chosen  from  them."     There  were  150,000  French,  all  Roman 
Catholics.     He  said   Canada  had   prospered,  and   the  population 
had  increased,  since   the   conquest,    but   this   was  owing  "to  the 
change  from  a  state  of  war  to  one  of  peace."     The  former  Govern- 
ment was    "extremely  military,"   always   undertaking   military   ex- 
peditions at  a  distance,  whereby  great  numbers  of  men  were  lost, 
and  taken  from  the  culture  of  the  earth.     He  did  not  think  the 
change  of  laws,  or   the   free   export   of  corn,  had   produced   this 
prosperity,  for  "  there  must  be  the  people  before  there  can  be  the 
cultivation."     Mazeres,  late  Attorney-General,  said   the   Canadians 
would  be  contented  with  any  government  given  them,  "provided 
it  be  well  administered."     But  he  was  of  opinion  that  more  freedom 
might  have  been  granted.     The  examination  took  a  startling  turn, 
when  Dunning  asked  whether,  since  the  French   code  was  to  be 
in  force,  a   Governor   could   imprison   the   King's  subjects  under 
lettres  de  cachet.     Finally,  Mazeres  said  he  thought  he  could,  unless 
Habeas  Corpus  were  made  to  be  in  force — a  clause  to  that  effect 
had  better  be  inserted.     One  French  Canadian  gentleman  said  his 
people  would  like  an  Assembly,  but  could  not  afford  to  pay  for  it. 
They  would  certainly  like  a  freer  government. 

But  while  Opposition  denounced  the  Bill  as  tyrannical  and 
despotic,  they  denounced  it  still  more  fiercely  as  "establishing 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion."  They  said  the  capitulation  had 
only  promised  a  bare  toleration — the  Bill  went  farther.  It  granted 
the  Romish  clergy  a  legal  right  to  tithes  from  the  Catholics ;  while 
the  Protestant  clergy  were  left  at  the  King's  discretion.  At  least, 
both  should  have  been  provided  for.  For  all  this,  several  amend- 
ments were  carried,  which  gave  still  more  religious  liberty — in 
particular,  a  simple  Oath  of  Allegiance  was  substituted  for  the 
Oath  of  Supremacy.  This  would  enable  Catholics  to  be  on  the 
Council.     It  is  distressing  to  be  obliged  to   relate   that  Chatham 


318  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

violently  opposed  this.     He  called  it  making  the  Catholic  religion 
the  established  religion  of  that  vast  continent.     We  might  as  well, 
he  said,  take  down   our   bells   and  pull  down  our  steeples.     The 
whole   series    of    supremacy   laws,    from    Henry   vin   downwards, 
constituted  a  clear  compact  that  all  establishments  by  law  are  to 
be   Protestant.     Lyttleton's    reply   to    this   speech   was   more   en- 
lightened than  that  of  the  great  statesman.     He  said  that  far  from 
thinking  no  true  Protestant  could  agree  to  the  change  in  the  Oath, 
he  thought  no  true  Protestant  could  refuse  to  concur.     To  oblige 
Catholics  to  deny  the  Pope's   supremacy  was  to  compel  them  to 
abjure  their  religion.     "Opposition  always  grew  and  strengthened 
under  the   scythe   of  persecution,    and   fanaticism  was   never  for- 
midable till  it  was  oppressed."     As  for  pulling  down  our  steeples, 
even  if  that  happened  the  evil  would  not   be  great,  for  Christian 
men  could  meet  in  the   faith   of  Christ   and  in  Christian  charity 
without   these   things,    which   to   the   truly   devout   were   of  little 
importance — the  mere  externals  of  religion.     It  was  our  policy  to 
give  the  Canadians  more  freedom  than  France  had  done.     Chatham 
had  said  he  feared  this  political  separation  of  Canada  from  America 
might  divide  their  interests,  and  French  Canada  be  used  to  quell 
British   America.     Lyttleton    said   he    did   not   fear   this ;    but   if 
America  resisted   the   lawful   power   of  Great   Britain,  he  saw  no 
reason  why  the  loyal  Canadians  should  not  help  to  subdue  them. 

In  these  words  we  probably  see  the  inner  meaning  of  the 
political  portion  of  the  Bill.  The  great  merit  of  it  was  that  it 
really  did  secure  to  French  Canadians  a  religious  liberty  worth 
the  name.  And  well  for  us  was  it  that  it  did  so.  If  even  a 
shadow  of  the  disabilities  suffered  in  England  (not  to  speak  of 
Ireland)  by  Catholics,  had  been  inflicted  in  Canada,  the  probability 
is  that  when  we  lost  America  we  should  have  lost  Canada  too. 
France  would  have  recovered  a  province  whose  inhabitants  saw 
their  religion  only  "barely  tolerated,"  and  every  career  barred  by 
an  Oath  their  consciences  would  not  allow  them  to  take. 

Hutchinson  landed  at  Dover  on  the  29th  of  June,  and 
on  the  1  st  of  July  Lord  Dartmouth  brought  him  to  the  King. 
He  convinced  his  Majesty  that  "  they  will  soon  submit " ;  and  that 
"  the  Boston  Port  Bill  was  the  only  wise  and  effectual  method  that 
could  have  been  suggested  for  bringing  them  to  a  speedy  sub- 
mission, and  that  the  change  in  the  legislature  will  be  a  means 
of  establishing  some  government  in  that  province,  which  till  now 
has  been  one  of  anarchy."  The  people  of  Boston  seemed  much 
dispirited  the  day  he  sailed;  Boston  would  be  abandoned  to  her 
fate,  and  Rhode  Island  sneered  at  the  Covenant. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 
THE  BOSTON  PORT  BILL 

"  Let  this  Bill  produce  a  conviction  to  all  America,  that  we  are  in  earnest  .  .  . 
if  they  are  obstinate,  the  measure  will  be  severe  ;  if  not,  mild. — I  believe  that 
Boston  will  not  immediately  submit  to  a  fine,  nor  to  the  intention  of  the  present 
Bill,  unless  it  comes  attended  with  a  mark  of  resolution  and  firmness  that  we 
mean  to  punish  them,  and  assert  our  right." — Lord  North,  March  23,  IJ74- 

"The  town  of  Boston  ought  to  be  knocked  about  their  ears,  and  destroyed. 
1  Delenda  est  Carthago.' " — Mr.  Van  on  the  Port  Bill. 

"Three  thousand  miles  of  ocean  lie  between  you  and  them.  No  contrivance 
can  prevent  the  effect  of  this  distance  in  weakening  government.  .  .  .  Nothing 
worse  happens  to  you,  than  does  to  all  nations,  who  have  extensive  empire.  .  .  . 
Nature  has  said  it.  The  Turk  cannot  govern  Egypt,  and  Arabia,  and  Curdistan, 
as  he  governs  Thrace.  .  .  .  Despotism  itself  is  obliged  to  trick  and  huckster. 
The  Sultan  gets  as  much  obedience  as  he  can.  He  governs  with  a  loose  rein 
that  he  may  govern  at  all.  .  .  .  This  is  the  immutable  condition,  the  eternal  law, 
of  extensive  and  detached  empire." — Burke  on  the  Motion  for  Conciliation , 
March  22,  1774. 

Boston  had  been  chosen  as  the  place  where  to  "  try  the  question." 
At  the  other  American  ports,  when  it  was  found  that  the  tea  could 
not  be  landed,  captains  were  allowed  to  return  without  breaking 
bulk.  Only  at  Boston  were  the  people  given  no  other  choice 
but  to  let  the  tea  come  into  the  town  or  to  destroy  it. 

This  time,  however,  Hutchinson  was  cowed,  and  over  and  over 
again  we  find  him  mentioning  that  he  thinks  it  advisable  to  take 
up  his  lodging  in  the  Castle.  He  did  so,  immediately  after  the 
"  tea-party " ;  when,  on  summoning  the  Council,  he  could  not  get 
a  quorum.  When  he  did  get  one — at  Cambridge — a  member 
bluntly  told  him  the  people  had  taken  the  government  into  their 
own  hands,  and  any  attempt  to  restrain  them  would  only  enrage 
them,  and  render  them  more  desperate.  A  proclamation,  with 
a  reward  for  discovery,  would  be  laughed  at,  and  even  if  any 
individual  were  charged  the  Grand  Jury  would  probably  not  find 
a  true  bill. 

The  Assembly  was  not  to  meet  for  five  weeks.  Before  that 
another  vessel  arrived  with  tea ;  but  her  owners  were  "  friends  to 

319 


320  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Liberty,"  and  connived  at  the  Mohawks  reappearing  and  despatch- 
ing the  cargo  as  before.1  At  New  York,  the  tea  on  board  Captain 
Chambers'  ship  was  served  the  same. 

So  great  were  Hutchinson's  fears,  that  when  the  Assembly  met 
he  took  no  notice  of  what  had  happened,  wishing  "to  avoid  an 
undesirable  answer."  He  "mentioned  such  things  only  as  were 
least  likely  to  give  room  for  any  harsh  or  unkind  return."  He 
had  been  a  long  time  learning  this  wisdom,  and,  like  most  of  our 
experience,  it  came  too  late. 

Hutchinson  felt  his  position  to  be  intolerable.  It  is  impossible 
not  to  pity  this  man,  who  was  intended  by  nature  for  a  sober  and 
respectable  man  of  business,  but  who  had  miserably  allowed  himself 
to  become  the  tool  of  oppression.  From  having  been  trusted 
and  honoured,  he  was  become  hated  and  despised.  He  had 
shown  himself  obstinate,  and  yet  weak.  He  was  now  genuinely 
alarmed.  He  believed  that  an  armed  rebellion  was  on  the  point 
of  breaking  out — many  were  forming  themselves  into  military 
companies,  and  drilling,  under  the  orders  of  officers  of  their  own 
choosing.  With  despair  he  saw  that  the  British  Government  would 
not  resort  to  that  "sharp  external  force"  which  he  had  so  long 
been  warning  them  was  the  only  way  of  obtaining  submission. 
The  news  of  the  dismissal  of  Dr.  Franklin  and  Mr.  Temple  had 
only  increased  the  anger  excited  by  the  Letters,  and  the  Letters 
themselves  caused  Hutchinson  to  be  openly  denounced  as  a 
traitor,  and  compared  with  the  worst  of  former  Governors,  who, 
like  him,  had  tried  to  sacrifice  Colonial  to  British  interests.  He 
had  already  begged  for  an  order  to  go  to  England,  had  received 
it,  and  was  taking  his  passage,  when  the  death  of  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,2  on  March  3,  compelled  him  to  defer  his  departure  till 
a  new  Lieutenant-Governor  could  be  appointed  from  England. 

The  Assembly  was  impeaching  Chief  Justice  Peter  Oliver  of  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanours,  for  receiving  his  salary  from  the  Crown. 
That  year  the  5  th  of  March  was  commemorated  with  more  en- 
thusiasm than  ever.  The  speeches  were  bolder,  and  "derisive 
transparencies  "  of  the  Governor  and  Chief  Justice  were  exhibited 
from  windows  in  King  Street.  As  the  Assembly  persisted  in  the 
impeachment  of  Oliver,  Hutchinson  refused  to  pass  its  grants,  and 
dissolved  on  March  31. 

The  affair  of  the  Letters,  and  the  treatment  of  Franklin,  were 

1  "The  brig  Fortune,  Capt.  Gorham,  from  London,  having  on  board 28  chests 
and  a  half  of  the  East  India  Company's  tea." — Gentleman's  Magazine,  p.  284. 

2  Andrew  Oliver.  It  was  asserted  that  his  death  was  hastened  by  the  attacks 
upon  him.     He  was  no  relation  of  the  Chief  Justice. 


THE  BOSTON  PORT  BILL  321 

highly  resented  in  the  sober  city  of  Philadelphia.  "The  effigies  of 
Alexander  Wedderburn,  Esq.,  charged  with  traducing  the  American 
colonies,  and  insulting  their  Agent  before  his  Majesty's  Privy 
Council,  for  doing  his  duty ; "  and  of  "  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Esq., 
Governor  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  convicted  of  an  attempt  to  incense 
Great  Britain  against  her  colonies,"  were  put  on  a  cart,  and  taken 
through  the  streets,  with  a  label  on  the  breast  of  each,  "  couched  in 
very  rancorous  and  scurrilous  verses  " ;  and  were  hanged  and  burnt 
in  the  evening,  amidst  the  acclamations  of  a  vast  concourse  of 
people. 

Things  were  in  this  temper,  when  news  came  that  the  British 
Parliament  had  passed  a  Bill  to  take  away  the  port  of  Boston. 

The  first  copy  of  the  Bill  was  brought  to  America  by  Captain 
Cooper,  on  May  15.  His  ship  left  the  Downs  on  April  10.  The 
Bill  was  immediately  printed  "  on  mourning  paper,  with  a  black 
border,"  and  was  cried  in  the  streets  of  New  York  and  Boston,  as 

"Barbarous,  Cruel,  Bloody  and  Inhuman  Murder!" 

It  was  not  Massachusetts,  but  New  York,  that  first  proposed  a 
General  Congress  of  delegates  from  all  the  Colonies,  to  agree 
about  Non-importation,  till  the  Boston  Bill  should  be  repealed. 
The  day  after  this  copy  arrived,  the  old  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence convoked  the  inhabitants.  The  Tory  element  in  New 
York,  and  especially  the  influence  of  the  De  Lancys,  was  strong 
enough  to  get  a  new  Committee  of  fifty  appointed — a  very  mixed 
body,  including  Tories  and  wavering  Whigs,  but  also  some  of  the 
most  zealous  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty.  The  majority  was  strongly 
Loyalist,  and  the  deliberations  of  the  Committee  were  principally 
directed  to  bringing  about  a  reconciliation  with  Great  Britain,  on 
terms  which  should  restore  "  the  just  freedom  "  of  America. 

Gage  arrived  on  the  19th  of  May.1  He  brought  with  him  the 
four  regiments  which  he  had  said  would  be  enough.  He  was 
received  "as  Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  with  all  possible 
honours  and  respect."  It  might  have  been  added,  "and  as  Vice- 
Admiral,"  for  he  united  that  command  to  the  others.  Both  Houses 
were  there  (the  Council  is  always  spoken  of  as  the  Second  House), 
and  seven  companies  of  provincial  troops.  Gage  especially  remarked 
the  military  appearance  of  the  "  Boston  Grenadiers,"  and  of  their 
Colonel,  Knox  the  bookseller.  Perhaps  he  thought  of  poor 
Braddock's  last  words :  "  We  shall  know  how  to  deal  with  them 
better  next  time." 

His  troubles  began  at  once.  Next  day,  there  was  a  meeting  at 
Faneuil  Hall,  to  consider  the  Port  Bill.     It  was  resolved,  nem.  con., 

1  Ann.  Reg.  Chronicle,  1774. 
VOL.  I. —  2  1 


322  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

that  if  the  Colonies  come  to  a  joint  resolution  to  stop  all  importation 
and  exportation  to  Great  Britain,  and  every  part  of  the  West  Indies, 
till  the  Act  for  blocking  up  this  harbour  be  repealed,  North  America 
and  her  liberties  will  be  saved ;  but  if  not,  there  is  high  reason  to 
fear  that  fraud,  power,  and  the  most  odious  oppression  will  rise 
triumphant  over  right.  This  vote  to  be  sent  to  all  our  sister 
colonies. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  1774,  General  Gage,  last  royal  Governor 
but  one  of  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  opened  the  last 
Assembly  that  was  ever  to  sit  under  British  rule.  He  informed 
it,  that  after  the  1st  of  June,  it  must  remove  to  Salem. 

The  Port  Bill  was  to  come  into  operation  on  the  1st  of  June. 
On  that  day,  Governor  Hutchinson  sailed  for  England.  He  had  been 
addressed  by  124  "merchants  and  principal  gentlemen  of  Boston, 
the  episcopal  clergy,  the  Magistrates  of  Middlesex  County,  and  the 
chief  gentlemen  of  Salem  and  Marblehead."  That  morning,  he 
walked  from  his  house  at  Milton  along  the  road  to  Boston,  bidding 
adieu  to  his  neighbours,  and  shaking  hands  with  them.  Near 
Dorchester  Neck,  he  got  into  his  coach,  which  had  followed  him, 
and  drove  to  the  Point,  where  a  boat  waited  to  take  him  on  board 
the  Minerva.  With  him  went  his  son  Elisha.  Governor  Bernard 
had  heard  the  bells  of  Boston  ringing  for  joy  at  his  departure. 
Hutchinson  heard  them  ringing  too — but  a  muffled  peal.  The 
newspapers  had  come  out  again  with  mourning  borders.  At  noon, 
the  doors  of  the  Custom  House  were  shut  to  the  tolling  of  the  Old 
South  Bell. 

Henceforth,  no  ship  may  come  in,  no  sail  may  be  unfurled,  no 
ferryman  may  carry  a  passenger,  or  a  pound  of  sugar,  across  to 
Charlestown,  no  lighter  may  land  hay  from  the  islands,  no  boat  may 
bring  sand  from  the  hills  on  the  mainland ;  a  scow  may  not  take  in 
iron  or  timber,  nor  a  float  land  sheep,  nor  a  farmer  bring  over  his 
produce,  nor  a  boat  ply  between  pier  and  pier.  All  business  is 
transferred  to  Salem,  17  miles  off.  Lord  North  has  said  he  will 
set  Boston  1 7  miles  from  the  sea. 

In  Williamsburg,  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia  had 
appointed  that  day  as  a  Solemn  Fast,  to  implore  Divine  Interposition 
for  averting  the  threatened  destruction  of  civil  rights  and  the  evils 
of  civil  war,  and  to  give  the  people  one  heart  and  one  mind  to 
resist  firmly.  Lord  Dunmore  promptly  dissolved  them.  At  Phila- 
delphia, all  business  was  suspended,  nine-tenths  of  the  citizens  (but 
not  the  Quakers,  though  they  were  sorry  for  Boston)  shut  up  their 
houses,  and  the  bells  rang  muffled  all  day.  At  Harvard,  the 
day  was  observed  as  a  day  of  mourning — the  town  hall  was  hung 


THE  BOSTON  PORT  BILL  323 

with  black,  the  shops  were  shut.  Less  devout  towns  called  general 
meetings. 

It  appears  from  Gage's  letter  to  Dartmouth  of  July  5,  that  at  a 
town-meeting  in  Boston,  "  the  better  sort  of  people  tried  to  make  a 
push  to  pay  for  the  tea,"  and  "  annihilate  the  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence." But  they  were  outvoted,  and  instead  the  "Solemn 
League  and  Covenant "  was  issued,  pledging  the  town  to  non-im- 
portation. Gage  had  his  agents — not  to  be  called  spies,  but  officers 
in  the  royal  service.  Among  them  was  Daniel  Leonard,  who  had 
been  elected  to  the  Assembly  for  his  professions  of  patriotism,  and 
his  engaging  manners.  He  was  on  the  Committee  of  Nine  (on  the 
State  of  the  Province).  The  Committee,  however,  were  not  quite 
sure  of  Leonard,  and  he  heard  nothing  but  vague  proposals  for  con- 
ciliation, until  he  believed,  and  made  Gage  believe  for  a  time,  that 
the  Assembly  would  vote  an  indemnity  to  the  East  India  Company, 
as  soon  as  more  troops  arrived.  The  Assembly,  removed  to  Salem, 
with  all  other  public  offices,  was  protesting  against  its  removal.  In 
replying  to  Gage's  Speech,  the  Council  expressed  the  hope  that  his 
administration  would  be  "a  happy  contrast"  to  that  of  his  pre- 
decessors. Gage  refused  to  receive  the  Address — those  predecessors 
had  been  approved  by  the  King,  a  reflection  on  them  was  an  insult 
to  the  King  and  an  affront  to  himself. 

By  June  1 7,  he  had  given  up  hope  of  an  indemnity,  and  had  deter- 
mined to  dissolve  before  the  Assembly  could  fix  time  and  place  for  the 
General  Congress.  The  Assembly  was  aware  of  his  intention.  So  full  a 
House  had  never  been  known.  One  hundredand  twenty-nine  members 
were  present  that  morning.  Samuel  Adams  had  the  door  locked,  and 
put  the  key  in  his  pocket.  Then  the  House  began  to  pass  resolutions 
as  fast  as  it  could — first,  for  renouncing  the  consumption  of  East 
India  teas,  and  as  far  as  possible  of  all  goods  exported  from  Britain 
or  the  West  Indies,  till  our  public  grievances  are  redressed.  Next, 
Adams  proposed  the  First  of  September  for  the  Congress,  the  place 
to  be  Philadelphia — well  out  of  reach  of  the  troops.  Just  then,  the 
Governor's  Secretary  knocked  at  the  door,  with  a  Message  from  the 
Governor.  The  House,  guessing  the  import  of  the  Message,  sent 
word  it  had  ordered  the  door  to  be  locked — it  was  discussing 
moderate  and  conciliatory  measures.  So  the  Secretary  had  to  read 
his  Proclamation  and  dissolve  the  Assembly  outside  the  door,  in  the 
ears  of  the  crowd  on  the  stairs.  It  was  perhaps  the  shortest  Pro- 
clamation ever  made — it  had  been  drawn  up  in  haste  to  dissolve 
before  the  House  could  pass  its  resolutions.  Thus  ended  the  last 
sitting  of  the  last  Assembly  under  the  Charter. 

That  same  day,  a  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall  (John  Adams  presid- 


324  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

ing)  voted,  with  but  one  dissentient,  that  the  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence write  forthwith  to  all  the  other  colonies,  to  tell  them  "  we 
are  not  idle,"  and  are  anxiously  waiting  for  the  Continental  Congress. 
A  town-meeting  at  Salem  sent  word  to  Gage  that  "  Nature  herself 
forbade  Salem  becoming  the  rival  of  that  convenient  port,  Boston." 

Assisted  by  Hutchinson's  "Addressers,"  Gage  now  made  a  great 
effort  to  get  up  a  meeting  for  paying  for  the  tea.  On  the  27th 
of  June,  so  great  a  throng  assembled  at  Faneuil  Hall,  that  it 
was  necessary  to  adjourn  to  the  Old  South.  There  the  friends  of 
Government  moved  a  vote  of  censure  on  the  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence. Samuel  Adams  left  the  chair,  as  his  conduct  was  being 
called  in  question,  and  faced  his  opponents  from  the  floor.  But  at 
the  adjourned  meeting  next  day,  the  censure  was  rejected  by  a  great 
majority,  and  the  "  Solemn  League  and  Covenant "  to  suspend  all 
commercial  relations  with  Great  Britain  till  the  Acts  should  be 
repealed,  was  adopted.  Gage  answered  by  a  Proclamation  ordering 
the  arrest  of  any  person  who  offered  this  document  for  signature. 

Admiral  Graves1  now  arrived  in  a  ship -of- war;  but  the 
larger  the  forces  collected  in  Boston,  the  worse  grew  the 
situation  all  over  the  continent.  From  Massachusetts  to  South 
Carolina,  the  Colonies  were  calling  meetings  to  protest  against  the 
Port  Bill,  to  enter  into  non-importation  agreements,  and  to  choose 
delegates  to  the  General  Congress.  And  as  soon  as  Boston's  plight 
was  known,  substantial  marks  of  sympathy  began  to  arrive — South 
Carolina  sent  rice,  North  Carolina  collected  ^2000,  Windham  in 
Connecticut  sent  258  sheep,  "a  gentleman  of  Norwich "  drove  in 
291  more,  and  Major  Israel  Putnam  130 — a  gift  from  Brooklyn 
parish;  the  French  and  English  inhabitants  of  Quebec  sent  1040 
bushels  of  wheat ;  Colonel  Washington  of  Mount  Vernon  headed  the 
subscription  list  of  Virginia  with  ^50.  Philadelphia  voted  ^200. 
The  backwoodsmen  of  Augusta  County  sent  1 30  barrels  of  flour  for 
the  poor  of  Boston.  From  every  town  and  village  of  New  England 
stores  and  money  came  pouring  in.  Even  New  York,  the  centre 
of  British  patronage,  had  destroyed  her  tea.  And  at  Newport 
in  Rhode  Island  a  paper  was  being  distributed,  headed,  "Join  or 
Die  ! " 

Gage  issued  proclamation  on  proclamation,  until  he  got  down 
to  the  venerable  Proclamation  for  the  encouragement  of  piety  and 
virtue,  and  the  preventing  of  wickedness  and  vice. 

Hitherto,  he  had  only  had  to  contend  with  the  opposition  to  the 
Port  Bill.     On  the  6th  of  August,  he  received  the  official  copy  of 

1  This  was  Samuel  Graves,  not  the  Admiral  who  played  so  considerable  a  part 
in  the  War. 


THE  BOSTON  PORT  BILL  325 

the  Act  for  Regulating  the  Government  of  Massachusetts,  and  his 
real  troubles  began.  The  Act  in  effect  abrogated  the  Charter.  The 
whole  power  of  appointment — even  of  legal  officers — was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  Governor.  He  began  at  once  to  put  it  in  force. 
He  chose  his  new  Council,  "agreeable  to  the  late  Act."  Thomas 
Oliver  was  sworn-in  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  the  Selectmen  of 
Salem  were  summoned  before  Gage,  and  warned  that  he  meant  to 
enforce  the  new  laws.  They  talked  about  the  old  laws  of  the 
province.  He  arrested  six  of  them,  and  three  were  sent  to  gaol, 
but  when  they  arrived,  the  "  keeper  "  refused  to  admit  them  !  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  only  arrest  Gage  ever  ventured  to  make. 
He  dared  not  touch  Hancock,  but  he  revoked  his  commission  as 
Colonel  of  the  Governor's  Company  of  Cadets — whereupon,  the 
Cadets  disbanded  themselves,  and  sent  back  the  King's  standard  to 
the  Governor. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  there  was  almost  an  insurrection. 
It  was  Assize-day  at  Worcester.  Two  thousand  men  marched 
thither  in  companies.  The  jurors  refused  to  serve;  the  clerks  of 
the  Court  expressed  their  repentance  for  having  summoned  them 
under  the  new  Acts — they  did  not  consider  what  they  were  about. 
If  the  people  will  forgive  them,  they  will  do  so  no  more,  "  let  the 
consequence  be  what  it  will."  They  published  these  abject  apologies 
in  the  papers.  Next,  the  insurgents  turned  their  attention  to  the 
"  mandamus  " 1  Councillors.  They  forced  Timothy  Paine  to  stand 
with  his  hat  off  and  read  his  resignation.  Some  fled,  all  resigned. 
Of  the  thirty-six  new  Councillors,  only  about  thirteen  had  taken 
the  oaths.  Next  Lord's  Day,  when  George  Watson,  a  heretofore 
respected  townsman  of  Plymouth,  took  his  seat  at  meeting,  attired 
as  usual  in  his  scarlet  Sabbath  cloak,  his  friends  and  neighbours  got 
up,  put  on  their  hats,  and  walked  out — George  hanging  his  head 
as  they  passed  his  pew,  that  he  might  not  look  them  in  the  face.  It 
was  more  than  he  could  bear — he  resigned. 

The  same  26th  of  August,  another  body  marched  to  Springfield 
early  in  the  morning,  with  drums  and  trumpets,  and  set  up  a  black 
flag  on  the  Court  House,  threatening  death  to  any  who  entered. 
The  Judges  signed  a  promise  not  to  exercise  their  commissions. 
It  was  impossible  to  execute  the  Acts. 

The  29th  was  Assize-day  at  Boston.  Gage  came  in  to  support 
Chief  Justice  Oliver.  The  Judges  took  their  seats,  but  the  jurors 
refused  to  serve,  and  one  of  them  reminded  the  Court  that  the 
Chief  Justice  still  stood  impeached  by  the  late  Representatives  of 

1  So  called  because  summoned  by  mandamus  from  the  Governor,  instead  of 
being  elected,  as  formerly,  by  a  Committee  of  the  out-going  Council. 


326  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  province.  The  jurors  said  further,  that  the  Charter  had  been 
changed  with  no  warrant  but  that  of  Act  of  Parliament.  The 
Judges  waited  on  the  Governor,  and  told  him  they  could  not  exercise 
their  functions  either  in  Boston  or  out  of  it — the  army  was  too  small 
for  their  protection,  even  if  they  could  find  any  jurors.  Thus  the 
grand  scheme  for  reducing  Massachusetts  to  obedience  by  changing 
her  government  was  dead  before  it  was  born.  Gage  was  even 
obliged  to  remove  himself  and  the  remains  of  his  Council  to  Boston 
(in  violation  of  the  Port  Bill),  because  they  dared  not  show  their 
faces  at  Salem. 

Gage  had  already  seized  such  provincial  military  stores  as  he 
could  lay  hands  on,  and  now,  before  sunrise  on  the  ist  of 
September,  he  sent  a  party  up  the  Mystic  River  to  seize  a  large 
store  of  powder  at  Medford.1  What  he  seized  was  in  part  private 
property.  As  soon  as  it  was  known,  several  thousands,  "  mostly  in 
arms,"  assembled  at  Cambridge,  intending  to  march  on  Boston,  but 
were  dissuaded  by  "the  principal  gentlemen  of  the  town."  Dr. 
Warren,  who  crossed  from  Charlestown  to  confer  with  the  Cambridge 
Committee,  found  four  thousand  persons  standing  round  the  steps  of 
the  Court  House,  listening  to  Judge  Danforth  so  quietly  that  the  old 
Judge's  voice  could  be  distinctly  heard.  He  was  assuring  them  that 
he  would  never  act  as  a  member  of  Council.  The  High  Sheriff  also 
promised  not  to  execute  any  precept  under  the  new  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Oliver,  who  fled  to  Boston,  told  Admiral 
Graves  that  this  was  "  not  a  mad  mob,"  and  earnestly  implored 
Gage  not  to  send  out  the  troops,  until  he  had  more  to  send. 

Gage  saw  the  wisdom  of  this  advice.  He  had  long  ceased  to 
think  that  four  regiments  were  enough.  He  now  thought  it  would 
take  "a  very  respectable  force."  He  was  annoying  the  King  by 
writing  for  more  and  more  troops,  and  by  at  last  positively  proposing 
to  suspend  the  Acts — an  idea  which  seemed  to  his  Majesty  "the 
most  absurd  that  can  be  suggested."  2 

Before  this,  Gage  had  written  to  Carleton  at  Quebec  for  Indians. 
Carleton's  commission  empowered  him  to  enlist  "  the  Indian  tribes 
from  the  coast  of  Labrador  to  the  Ohio,  and  march  them  against 
rebels  into  any  one  of  the  plantations  in  America."  But  Carleton 
did  not  like  it.  "You  know,"  he  wrote  back,  "what  sort  of  people 
they  are."  Gage  himself  was  somewhat  ashamed,  but  gave  orders 
to  propitiate  the  Chiefs  by  gifts  and  subsidies.  Meantime,  he  began 
to  fortify  Boston  Neck,  the  only  entrance  to  Boston  by  land.     He 

1  Or  rather,  Quarry  Hill,  between  Medford  and  Cambridge. 

2  The  King  to  Lord  North,  Nov.  19,  1774. 


THE  BOSTON   PORT  BILL  327 

brought  the  cannon  from  the  Castle,  and  posted  the  59th  on  the 
Neck ;  and  when  the  Selectmen  came  to  ask  what  this  meant,  he 
replied  that  he  was  only  preparing  in  case  the  provincials  attacked 
him. 

With  almost  incredible  folly,  he  had  timed  his  attempt  to  seize 
the  powder  with  the  moment  of  the  annual  muster  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Militia.  It  never  disbanded.  Nor  could  Gage  get 
carpenters  to  work  on  his  fortifications — though  there  was  much 
distress,  and  many  unemployed.  In  vain  he  sent  to  New  York  for 
workmen — nobody  cared  to  build  a  fort  to  overawe  his  countrymen. 

This  rally  of  the  Massachusetts  Militia  marks  the  change  from  a 
political  to  a  military  struggle.  Although,  even  then,  a  return  to 
the  policy  "before  1765"  would  have  restored  obedience,  from  this 
time  both  sides  began  to  face  the  probability  of  war.  The  Americans 
looked  forward  with  heavy  hearts — the  Ministerialists  with  some- 
thing like  light  ones.  Long  before  Lexington,  "  a  person  near  the 
top  "  said  to  Hutchinson,  "  the  farther  your  people  go  the  better — 
your  reduction  will  be  the  more  effectual." x 

The  elections  for  a  new  Assembly  were  held  as  usual,  but  when 
the  day  came,  Gage  did  not  meet  the  members ;  so  after  waiting  for 
him  all  day,  they  resolved  themselves  into  a  Provincial  Con- 
gress— explaining  that  they  did  so  for  lack  of  an  Assembly. 
Presently  Gage  wrote  home  to  Dartmouth  that  "  popular  fury  was 
never  greater  than  now  in  Massachusetts  Bay." 

Lest  it  should  be  thought  that  "  popular  fury "  was  confined  to 
Massachusetts,  an  extraordinary  affair  may  be  mentioned,  at  Anna- 
polis, the  capital  of  Maryland.  The  brig  Peggy  Stewart  arrived 
there  in  the  middle  of  October,  with  2320  pounds  of  tea,  on  which 
the  owner  at  once  paid  duty.  There  was  great  indignation ;  a  com- 
mittee kept  watch  to  prevent  the  tea  being  landed,  the  public 
meetings  were  crowded  with  people  from  the  country,  and  at  last 
the  two  importers  and  the  owner  of  the  brig  jointly  expressed  con- 
trition, and  offered  to  burn  "the  detestable  article."  This  not 
satisfying  the  crowd,  the  owner  —  after  consulting  with  Charles 
Carroll — actually  offered  to  burn  his  brig  too  !  The  crowd  accepted 
the  offer ;  the  three  offenders  went  on  board  "  with  hats  off,"  and 
lighted  torches  in  their  hands,  and  set  fire  to  their  own  property,  and 
so  the  tea  and  the  Peggy  Stewart  were  consumed  in  one  holocaust. 
Such  a  story  must  dispose  of  the  stock  explanations  of  "designing 
demagogues,"  "agitators,"  few  in  number,  yet  able  to  inflame  a 
whole  people,  otherwise  quite  contented.  If  the  movement  against 
the  tea  duty  had  not  been  very  genuine,  not  all  the  agitators  the 

1  Diary. 


328  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

world  ever  saw  could  have  prevented  a  reaction  after  such  a  scene 
as  this.  The  main  body  of  the  people  must  have  been  convinced 
that  their  interests  were  at  stake,  and  that  the  tea  duty  was  part  of  a 
vital  question,  affecting  the  future  of  the  whole  continent  of  North 
America — the  question  whether  that  continent  was  to  be  farmed  out 
in  the  interests  of  an  island  three  thousand  miles  away,  or  was  to 
develop  on  natural  lines,  untrammelled  by  unnatural  restraints  on 
her  manufactures  and  commerce. 


CHAPTER   XL 
THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  come  to  severe  measures,  but  we  must  not  retreat.  ...  I 
have  no  objection  afterwards  to  their  seeing  that  there  is  no  inclination  for  the 
present  to  lay  fresh  taxes  on  them,  but  I  am  clear  there  must  always  be  one  tax 
to  keep  up  the  right,  and  as  such  I  approve  of  the  Tea  Duty." — The  King  to  Lord 
North,  Kew,  Sept.  n,  1774. 

"Resolved,  nem.  con.,  2.  That  our  ancestors  were  at  the  time  of  their 
emigration  .  .  .  entitled  to  all  the  rights,  liberties,  and  immunities,  of  free  and 
natural  born  subjects  within  the  realm  of  England. 

"  Resolved,  nem.  con.,  3.  That  by  such  emigration  they  neither  forfeited,  sur- 
rendered, nor  lost,  any  of  those  rights. 

"  Resolved,  4.  That  the  foundation  of  English  liberty,  and  of  all  free  govern- 
ment, is  a  right  in  the  people  to  participate  in  their  legislative  council." — 
Resolutions  of  the  American  Congress,   1774. 

"  At  the  conclusion  of  the  late  war  ...  a  plan  for  enslaving  your  fellow- 
subjects  in  America  was  concerted.  .  .  .  Prior  to  this  .  .  .  you  restrained  our 
trade  in  every  way  that  could  conduce  to  your  emolument  ...  we  nevertheless  did 
not  complain.  .  .  .  We  believe  there  is  yet  much  virtue,  much  justice,  and  much 
public  spirit  in  the  English  nation, — to  that  justice  we  now  appeal.  .  .  .  Place 
us  in  the  same  situation  that  we  were  in  at  the  close  of  the  last  war,  and  our 
former  harmony  will  be  restored." — Memorial  to  the  British  People,  Oct.  25, 
1774. 

The  First  Continental  Congress  met  at  Philadelphia,  in 
Carpenters'  Hall,  on  the  5th  of  September,  1774.  The  first  Presi- 
dent of  Congress  was  Peyton  Randolph,  of  the  old  historic  Randolphs 
of  Virginia,  who  boasted  that  in  their  veins  flowed  the  blood  of 
Pocahontas.  Twelve  out  of  the  thirteen  provinces  were  represented 
— Georgia  alone  hung  back.1 

They  began  by  a  sort  of  Declaration  of  Rights  : — 

"  The  inhabitants  of  the  English  colonies  in  North  America,  by 

1  They  are  officially  described  as  "  The  good  people  of  the  several  colonies  of 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations, 
Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Newcastle,  Kent,  and 
Sussex  on  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina, 
alarmed  at  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  British  Parliament  and  administration, 
having  severally  elected  deputies  to  meet  and  sit  in  general  congress  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  etc." — Proceedings  of  the  American  Congress. 


330  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  immutable  laws  of  nature,  the  principles  of  the  English  constitu- 
tion, and  the  several  charters  or  compacts,"  are  entitled  to  all  the 
rights  possessed  by  their  ancestors,  as  English  subjects  —  rights 
never  ceded  nor  forfeited — and  "are  entitled  to  a  free  and  exclusive 
power  of  legislation,  in  their  several  provincial  legislatures,  where 
their  right  to  representation  can  alone  be  preserved,  in  all  cases  of 
taxation  and  internal  policy,  subject  only  to  the  negative  of  their 
sovereign  in  such  manner  as  has  been  heretofore  used  and  accus- 
tomed." 

There  was  much  discussion  as  to  whether  they  should 
admit  the  principle  of  the  Navigation  Acts ;  Virginia  had  never 
meant  to  accept  them.  Duane  of  New  York  now  proposed  it,  and 
at  last  John  Adams  was  persuaded  to  acquiesce ;  and  so  it  was 
resolved  that  they  "cheerfully  consent  to  the  operation  of  such 
acts  of  the  British  parliament  as  are,  bona  fide,  restrained  to 
the  regulation  of  our  external  commerce,  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  the  commercial  advantages  of  the  whole  empire  to  the 
mother  country,  and  the  commercial  benefits  of  its  respective 
members;  excluding  every  idea  of  taxation,  internal  or  external, 
for  raising  a  revenue  on  the  subjects  in  America,  without  their 
consent." 

There  was  much  more  in  the  same  strain — of  the  right  to  be 
tried  by  their  peers,  according  to  the  Common  Law  of  England ; 
the  right  to  assemble  peaceably,  to  consider  their  grievances,  and 
to  petition  the  King.  They  also  resolved,  that  a  standing  army, 
kept  in  time  of  peace,  without  the  consent  of  the  colony,  is  against 
law. 

There  were  fifty-five  members  of  Congress — each  province  had 
sent  as  many  as  it  pleased.  The  question  of  population  at  once 
came  up.  Patrick  Henry  said  it  was  unjust  that  a  little  colony 
should  have  an  equal  vote  with  a  large  one.  A  delegate  from  New 
Hampshire  replied  that  the  little  colony,  too,  risked  its  all.  From 
this  discussion  we  obtain  some  idea  of  the  population  of  the  North 
American  Colonies  in  1774.  The  total  was  given  as  about  3,000,000. 
But  this  was  far  from  accurate — the  backwoodsmen  had  never  been 
counted.  The  actual  returns  were,  Whites,  2,100,000;  Blacks, 
500,000. 1 

When  Patrick  Henry  had  said,  in  the  opening  speech,  "  I  am 
not  a  Virginian,  I  am  an  American,"  the  Colonies  began  to  be  an 
organic  whole ;  though  it  was  to  be  many  a  long  year  before  the 

1  Population  of  the  Colonies  in  1774,  as  given  to  Congress  on  this  occasion. 
By  an  account  of  numbers  in  Connecticut  on  Jan.  1,  1774 — in  the  whole  six 
counties,  191,393  whites,  and  6464  blacks. 


THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS    331 

welding  was  complete.  It  was  finally  decided  that  each  colony 
should  have  one  vote,  irrespective  of  size. 

The  next  question  was,  whether  Congress  should  be  opened 
with  prayer.  Some,  like  Washington,  were  Episcopalians,  others 
were  Congregationalists.  Samuel  Adams  said  he  was  a  Congrega- 
tionalism but  "could  hear  a  prayer  from  any  man  of  piety 
and  virtue,  who  was  a  friend  to  his  country."  Dr.  Duche, 
an  Episcopalian,  was  appointed,  and  prayers  were  to  begin 
to-morrow. 

This  day's  proceedings  were  rudely  interrupted — an  express 
came  from  Putnam  to  say  that  Gage  had  made  an  attack  on  the 
people,  that  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  had  risen  in  arms,  and 
that  Boston  was  being  bombarded. 

The  bells  of  Philadelphia  rang  a  muffled  peal.  The  Psalm 
for  the  day  seemed  strangely  appropriate,1  and  the  Chaplain 
was  so  moved  that  he  broke  out  into  a  fervent  extemporary 
prayer,  worthy  of  a  New  England  divine  —  of  Dr.  Cooper 
himself.  It  was  soon  found  that  the  rumours  were  grossly 
exaggerated,  but  the  extreme  gravity  of  the  situation  was  evident 
to  all. 

Congress  voted  that  eleven2  Acts  of  Parliament,  or  parts  of 
Acts,  were  such  violations  of  Colonial  rights,  that  their  repeal  was 
"necessary  to  restore  harmony  between  the  colonies  and  Great 
Britain";  and  resolved  to  import  no  merchandise  from  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  after  December  1,  1774,  nor  export  any 
thither  after  September  10,  1775.  Two  of  the  South  Carolina 
delegates  withdrew  over  this — Carolina  would  be  ruined.  Rice  was 
then  exempted,  and  the  delegates  returned. 

Congress  refused  to  petition  Parliament,  but  drew  up  a  Petition 
to  the  King,  and  an  Address  to  the  People  of  Great  Britain.  They 
knew  that  there  must  soon  be  a  new  Parliament,  and  they  hoped 
by  an  appeal  to  the  Electors  to  secure  one  in  which  other 
counsels  should  prevail.  But  it  was  a  resolution  of  October  8 
which  made  the  King  resolve  to  make  no  concession.  This 
resolution  approved  the  opposition  of  Massachusetts  to  the 
execution  of  the  late  Acts,  and  declared  that  if  force  were  used 
against  her,  "  all  America  ought  to  support  her."  This  was  enough 
for   the   King.     The  faintest   semblance   of  concerted  action  had 

1  Psalm  xxxv.  :  "  Plead  Thou  my  cause,  O  Lord,  with  them  that  strive 
with  me  :  and  fight  against  those  that  fight  against  me." — See  John  Adams' 
letter. 

2  The  Acts  chiefly  complained  of  were,  4  Geo.  in,  15  &  34;  5  Geo.  Ill,  25  ; 
6  Geo.  in,  52  ;  7  Geo.  in,  41  &  46 ;  8  Geo.  in,  22. 


33^  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

always  been  denounced  as  the  sure  sign  of  intended  rebellion — as, 
in  fact,  in  itself  a  kind  of  treason.1 

The  ioth  of  May,  1775,  was  appointed  for  their  next  meeting; 
and  on  October  29,  the  First  Continental  Congress  broke  up. 
The  policy  inaugurated  by  the  Stamp  Act  had  in  eight  years 
brought  twelve  of  the  thirteen  colonies  to  the  verge  of  armed 
rebellion. 

1  One  more  act  of  the  First  Congress  must  be  mentioned.  In  1770,  the 
King  had  forbidden  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  ' '  on  pain  of  his  highest  displea- 
sure," to  assent  to  a  law  just  passed  by  that  Assembly  against  the  slave-trade. 
Congress  now  passed  without  opposition  a  covenant  to  discontinue  that  trade 
wholly,  from  the  1st  of  December  next. 

It  is  to  this  that  Granville  Sharp  refers  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Dartmouth,  Dec. 
4,  1774-  He  says  that  had  the  warning  he  sent  Lord  North  three  years  ago 
concerning  the  African  slave-trade  and  maintenance  of  slavery  been  regarded  he 
believes  the  present  misunderstanding  would  not  have  happened.  Sharp  says 
he  has  carefully  examined  "the  nature  of  the  pretensions  on  this  side  the 
water  and  their  legality,"  and  in  a  short  time  will  lay  before  Dartmouth  "proofs 
in  favour  of  the  much  injured  Americans." — Hist.  MSS.  Comvi.  Report  XIV, 
App.  10,  p.  236.  This  letter  is  explained  by  a  previous  entry  (p.  113)  of  "an 
Order  of  the  Lords  of  the  Committee  of  Council  for  plantation  affairs,"  dated 
Dec.  19,  1772,  referring  to  the  consideration  of  "this  Board  an  Address  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia  to  the  King,  praying  that  the  Gov1",  of  that 
Colony  may  be  permitted  to  assent  to  such  Laws  as  may  check  the  importation  of 
Slaves  from  the  Coast  of  Africa  into  the  said  Colony."  The  Address  was  read 
Jan  25,  1773.  It  appears  to  have  been  dated  about  May  I,  1772.  (The  originals 
of  these  papers  are  in  the  Record  Office,  America  and  W.  Indies,  vol.  210,  fols. 
91  and  95.) 


CHAPTER  XLI 
THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR 

"Lord  North  expressed  himself  in  higher  terms  than  ever  upon  the  news 
from  Boston.  .  .  .  '  I  will  venture  to  tell  you  Parliament  was  dissolved  on  this 
account — that  we  might,  at  the  beginning  of  a  Parliament,  take  such  measures  as 
we  could  depend  upon  a  Parliament  to  prosecute  to  effect. ' " — Hutchinson,  Diary , 
Nov.,  1774. 

"  Our  conduct  has  been  that  of  pert  children  ;  we  have  thrown  a  pebble  at  a 
mastiff,  and  are  surprised  it  was  not  frightened." — Horace  Walpole  to  Conway, 
Dec.  15,  1774. 

"  Nothing  can  be  more  calculated  to  bring  the  Americans  to  a  due  submission 
than  the  very  handsome  majority  that  at  the  outset  hath  appeared  in  both 
Houses  of  Parliament." — George  m  to  Lord  North,  Jan.  23,  1775. 

"  Mauduit  expressed  his  astonishment  and  indignation  at  the  Colony  Agent's 
admission  into  the  House  of  Commons  to  hear  the  debate.  Yesterday  Lord 
Clare  was  so  unguarded,  as,  in  answer  to  the  motion  to  allow  of  flour,  etc.,  to 
say  :  *  We  must  pinch  them  ;  they  must  be  compelled  to  submit  without  delay. 
If  they  are  able  to  hold  out,  we  know  that  we  are  not.  What's  done  must  be 
done  at  once,  or  they  will  finally  conquer.'  Franklin  all  the  while  in  the 
gallery,  staring  with  his  spectacles  ;  and  no  doubt,  before  this  time,  the  relation 
of  this  speech  is  on  its  way  to  America." — Hutchinson,  Diary,  March  9,  1775. 

1 '  Such  governors  as  have  made  themselves  so  odious  that  they  can  no  longer 
remain  with  safety  to  their  persons,  recall,  reward  them  with  pensions.  You 
may  make  baronets  of  them  too.  ...  If  you  are  told  of  discontents  in  your 
Colonies,  never  believe  that  they  are  general,  or  that  you  have  given  occasion 
for  them.  .  .  .  Lastly,  invest  the  general  of  your  army  in  the  provinces  with 
great  and  unconstitutional  powers,  and  free  him  from  the  control  of  your  own 
Civil  Governors." — Franklin,  Rules  for  reducing  a  Great  Empire  to  a  Small  One. 

Since  the  accession  of  George  11,  only  one  Parliament  had  been 

dissolved  before  its  time,  and  that  was  in  1746,  the  year  after  the 

Rebellion.     The  Thirteenth   Parliament   had   still   six   months  of 

life  in  it,  but  it  wras  thought  better  to  dissolve  at  once,  "in  order 

to  remove  all  danger  of  a  departure  from  such  measures  as  may  be 

found  necessary" — in  other  words,  the  new  Parliament  was  to  be 

hurried  into  existence  that  Ministers  might  be  sure  of  a  free  hand 

in  America.     There  was  also  another  reason.     The  Civil  List  was 

bound  to  come  before  Parliament  very  soon — the  King's  butchers, 

bakers,  and  grocers,  his  cooks  and  his  footmen,  were  clamouring 

333 


334  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

for  their  due.  A  Parliament  just  about  to  face  its  constituents 
would  be  afraid  to  be  generous  with  the  public  money.  Better  let 
a  new  Parliament,  with  a  long  life  before  it,  deal  with  the  business, 
and  give  the  country  time  to  forget  it  before  another  Election. 
Another  reason,  perhaps,  was  a  wish  not  to  give  Opposition  too 
much  time  to  prepare.  A  few  constituencies  had  been  getting  up 
a  "  test "  for  candidates  —  pledging  them  to  promote  Bills  for 
shorter  Parliaments,  for  the  exclusion  of  placemen  and  pensioners, 
and  for  more  fair  and  equal  taxation — also  for  repealing  the  last 
American  Bills,  and  the  Quebec  Bill.  The  freeholders  of  Middlesex 
had  offered  this  test  to  Mr.  Wilkes  and  Sergeant  Glynn,  and  they 
had  signed  it. 

There  were  a  few  who  hoped  that  the  premature  dissolution 
indicated  an  intention  to  conciliate  America — the  old  Parliament 
had  swallowed  so  many  of  its  own  measures,  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  ask  it  to  swallow  any  more.  But  the  English  people 
had  been  told  that  Massachusetts  refused  to  pay  a  few  thousand 
pounds  for  property  destroyed  by  a  mob ;  and  refused  to  accept  a 
revision  of  her  Charter,  because  she  was  conspiring  with  other 
colonies  to  become  independent.1  There  was  an  unaccountable 
apathy  among  commercial  men. 

The  traffic  in  seats  was  brisk — though  less  so  than  last  time, 
when  the  East  India  Company  was  the  purchaser.  Candidates 
were  less  afraid  to  spend  upon  their  free  and  independent  electors — 
they  had  had  time  to  study  the  Grenville  Act ;  and  as  it  was  certain 
that  the  Government  would  be  in  want  of  votes,  they  might  reckon 
on  seeing  their  money  back.     But  the  people  gained  two  victories  2 

1  Even  those  merchants  who  are  most  likely  to  be  overwhelmed  by  any  real 
American  confusion,  are  among  the  most  supine.  The  character  of  the  Ministry 
either  produces  or  perfectly  coincides  with  the  disposition  of  the  public. — Burke 
to  Lord  Rockingham,  in  the  autumn  of  1774* 

2  Notwithstanding  the  surprise,  and  shortness  of  the  time,  some  of  the  elec- 
tions were  contested  with  extraordinary  perseverance  and  ardour. — Ann.  Reg., 

1774- 

The  selling  of  seats,  however,  was  still  a  regular  business.  On  Oct.  5,  1774, 
North  desires  Cooper  to  tell  Lord  Falmouth,  "in  as  polite  terms  as  possible," 
that  North  wishes  to  "recommend"  to  three  of  Falmouth's  six  Cornish  seats. 
The  terms,  he  expects,  are  ,£2500  a  seat,  to  which  North  is  ready  to  agree. 
But  the  same  day  North  writes  to  Robinson  that  his  "noble  friend  is  rather 
shabby  in  desiring  guineas  instead  of  pounds,"  but  North  "would  not  let  the 
bargain  go  upon  so  slight  a  difference."  Among  other  interesting  particulars 
we  learn  that  Mr.  Legge  can  only  afford  ^400.  So,  "if  he  comes  in  for 
Lostwithiel,  he  will  cost  the  public  2000  guineas."  Gascoign  shall  have 
the  refusal  of  Tregony,  if  he  will  pay  ^"iooo,  "but  I  do  not  see  why  we 
should  bring  him   in   cheaper   than  any  other  servant  of  the  Crown."      On 


THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR        335 

— Edmund  Burke  was  returned  for  Bristol,  pledged  to  support 
conciliation  with  America,  subject  to  the  preservation  of  British 
supremacy.  And  when  Middlesex  once  more  returned  John 
Wilkes,  the  King  himself  was  too  tired  of  fighting  "  that  devil,"  to 
try  to  keep  him  out  any  longer.  Wilkes  and  Middlesex  were  more 
obstinate  than  King  George  ill.  So  after  a  ten  years'  struggle, 
Wilkes  forced  his  way  back  to  the  House,  and  presently  was 
elected  Lord  Mayor  of  London. 

The  Fourteenth  Parliament  was  opened  by  the  King  in  person, 
on  the  29th  of  November,  1774.1  The  Speech  from  the  Throne 
fitly  ushered  in  its  proceedings — fiercely  denouncing  the  Americans, 
and  passing  over  in  silence  the  Partition  of  Poland.  In  each 
House,  Opposition  made  a  gallant  but  ineffectual  effort  to  prevent 
American  affairs  from  being  dealt  with  until  the  whole  of  the 
papers  were  laid  before  Parliament;  but  their  motion  was  lost  in 
the  Commons  by  264  to  73. 

To  avoid  alarming  the  nation  too  soon,  the  Estimates  were 
made  very  low — 4000  men  less  than  usual  for  the  Navy,  and  the 
Land-tax  kept  at  three  shillings.  Opposition  asked  where  the  men 
for  America  were  to  come  from  ?  Were  they  to  be  taken  from  our 
guard-ships  ?  It  was  significant  that  those  who  were  most  eager  to 
employ  force  against  the  colonists  were  the  most  unconcerned 
about  home  defence.  Burke  compared  the  House  to  a  dead, 
senseless  mass,  which  had  neither  sense,  soul,  nor  activity,  except 
as  derived  from  the  Minister.  But,  he  said,  "  there  is  system  in 
this  " — they  despise  Parliament,  but  they  will  come  to  it  when  they 
have  blundered. 

Governor  Johnstone  said,  before  we  voted  the  Estimates,  we 
ought  to  know  what  Government  intends  to  do  with  regard  to 
America.  Otherwise,  while  we  are  thinking  of  depriving  our 
fellow-subjects  of  their  just  rights  in  America,  we  may,  as  a  proper 
punishment,  lose  our  own.  He  reminded  those  "  who  conceive 
that  men  ought  to  yield  their  rights,"  because  they  are  distressed, 
of  what  "the  late  Parliament  of  Paris  had  endured."  Those 
worthy  patriots  have  secured  to  their  country  more  essential  rights 
"than  have  been  obtained  by  three  civil  wars."  Speaking  of 
taxation  and  representation,  he  put  an  odd  dilemma — "Can  any 
position  appear  more  ridiculous  to  those  who  maintain  the 
doctrines   of  virtual   representation,  than   that   a   borough  should 

November  19,  Robinson  is  to  let  Cooper  know  whether  he  promised 
Masterman  ^"2500  or  .£3000  for  each  of  Lord  Edgcumbe's  seats. — Hist.  MSS. 
Comm.  Report  X,  App.  I,  Abergavenny  MSS. 

1  The  Thirteenth  Parliament  was  dissolved,  September  30. 


336  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

send  two  members  to  parliament,  without  house  or  inhabitant? 
Many  who  hear  me,  and  are  strenuous  against  American  Charters, 
sit  for  such  boroughs  !  Legislation  can  exist  without  the  power  of 
taxation — Ireland  is  a  proof.  Mr.  Rigby,  posed  with  this  argument 
last  session,  said,  'We  could  tax  Ireland.'  I  remember  there  were 
some  gentlemen  in  the  gallery,  whom  I  immediately  perceived,  by 
the  contortions  in  their  countenances,  to  be  Irish  members."  Next 
day  Rigby  had  apologised — no  parallel  could  be  drawn  between 
Ireland  and  America,  "for  Ireland  had  a  paraphernalia."  This 
satisfied  both  the  English  and  Irish  members."1 

Efforts  were  not  wanting  to  ward  off  the  impending  calamity. 
Franklin,  his  old  friend  Dr.  Fothergill,  a  London  physician  in  a 
large  practice,  and  David  Hartley,  laid  their  heads  together,  and 
drew  up  a  paper  which  they  called  "  Hints  for  Conversation  " — really 
the  draft  of  a  treaty  for  conciliation.  It  had  been  shown  to 
Dartmouth,  who  approved  it.  But  Sandwich's  attack  on  Franklin 
put  an  end  to  the  idea.  Early  in  1775,  Chatham  made  a  last 
attempt  to  persuade  Rockingham  to  attempt  the  repeal  of  the 
Declaratory  Act — that  Act  which  Franklin  had  said  would  be 
quite  harmless,  if  never  enforced.     But  this,  too,  failed. 

In  the  very  last  days  of  1774,  Dr.  Franklin — who  since  the 
affair  of  the  Letters  had  attended  no  meetings  of  Council,  and  had 
remained  in  England  at  great  personal  risk — had  a  number  of 
informal  interviews  with  Lord  Howe,  to  discuss  proposals  for  an 
accommodation.  These  proposals  were  briefly :  Massachusetts  to 
pay  for  the  tea,  and  England  to  repeal  all  the  Acts  complained  of. 
But  all  came  to  nothing.  There  is  the  testimony  of  Thomas 
Jefferson  that  North  said:  "A  rebellion  was  not  to  be  deprecated 
on  the  part  of  Great  Britain;"  and   that  when   this   remark  was 

1  "A  short  answer  was  given  by  a  blunt  Mr.  Van.  'The  Honourable 
Gentleman  (Burke)  has  been  strewing  flowers  to  captivate  children.  I  have 
no  flowers,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  strew  :  all  I  have  to  say  is,  that  I  think  the 
Americans  are  a  rebellious  and  most  ungrateful  people,  and  I  am  for  assuring 
the  King  that  we  will  support  him  in  such  measures  as  will  be  effectual  to 
reduce  them.'  The  honesty  of  the  man  and  his  singular  manner,  set  the  whole 
House  into  a  balloo  !  and  answered  Burke  better  than  Cicero  could  have  done 
with  all  his  eloquence." — Hutchinson  to  Mr.  Sewall,  Dec.  10,  1774. 

' '  There's  a  strange  silence  upon  American  affairs,  to  me  unaccountable, 
considering  the  importance  of  them,  unless  it  proceeds  from  amazement.  It  is 
whispered  that  Lord  N.  in  the  Cabinet,  is  more  backward  than  most  of  the  rest 
of  the  Ministers." — Hutchinson,  Diary,  Dec.  19,  1774. 

"  Cornwall  attributed  the  delays  which  attended  business  of  all  sorts  to  Lord 
North  consulting  so  many  persons,  who  are  of  very  different  opinions  ;  he  re- 
mains undecided,  and  after  he  appears  decided,  is  apt  to  change." — Hutchinson, 
March  11,  1775. 


THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR        337 

repeated  to  Franklin,  in  disgust  and  despair  he  ceased  to  negotiate 
with  Howe. 

When,  on  January  19,  1775,  the  American  papers  were  laid  before 
the  House,  the  unwillingness  to  show  them  was  explained.  One 
Governor  after  another  wrote  of  the  determination  of  the  colonists 
not  to  submit  to  the  late  Acts.  The  letters  were  not  only  from 
Gage  of  Massachusetts — besides  his  alarming  accounts  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  General  and  Provincial  Congress,  the  mandamus 
Councillor  disturbances,  the  people  exercising  themselves  in  arms, 
and  getting  ammunition  and  artillery  "  wherever  they  can  procure 
them,  good  or  bad,"  Wentworth  of  New  Hampshire  had  to  tell  of 
the  surprise  of  Fort  William  and  Mary,  and  the  taking  away  of  the 
stores;  Wanton  of  Rhode  Island  frankly  confessed  he  had  no 
power;  Colden  of  New  York — the  most  hopeful  of  all  the 
Governors — wrote  that  "if  not  rescued,  the  colonies  must  soon 
fall  into  distraction  and  a  total  annihilation  of  government"; 
Deputy-Governor  Penn  said  the  temper  of  the  people  was  "warm," 
and  opposition  to  the  Acts  universal — to  his  very  great  surprise, 
the  General  Assembly  has  approved  the  transactions  of  Congress. 
Lord  Dunmore  of  Virginia  wrote  from  his  refuge  on  board  the 
Fowey.  Deputy-Governor  Eden  of  Maryland  believed  his  province 
would  undergo  any  hardship  rather  than  acknowledge  the  right 
of  Parliament.  Lieutenant-Governor  Bull  of  South  Carolina  finds 
"an  universal  spirit  of  jealousy  against  Great  Britain,  and  of 
unanimity  towards  each  other."  Even  Sir  James  Wright,  in 
Georgia,  has  "some  mal-contents,  and  violent  liberty-people,  for 
whose  conduct  he  cannot  be  answerable."  And  since  the  return 
of  the  delegates  from  Congress,  the  province  "has  been  in  hot 
water."  Governor  Martin  of  North  Carolina  complains  that  he 
cannot  enforce  even  what  common  decency  requires — Judge 
Drayton  has  made  a  speech  to  the  Grand  Jury,  exhorting  them  "  in 
the  most  solemn  manner"  to  "hold  their  liberties  dearer  than  their 
lives  " ;  in  consequence  of  which  the  Grand  Jury  has  presented  as  a 
most  dangerous  grievance  the  power  of  Parliament  to  make  laws 
to  bind  the  Americans.1 

Next  day  Chatham  moved  to  withdraw  the  troops  from 
Boston.  The  late  Acts  were  "the  proscription  of  a  people, 
unheard.  The  people  of  America,  condemned,  and  not  heard, 
have  a   right  to  resist."      Years   ago   Dr.    Franklin   had  told  him 

1  ' '  There  cannot  be  a  greater  error  than  to  suppose  that  the  present  commotions 
in  America  are  owing  to  the  arts  of  demagogues.     Every  man  thinks  and  acts 
for  himself  in  a  country  where  there  is  an  equal  distribution  of  property  and 
knowledge."— Letter  from  Philadelphia,  Dec.  I,  1774.     (Almon.) 
VOL.  I. 2  2 


333  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

that  the  Americans  would  not  lament  anything  we  might  do  to 
them,  "while  they  had  their  woods  and  their  liberty."  When 
you  consider  the  "  decency,  firmness  and  wisdom "  of  the  papers 
transmitted  to  us  from  America,  you  cannot  but  respect  their 
cause.  "  I  have  read  Thucydides — have  studied  and  admired 
the  master-states  of  the  world.  For  solidity  of  reasoning, 
sagacity,  wisdom,  no  body  of  men  can  stand  in  preference  to 
the  General  Congress  of  Philadelphia."  Attempts  to  impose 
servitude  on  such  men  must  be  fatal.  "We  shall  be  forced 
ultimately  to  retract — let  us  retract  while  we  can,  not  when  we 
must." x 

His  motion  was  lost  by  68  to  18. 

The  Merchants  of  London  and  Bristol  had  petitioned  the 
House  of  Commons  for  reconciliation  with  America.  They  set 
forth  that  they  had  exported,  or  sold  for  exportation,  "very  large 
quantities  of  the  manufacture  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland" — 
here  follows  a  list,  ending  "with  almost  every  British  manu- 
facture"; together  with  large  quantities  of  foreign  linens  and 
other  articles,  imported  from  Flanders,  Holland,  Germany,  "the 
East  Countries,"  Portugal,  Spain,  Italy,  "which  are  generally 
received  in  these  countries  in  return  for  British  manufactures; 
they  have  also  exported  great  quantities  of  East  India  goods, 
"  part  of  which  receive  additional  manufacture  in  Great  Britain  " ; 
and  receive  returns  from  North  America  in  "pig  and  bar  iron, 
timber,  staves,  naval  stores,  tobacco,  rice,  furs,  whalebone" — 
another  long  list.  Also  wheat  flour,  Indian  corn,  and  salted 
provisions,  zvhen,  on  account  of  scarcity  in  Great  Britain,  these 
articles  are  permitted  to  be  imported.  They  also  receive  "  circuit- 
ously"  from  Ireland  (for  flax-seed,  etc.,  exported  from  North 
America)  by  bills  of  exchange  on  the  merchants  of  this  city 
trading  to  Ireland.  The  Petition  goes  through  the  whole  trade 
between  America  and  the  West  India  Islands,  between  those 
islands  and  Italy,  Spain,  France,  Portugal,  Germany,  Flanders, 
Holland,  and  "the  East  Countries."  At  this  moment,  there 
is  due  from  the  Colonies  in  North  America,  to  the  City  of  London 
only,  two  millions  sterling  and  upwards.  Thousands  of  seamen 
are   bred   and   maintained,   thousands  of  ships  are   employed   in 

1  At  Chatham's  particular  desire,  Dr.  Franklin  was  present  on  this  occasion. 
Chatham  took  the  doctor  by  the  arm,  and  led  him  to  the  door  "  near  the  bar, 
where  were  standing  a  number  of  gentlemen,  waiting  for  the  peers  who  were  to 
introduce  them,  and  some  peers  waiting  for  the  friends  they  expected  to  intro- 
duce ;  among  whom  he  delivered  me  to  the  door-keepers,  saying  aloud,  '  This 
is  Dr.  Franklin,  whom  I  would  have  admitted  to  the  House.'" — Franklin. 


THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR        339 

this  trade.  But  in  the  year  1765  "there  was  a  great  stagnation 
in  the  commerce  between  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies,"  in 
consequence  of  a  certain  Act  for  granting  stamp-duties.  That 
Act  was  repealed  next  year,  upon  which  trade  "  immediately 
resumed  its  former  flourishing  state."  But  in  1767  an  Act  was 
passed  for  granting  certain  duties  in  the  British  Colonies,  on  tea, 
and  many  other  things,  "when  the  commerce  with  the  colonies 
was  again  interrupted."  In  the  year  1770,  part  of  this  Act  was 
repealed,  when  the  trade  to  America  soon  revived,  except  in  the 
article  of  tea,  on  which  a  duty  was  continued,  "whereby  that 
branch  of  our  commerce  was  nearly  lost."  In  the  year  1773, 
an  Act  passed  to  allow  of  a  drawback  of  the  duties  on  the  export- 
ation of  tea  to  his  Majesty 's  Colonies  in  America,  and  to  empower 
the  East  India  Company  to  import  tea  duty  free ;  "  and  by  the 
operation  of  these  and  other  laws,"  the  minds  of  his  Majesty's 
subjects  in  the  Colonies  have  been  greatly  disquieted,  and  a  total 
stop  is  now  put  to  the  export  trade  with  the  greatest  and  most 
important  part  of  North  America.  The  petitioners  are  threatened 
with  grievous  distress,  and  thousands  of  industrious  artificers  and 
manufacturers  with  utter  ruin.  But  they  put  their  trust  in  the 
new  Parliament  to  apply  healing  remedies. 

Meredith — bought  over  by  a  place  in  the  Household — tried 
to  gain  time  by  referring  the  Petition  to  a  special  committee, — 
an  inquiry  would  cause  delay, — there  was  still  hope  of  quenching 
the  flames  in  America,  if  proper  and  effectual  means  were  applied. 
North  again  protested  that  he  had  only  meant  to  serve  the 
Company — who  had  such  a  great  quantity  of  tea  in  their  ware- 
houses. He  could  not  foretell  that  the  Americans  would  resist 
being  able  to  drink  their  tea  9d.  a  pound  cheaper.  Johnstone 
said  he  could  not  sit  still  and  hear  the  noble  lord  plume  himself 
on  wishing  to  oblige  the  Company — it  was  notorious  that  the 
Company  asked  him  to  repeal  the  duty  of  3d.  a  pound  on  the 
exportation,  and  offered  to  let  Government  retain  6d.  if  the  3d. 
was  remitted  in  America.  The  noble  lord  had  admitted  that 
the  tea  was  as  much  an  anti-commercial  tax  as  any  of  the  rest. 
"I  know,"  said  he,  "the  various  intrigues,  solicitations,  and 
counter-solicitations,  that  were  used  to  induce  the  chairman  and 
deputy  chairman  to  undertake  this  rash  and  foolish  business." 

There  was  another  petition  from  the  Merchant  Venturers  of 
Bristol,  and  a  third  from  the  Merchants  of  Glasgow.  All  were 
referred  to  the  Committee,  and  no  more  was  heard  of  them. 

On  the  1  st  of  February,  Chatham  moved  his  "Provisional  Act 
for  Settling  the  Troubles  in  America."     It  gave  the  sole  right  of 


340  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

levying  taxes  to  the  provincial  Assemblies ;  authorised  the  meeting 
of  the  General  Congress  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  9th  of  May  next, 
to  consider  making  due  recognition  of  the  supreme  superintending 
power  of  Parliament,  and  a  free  grant  to  the  King,  his  heirs  and 
successors — to  be  applied  by  Parliament  to  the  alleviation  of  the 
National  Debt.  This  "just  and  free  aid"  to  be  "in  such  honour- 
able proportion  "  as  becomes  great  and  flourishing  Colonies  towards 
a  parent  country  labouring  under  the  heaviest  burdens,  of  which  no 
inconsiderable  part  have  been  taken  on  ourselves  "for  the  defence, 
extension,  and  prosperity  of  the  colonies."  It  also  repealed  all  the 
obnoxious  Acts. 

Sandwich,  "  in  a  petulant,  vehement  speech,"  opposed  this  plan — 
it  ought  to  be  immediately  rejected  with  contempt.  He  could  never 
believe  it  the  production  of  any  British  peer — it  appeared  to  him  to 
be  the  work  of  some  American — "  here  he  turned  his  face  towards 
Dr.  Franklin,  who  was  leaning  on  the  Bar,  and  said  he  fancied  he 
had  in  his  eye  the  person  who  drew  it  up — one  of  the  bitterest  and 
most  mischievous  enemies  this  country  had  ever  known."  x 

The  Address  to  the  King  "upon  the  disturbances  in  North 
America,"  assured  him  of  the  Commons'  "fixed  resolution,  at 
the  hazard  of  our  lives  and  properties,  to  stand  by  his  Majesty 
against  all  rebellious  attempts,  in  the  maintenance  of  the  just 
rights  of  his  Majesty  and  the  Two  Houses  of  Parliament." 

During  the  debate,2  North  compared  the  burdens  of  America 
with  those  of  England.  Our  taxes  amounted  to  10  millions, 
those  of  America  to  ,£75,000.  Reckoning  ourselves  at  8  millions 
("supposed"),  and  the  colonists  at  3,  this  was  6d.  a  head  annually 
for  them,  and  at  least  25s.  for  us.  On  this  occasion  Colonel 
Grant  said  he  was  certain  the  Americans  would  not  fight — he 
had  served  in  America  and  knew  them  well.  They  would  never 
face  an  English  army — they  had  none  of  the  qualifications  that 
make    a    good    soldier.       He     ridiculed    their    "  enthusiasm    in 

1  Franklin  says,  "  This  drew  the  eyes  of  many  lords  to  me,  but  as  I  had  no 
inducement  to  take  it  to  myself,  I  kept  my  countenance  as  immoveable  as  if  my 
features  had  been  made  of  wood."  Franklin  says  he  found  it  harder  to  keep  his 
countenance  when  Chatham,  in  claiming  the  Bill  as  his  own,  alluded  to  the 
gentleman  so  injuriously  reflected  on  as  one  whom  all  Europe  held  in  high 
estimation,  and  ranked  with  our  Boyles  and  Newtons. 

2  Feb.  2,  1775,  Hutchinson  went  to  the  House,  but  the  disturbance  in  the 
lobby  was  so  great,  that  members  were  stopped  coming  in,  and  Lord  G. 
Cavendish  moved  the  gallery  should  be  cleared.  It  was  a  late  sitting.  At  10 
o'clock  Hutchinson  returned,  and  found  the  House  still  up,  and  expected  to  sit 
till  3  or  4  in  the  morning.  Franklin,  "who  seemed  in  great  agitation,"  passed 
him  in  the  lobby.     About  430  members  were  present. — Hutchinson's  Diary. 


THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR        341 

religion,"  and  their  disagreeable  manners  and  way  of  living.  Fox 
spoke  "better  than  usual,"  on  the  inexpediency,  injustice,  and 
folly  of  the  motion,  and  prophesied  "defeat  on  one  side  of  the 
water,  and  ruin  and  punishment  on  the  other."  Wilkes,  after 
saying  that  "successful  resistance  is  a  revolution,  not  a  rebellion," 
added,  "Who  can  say  whether,  in  consequence  of  this  day's 
violent  and  mad  Address  to  his  Majesty,  in  a  few  years  the 
independent  Americans  may  not  celebrate  the  glorious  era  of 
the  revolution  of  1775,  as  we  do  that  of  1688?"  Many  other 
warnings  were  uttered — of  the  dangers  to  be  feared  from  France 
and  Spain,  when  they  should  see  us  embroiled;  of  the  dangers 
of  a  struggle  with  our  Colonies,  where  victory  could  but  bring 
with  it  perpetual  resentment.  But  Charles  Fox's  Amendment 
was  lost  by  105  to  304,  and  the  angry  and  foolish  Address  was 
agreed  to.1 

The  justice  of  the  strictures  on  the  low  Estimates  was  soon 
seen.  On  the  10th  the  King  sent  a  message  to  say  that  "for 
supporting  the  just  rights  of  his  Crown"  some  addition  to  his 
forces  by  sea  and  land  would  be  necessary. 

Then  the  House  went  into  Committee  on  the  American  papers, 
and  North  moved  the  dreadful  Bill  for  "Restraining  the  Trade 
and  Commerce  of  the  New  England  Colonies" — a  Bill  to  pro- 
hibit the  whole  of  New  England  from  fishing  on  the  Newfound- 
land Banks.  North  said  the  "restraints  of  the  Navigation  Act 
were  the  colonists'  charter,  and  the  relaxations  of  that  law  so 
many  acts  of  grace  and  favour  —  when  the  colonies  cease  to 
merit  these,  it  is  but  reasonable  to  recall  them.  The  Newfoundland 
Fisheries  are  our  undoubted  right;  we  may  dispose  of  them  as 
we  please.  The  Act  is  to  be  temporary,  and  exemptions  will  be 
granted  to  particular  persons,  on  the  Governor's  certificate  of 
their  good  behaviour." 

Governor  Johnstone  said  that  Nature  had  given  that  Fishery 
to  New  and  not  to  Old  England.  The  Bill  was  to  starve  a  whole 
people,  except  such  as  a  Governor  might  favour. 

North's  Bill  "  for  Conciliating  the  Differences  with  America " 2 
was  a  mere  impudent  juggle  with  words.  It  allowed  the  Provinces 
to  tax  themselves  "to  our  satisfaction."  When  the  Governor, 
Council  and  Assembly  of  any  province  shall  propose  to  make  pro- 
vision for  "  contributing  to  the  common  defence,"  it  will  be  proper, 
if  such  proposal  is  approved  by  his  Majesty,  to  forbear  to  levy  any 
tax  or  duty,  except  such  as  are  "  expedient "  for  the  regulation  of 

1  Horace  Walpole  calls  this  vote  (of  P'ebruary  2,  1775),  a  vote  for  a  civil  war. 

2  February  20. 


342  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

commerce  —  the  expediency  referring  of  course  to  the  interests 
of  Great  Britain.  North  thought  that  this  took  away  all  ground 
of  suspicion  as  to  the  purpose  to  which  the  money  would  be 
appropriated.  He  recognised  that  there  were  purposes  "for 
which  the  Americans  would  never  grant  it."  It  may  be  said, 
Shall  we  treat  with  rebels  ?  But  I  am  not  treating  with  rebels — 
it  has  never  been  said  yet  that  all  Americans  are  rebels.  There 
is  a  rebellion  in  Massachusetts,  but  I  should  be  happy  to  open 
the  door  to  the  rebels'  return  to  their  duty. 

A  storm  of  ridicule  broke  from  Opposition.  Governor 
Johnstone  reminded  Ministers  how  they  had  once  charged  the 
East  India  Company  ^11,000,000  for  ships,  forces,  etc.,  sent  to 
their  assistance,  "but  owned  afterwards  it  was  not  so  much." 
Perhaps  the  millions  now  so  roundly  charged  to  the  account  of 
America  were  also  not  so  much. 

On  this  futile  Bill,  which  only  said  it  would  not  be  "  proper " 
to  take  from  the  Americans  more  than  the  King  wanted  to  take, 
one  very  illuminating  speech  was  made.  It  was  Governor  Pownall's 
and  it  throws  a  light  far  back  into  the  past  of  our  Colonial  policy. 

Some  idea  of  rendering  the  Colonies  more  subordinate  to  the 
Crown  plays  a  considerable  part  in  pre-revolution  Colonial  history. 
Several  of  the  Royal  Governors  of  Massachusetts,  in  particular, 
attempted  this — Andros,  Dudley,  and,  later,  Shirley.  Shirley  is 
described  as  an  enterprising  man,  who  saw  in  the  growing  prosperity 
of  the  colony  an  opportunity  for  aggrandising  himself,  by  pro- 
moting the  interests  of  the  British  Cabinet.  It  is  significant  that 
his  chief  Ministers  were  Hutchinson  and  Andrew  Oliver,  who  were 
afterwards  to  gain  so  unenviable  a  notoriety ;  and  his  advisers  were 
Russell,  Paxton,  Ruggles,  and  others — almost  every  one  of  whom 
took  a  leading  part  in  supporting  the  attempt  of  the  Grenville 
Ministry  to  tax  America.  Governor  Shirley  sounded  the  Commis- 
sioners who  met  at  Albany,  in  1754,  to  settle  matters  with  the  Six 
Nations  of  Indians.1  A  union  of  the  Colonies  was  being  talked  of, 
as  the  danger  was  very  great  from  the  French  and  the  "  wavering  " 
Indians — who  sometimes  made  common  cause  with  the  French 
against  the  British.  In  the  course  of  this  discussion  at  Albany  the 
question  of  taxation  for  defence  was  raised. 

1  Franklin  was  at  Boston  in  1754,  and  Shirley  told  him  as  a  profound  secret 
"  the  great  design  of  taxing  the  colonies  by  Act  of  Parliament."  Franklin  gave 
in  writing  his  reasons  against  the  scheme.  One  was,  ' '  The  people  always  bear 
the  burden  best,  when  they  have,  or  think  they  have,  some  share  in  the  direction." 
The  project  was  abandoned,  Shirley  was  removed,  and  Pownall  became 
Governor.     Bernard  succeeded  Pownall. 


THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR        343 

Pownall,  who  had  now  made  his  peace  with  North,  began  with 
an  apology — he  had  always  been  an  advocate  for  the  Colonies,  not 
their  accuser,  like  some  governors.  "I  had  early  opportunity  of 
seeing  the  commencement  of  this  business.  I  was  at  the  Congress 
held  at  Albany  in  1754.  I  had  the  means  of  knowing  the  real 
opinions  of  some  of  the  first  men  of  business  and  ability  in  that 
country.  I  saw  that  a  crisis  of  this  nature  was  then  taking  its  rise 
.  .  .  the  whole  scope  therefore  of  my  conduct  whilst  I  was  employed, 
and  of  every  opinion  I  have  given,  whenever  I  have  been  listened 
to,  has  been  to  advise  such  modes  of  policy,  as  might  prevent 
matters  coming  to  the  point  at  which  they  are  now  arrived."  But 
now  the  Americans  are  actually  resisting  the  Crown  and  Parliament 
— they  are  "  opposing  rights  which  they  always  acknowledged,"  they 
are  arming ;  and  we  must  arm  too.  We  must  oppose  force  to  force 
— the  Americans  have  made  this  necessary.  And  then,  to  justify 
the  oppressions  of  to-day,  he  went  on  to  show  that  we  had  always 
oppressed  them.  While  denouncing  rebellion,  he  quoted  a  preced- 
ent from  rebels !  "I  refer  myself  to  the  parliament  that  sat  after 
the  execution  of  Charles  the  First,  when  the  government  was  formed 
into  a  republic" — with  totally  unconscious  humour,  he  added,  "a 
parliament  that  perfectly  understood  the  distinction  between  that 
resistance  which  is  justifiable,  and  that  which  is  rebellion."  The 
Colonies  stood  for  the  King,  and  declined  to  obey  the  Parliament, 
they  "revolted  from  the  government  of  the  state,  denied  the 
authority  Of  parliament,  and  set  up  a  government  of  their  own."  As 
though  determined  to  make  the  Americans  understand  that  the  form 
of  government  which  happened  to  prevail  here  would  make  no 
difference  in  the  treatment  the  Colonies  might  expect,  he  declared 
that  the  case  was  not  very  different  from  the  present. 

"  See,  then,  what  was  the  method  taken  by  that  parliament : 
they  made  a  law  totally  to  prohibit  from  trade  Virginia,  Barbadoes 
and  the  rest  of  the  Colonies  under  that  revolt." 1  "  It  is  a  precedent 
which  has  weighed  with  me  for  acquiescing  in  the  Port  Bill  and  the 
Restraining  Bill." 

Then  he  praised  North  for  his  humanity  in  not  driving  the 
Americans  to  desperation.  "And  now  I  wish  the  Committee 
would  attend  to  what  I  am  going  to  say  " — America  must  in  future 
be  governed  under  a  constitution  that  must  be  settled  by  compact — 

1  Pownall  read  the  Act.  It  passed  on  October  3,  1650.  It  prohibits  Virginia, 
Barbadoes,  Antigua,  the  Bermudas,  St  Christopher's,  and  other  islands,  "  from 
any  manner  of  commerce  or  traffic  with  any  people  whatsoever "  ;  and  forbids 
"  all  manner  of  persons,  foreigners  and  others,  all  manner  of  commerce,  traffic 
and  correspondency  whatsoever." 


344  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

otherwise  this  country  "  must  hold  its  dominion  there  by  the  tenure 
of  war,  and  that  will  cost  more  than  they  are  worth,  and  finally  ruin 
both."  The  whole  trade  must  be  regulated,  or  you  will  have  end- 
less disputes.  "  Their  Charters  cannot  be  considered  as  such  compact ; " 
for  if  so,  the  King  making  terms  with  parts  of  his  dominions  might 
"  dismember  the  empire,  and  set  all  the  various  parts  of  it  together 
at  variance  and  in  war."  Parliament  must  interfere,  and  give  the 
Colonies,  once  for  all,  "  such  a  constitution  as  is  fit  for  such  depend- 
ent communities  within  the  empire," — just  as  was  done  in  the 
union  "  of  the  two  parts  of  the  present  kingdom." 

After  much  perfectly  empty  debate,  the  Conciliatory  Propositions 
were  agreed  to.  They  were,  as  Dunning  well  said,  "futile  and 
treacherous." 

The  Bill  to  take  away  the  Fishery  was  again  discussed.  It  was 
said  the  people  could  not  subsist.  Dundas,  Solicitor-General  for 
Scotland,  replied  that  whether  the  people  could  subsist  or  not  was 
no  part  of  his  consideration.  The  Act  was  coercive,  and  the 
speediest  operation  was  the  most  effectual.  Lord  John  Cavendish 
said  he  was  shocked  at  "  the  perfect  ease  and  alacrity  with  which 
they  voted  famine  to  a  whole  people."  He  supposed  to  kill  by 
starvation  was  not  sanguinary — "  provided  you  do  not  shed  a  man's 
blood,  you  may  destroy  him  gently  any  other  way." 

On  this  Bill,  witnesses  were  examined  before  the  House  of  Lords. 
One  "  Mr.  Benjamin  Lister  of  Poole,"  and  his  friend  Captain  Davis, 
were  very  earnest  for  the  Fishery  to  be  taken  away  for  ever — "  it 
would  be  a  benefit  to  Great  Britain."  It  appeared  that  it  would  also 
be  a  gain  to  Mr.  Benjamin  Lister  of  Poole,  and  to  Captain  Davis. 
Davis  told  the  Lords  he  had  already  "  enlarged  his  capital,"  and  would 
enlarge  it  more  if  the  Bill  passed.  The  town  of  Poole  was  petition- 
ing for  the  Bill. 

And  now  a  flood  of  pamphlets 1  was  poured  out  from  the  Press, 
to  influence  the  public  mind  and  stifle  opposition  to  these  measures. 
The  country  gentlemen  were  "  anti- American  "  almost  to  a  man ; 
but  the  common  people  abhorred  the  thought  of  war  with  America, 
and  the  merchants,  aroused  by  the  danger,  were  petitioning  for 
conciliation.2 

Then  came  Burke's  Resolutions  for  Conciliation,  and  his  great 
speech  of  March  22,  1775.  In  this  speech  he  gave  the  figures  of 
our  Colonial  exports — six  millions  in  1772.  And  in  1704  our 
whole  exports  were  but  six  and  a  half  millions.  He  adverted  to 
the  wonderful  fact  that  for  nearly  a  year  "  a  vast  province  has  sub- 

1  Dr.  Johnson's  Taxation  no  Tyranny  appeared  now. 

2  Camden's  Letter  to  Chatham,  February  12,  1775. 


THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR        345 

sisted  in  a  considerable  degree  of  health  and  vigour,  without 
governor,  council,  judges,  or  executive  magistrates."  Perhaps  these 
things  are  not  of  the  importance  we  imagined  ?  Or  perhaps  there 
are  things  more  important  still  ?  We  learn  from  this  speech  that 
there  had  been  a  proposal  to  "  reduce  the  high  aristocratical  spirit 
of  Virginia  and  the  southern  colonies,"  by  emancipating  their  slaves. 
"An  offer  of  freedom  from  England  would  come  rather  oddly, 
shipped  in  an  African  vessel  with  a  cargo  of  three  hundred 
Angola  negroes,  and  the  Captain  publishing  his  proclamation 
of  liberty,  at  the  same  moment  that  he  advertised  the  sale  of  his 
slaves ! " 

As  before,  overwhelming  majorities  rejected  Burke's  proposals. 
Lastly  came  David  Hartley,  who  in  a  strong  speech  restated  the 
wrongs  of  the  colonists.  In  1767  Lord  Hillsborough's  Circular  Letter 
promised  never  to  raise  a  revenue  by  taxation ;  but  now  Lord  North 
boasts  that  he  has  put  the  question  on  the  true  ground — a  demand 
for  a  substantial  revenue.  Hartley  reminded  the  House  of  the 
services  the  Americans  had  rendered  in  the  late  war.  They  turned 
its  fortune,  "  at  both  ends  of  the  line."  Hence  the  annual  compen- 
sations and  compliments — up  to  March,  1763,  since  when  they  are 
represented  as  a  burden  on  the  common  cause.  They  took 
Louisburg  from  the  French  single-handed — dragging  the  cannon  over 
a  morass,  and  carrying  the  shot  on  their  backs.  They  conquered 
Arcadia  and  Nova  Scotia.  Much  more  they  have  done,  and  in 
return  we  have  kept  watch  and  ward  over  their  trade,  to  see  that  they 
should  only  buy  from  us,  and  at  our  own  price.  The  preambles  of 
the  Navigation  Act,  and  all  the  American  Acts,  avow  the  interests 
of  Great  Britain  as  the  object.  If  the  Colonies  make  a  hat,  or  a 
piece  of  steel,  an  Act  of  Parliament  calls  it  "  a  nuisance."  "  I  call 
your  Statute  Books  to  witness." 

Hartley's  proposal,  like  all  those  which  were  bonafide^  was  to  go 
back  to  the  former  state  of  things,  and  pass  an  Act  of  Oblivion 
over  "  these  unfortunate  troubles."  "  Make  your  requisitions  free," 
said  Hartley,  "let  them  be  founded  on  reason  and  justice;  no 
subjects  will  be  deaf  to  reason,  justice,  and  common  interest.  It 
is  the  right  of  all  free-born  subjects  to  decide  upon  the  necessity  or 
application  of  the  money  required  of  them.  A  refusal,  in  a  reason- 
able case,  is  as  yet  without  an  example." 

But  his  motion  was  negatived  without  a  division.  So  were  his 
three  motions  for  the  repeal  of  the  late  Acts. 

This  was  not  enough.  On  March  30  another  Bill  was  brought 
in,  "  to  Restrain  the  Trade  of  the  Southern  Colonies  of  America." 
North   said,   as   the    Southern    Provinces    had    joined    in    Non- 


346  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

importation,  it  would  be  partiality  not  to  treat  them  like  New 
England.  In  the  Debate  —  besides  the  strong  representations 
from  Opposition  on  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  this  attempt  to 
starve  a  Continent  into  obedience — a  great  deal  was  said  about 
America  as  the  nursery  for  the  British  Navy.  Ministerialists 
asserted  that  if  our  trade  increased  by  this  destruction  of  American 
trade,  we  should  have  a  greater  number  of  seamen.  Mr.  John 
Luttrell  denied  this.  Very  few  American  seamen  returned  in 
English  vessels  from  America — fortunately  so,  for  we  have  no 
employment  for  them,  and  they  would  be  a  burden  upon  us. 
He  appealed  to  the  naval  members  to  say  whether  we  did  not 
impress  American  seamen  in  every  part  of  the  world,  whenever 
the  service  required  men?  American  seamen  have  been  con- 
sidered so  "intermixed  with  the  seamen  of  this  country,"  that 
no  commanding  officer  has  thought  of  enquiring  into  their 
numbers  —  the  idea  would  have  been  thought  ridiculous  and 
dangerous.  True,  you  cannot  lay  hands  on  them  in  the  first 
half-hour,  but  you  can  get  thousands  of  them  as  quickly  as  you 
could  recall  English  seamen  from  foreign  service.  He  then  spoke 
of  the  practical  impossibility  of  seizing  American  vessels,  or  dis- 
covering false  clearances  or  certificates.  "There  are  those  that 
hear  me,  who  perfectly  well  remember  the  dexterous  tricks 
practised  in  the  late  war,  by  almost  every  nation."1  Then,  too, 
the  King's  ships  cannot  keep  the  sea  in  safety  for  more  than 
half  a  year,  on  the  northern  coasts  of  America,  and  the  Americans 
know  every  shoal,  sounding,  rock  and  creek  —  it  is  not  very 
pleasant  for  a  King's  officer  to  risk  his  ship  on  a  lee-shore  that 
he  does  not  know — not  to  pursue  an  enemy,  but  to  destroy  a 
friend. 

On  the  third  reading  (April  5),  the  Marquess  of  Granby  made 
a  passionate  appeal  to  the  House.  "  In  God's  name,  what 
language  are  you  holding  out  to  America  !  '  Resign  your  property, 
divest  yourselves  of  your  privileges  and  freedom,  renounce  every- 
thing that  can  make  life  comfortable  —  or  we  will  destroy  your 
commerce,  and  if  you  express  the  sensations  of  men  at  such 
harsh  treatment,  we  will  declare  you  in  a  state  of  rebellion,  and 
put  yourselves  and  your  families  to  fire  and  sword  ! ' " 

Much  was  said  of  the  hard  case  of  Nantucket — an  island  almost 
entirely  inhabited  by  Quakers,  who  had  taken  no  part  in  resistance. 

1  A  letter  of  Sir  George  Rodney  in  1782  to  Aretas  Akers,  agent  for  the 
prisoners  of  war  at  St.  Christopher's,  states  that  "in  the  last  war"  (i.e.  the 
Seven  Years'  War),  "flags  of  truce  were  got  for  30  Johaneses,  to  go  to  other 
islands,  and  were  the  means  of  treasonable  correspondence  being  carried  on." 


THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR        347 

Seth  Jenkins,  "  a  Quaker," — one  of  the  witnesses, — said  the  people 
could  not  subsist  above  a  month  if  the  fishing  were  cut  off.  "  No 
other  men  could  carry  on  the  whale  fishery,  as  they  do  not  under- 
stand it,  nor  could  the  people  of  Nantucket  get  employment  from 
others ;  their  craft  would  be  entirely  lost." 

In  the  Lords,  on  the  16th  of  March,  Camden  warned  them  that 
this  Bill  would  produce  war — civil  war.  The  fishery  is  not  only  the 
trade,  it  is  in  a  great  measure  the  food  of  New  England.  You  first 
inflicted  a  general  punishment  for  a  particular  fault.  From  their 
trade  you  went  to  their  municipal  rights,  their  constitutions,  their 
charters,  their  liberties.  "  And  now  this  Bill  of  Famine  and  War 
finishes  the  climax  of  severity."  Other  counsels  have  been  given, 
but  they  were  rejected  with  disdain,  though  they  came  from  a 
personage  whose  character  gave  them  authority — from  a  great  man, 
the  greatest  perhaps  that  this  age  or  this  country  has  produced — to 
whom  this  country  owes  her  present  prosperity,  "and  I  am  sorry  to 
say  it,  her  pride  of  conquest,  which  has  infatuated  her  with  the  ideas 
of  victory  and  certain  success."  You  have  listened  rather  to  Mr. 
Benjamin  Lister  of  Poole  and  his  brother  politician — they  have 
instructed  your  lordships  in  the  political  system  of  Great  Britain 
and  America.  They  have  satisfied  you  that  the  fishery  now  carried 
on  by  New  England  can  be  supplied  and  continued  by  men  and 
ships  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  And  why?  "Because,  my 
lords,  Mr.  Lister  of  Poole,  and  his  friend  Captain  Davis,  are  to  get 
two  or  three  hundred  a  year  by  this  Bill." 

Sandwich  did  not  think  Camden  could  be  serious  as  to  the 
impracticability  of  conquering  America.  "  Suppose  the  colonies  do 
abound  in  men,  what  does  that  signify?  They  are  raw,  undis- 
ciplined, cowardly  men.  I  wish  there  were  200,000  of  them, 
instead  of  only  40  or  50,000 — the  more  the  better — if  they  didn't 
run  away,  they  would  starve  themselves  into  compliance.  Sir  Peter 
Warren  told  me  that  at  the  siege  of  Louisburg,  to  try  the  courage  of 
the  Americans,  he  put  them  in  the  front — they  pretended  to  be  very 
much  elated,  and  boasted  what  mighty  things  they  would  do — but 
when  the  moment  came,  every  one  of  them  ran  away,  and  threatened 
to  go  home,  if  the  British  soldiers  were  not  put  in  front.  I  can  tell 
the  noble  lord,  all  Americans  are  like  these  fellows — the  very  sound 
of  a  cannon  would  carry  them  off." 

In  the  course  of  the  Debate  in  the  Commons,  Alderman  Bull 
made  a  very  interesting  statement  about  tea — "  the  occasion  of  these 
unhappy  disputes."  He  said  the  Company  wished  to  send  their  tea 
to  Europe  as  well  as  to  America,  and  applied  for  an  Act  for  that 
purpose.     Bull  was  consulted  by  a  Director,  but  thought  the  scheme 


348  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

a  wild  one,  which  could  not  be  carried  out,  and  if  it  could,  would 
only  injure  the  Company,  as  they  could  not  sell  their  tea  at  so  high 
a  price  as  at  home.  This  Director  was  well  aware  that  the  Americans 
would  not  receive  the  tea — would  think  it  was  sent  "to  ensnare 
them,"  and  "  would  most  certainly  destroy  it."  Yet  what  were  the 
Company  to  do  with  "  their  great  load  of  tea  "  ?  And  how  raise  the 
money  they  were  so  distressed  for  ?  It  was  proposed  to  hold  two 
sales — one  in  March,  the  other  in  September,  and  to  put  up  the 
whole  stock.  Each  sale  was  expected  to  produce  about  ;£  1,200,000  ; 
so  the  Company  hoped  to  manage  without  borrowing  the  ^1,400, 000 
they  wanted.  It  was  said  they  had  six  years'  consumption  rotting 
in  their  warehouses — the  real  fact  was,  that  they  had  16  and  a  half 
million  pounds'  weight,  none  of  which  had  been  more  than  a  year 
and  a  half  in  their  warehouses,  most  was  only  last  year's  tea  ;  none 
had  suffered  by  keeping.  The  annual  consumption,  on  the  average 
of  the  last  five  years,  was  8  million  pounds ;  so  they  only  had  enough 
for  two  years,  not  six.  If  these  sales  had  taken  place,  Bohea — the 
principal  sort  in  demand  for  exportation — would  have  fallen  4d.  or 
5d.  a  pound,  which  might  have  increased  the  demand  for  export-and- 
home  consumption  up  to  12  million  pounds  per  annum.  Bull 
thought  it  would,  "  because  the  four  foreign  East  India  Companies, 
the  Dutch,  Danes,  French  and  Swedes,  annually  import  more  than 
8  millions,  though  it  is  known  they  do  not  themselves  consume  near 
half  that  quantity" — the  rest  is  smuggled  to  England,  Scotland, 
Ireland,  and  America.  Deducting  the  9d.  drawback,  tea  would  be 
only  i5d.  a  pound — only  i8d.  with  the  "fatal  American  three- 
pence " — and  this  might  have  induced  the  Americans  to  receive  it 
as  before — from  the  merchants,  though  not  from  the  Company. 
This  would  have  put  an  end  at  once  to  all  smuggling,  "for  neither 
the  Dutch  or  any  other  company  would  think  it  worth  their  while  to 
send  tea  to  America,  to  be  sold  under  i8d.  a  pound." 

Bull  concluded  by  expressing  his  belief  that  the  tea  was  not  sent 
to  America,  either  to  raise  money  for  the  Company,  to  get  rid  of 
their  tea,  or  to  prevent  smuggling,  "  each  of  these  ends  might  have 
been  answered  without  offence  to  any  individual.  The  purpose  for 
which  the  tea  went  to  America,  and  the  consequence,  are  evident 
now  to  every  man's  understanding."  No  member  rose  to  challenge 
Bull's  words.     The  Southern  Trade  Bill  passed  by  192  to  46. 

On  April  n  the  Company  came  up  again,  in  the  Debate  on 
the  "Bill  to  oblige  the  East  India  Company  to  export  a  certain 
quantity  of  English  Manufactures."  Governor  Johnstone  called  it 
anti-commercial,  absurd,  ridiculous.  It  is  contrary  to  every  principle 
of  trade  to  force  a  merchant  to  export  what  he  cannot  sell.     "There 


THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR        349 

are  now  lying  in  the  warehouses  of  Bengal  ^270,000  worth  of 
British  woollens,  rotting  and  eating  by  moths " ;  and  you  want  to 
make  the  Company  send  out  more.  If  you  want  to  encourage  the 
woollen  trade,  you  might  just  as  well  order  the  Company  to  make  a 
bonfire  of  the  same  quantity,  to  entertain  the  mob,  next  time  the 
King  comes  to  the  House.  North  said  the  Company  was  not 
obliged  to  send  cloth — they  might  send  more  saleable  articles. 
Burke  said  this  was  simply  a  tax  on  the  Company.  It  was  humili- 
ating— it  seemed  to  show  that  British  goods  are  such  a  drug  on  the 
market  that  their  exportation  must  be  forced.  "  Nor  can  I  see  why 
we  should  feed  the  moths  of  Bengal."  Why  not  clothe  the  poor 
here,  and  make  the  Company  pay  for  it  ?  Here  Van  broke  in  very 
rudely.  The  East  India  Company  could  export  British  manu- 
factures, but  will  not,  "for  reasons  best  known  to  themselves." 
Why  don't  Bristol,  Liverpool,  and  Glasgow  export  on  their  own 
account  ?  Ending  with  a  sneer  at  Burke  as  member  for  Bristol — 
"  I  suppose  for  his  knowledge  of  trade."  North  said  he  would  not 
allow  it  was  a  tax — it  was  "a  mere  guard  for  the  protection  of 
commerce ;  it  had  always  been,  and  the  Company  had  thriven  on 
it."     So  the  Bill  to  feed  the  moths  of  Bengal  was  brought  in. 

In  the  Debate  on  the  Budget,  North  showed  once  more  the 
lightness  with  which  he  was  entering  on  the  struggle  with  the 
Colonies.  The  dreadful  consequences  predicted  by  some  would 
be  easily  averted  by  America  returning  to  her  duty.  If  not — the 
question  would  be  a  very  simple  one,  whether  she  should  be  inde- 
pendent, or  we  should  avail  ourselves  of  our  indubitable  rights  to 
secure  to  this  nation  the  great  benefits  of  our  trade  and  commerce 
with  America.  As  for  a  war  with  France  and  Spain  resulting — 
France  was  too  wise — but  let  her  break  with  us  if  she  pleased. 

In  May  a  Remonstrance  from  the  General  Assembly  of  New 
York  was  presented  in  the  Commons  by  Burke.  "Nothing,"  he 
said,  "  could  be  more  decent  and  respectful."  Apparently  without 
a  division,  the  House  refused  to  consider  it.  In  the  Lords,  a 
similar,  but  not  identical,  "  Memorial "  was  introduced  by  the  Duke 
of  Manchester.  Denbigh  said  that  "memorials"  are  presented 
"  from  one  crowned  head  to  another  " — from  an  American  Assembly 
a  memorial  is  unheard  of,  and  ought  not  to  be  read.  And  by  45  to 
25  the  Lords  refused  to  read  it.1 

Furious  with  his  Colonies,  furious  with  Chatham,  the  King  began 
to  prepare  for  "reducing"  America.  Sir  William  Howe,  Burgoyne, 
and   Clinton  were   made   Major-Generals.     Howe   had   just   been 

1  The  New  York  Assembly  had  never  retracted.      It  was  allowed  to  meet 
again. — See  Gentleman's  Magazine. 


350  ENGLAND   AND  AMERICA 

returned  in  the  Whig  interest  for  Nottingham,  and  his  constituents 
deeply  resented  his  going  to  fight  the  colonists.  He  had  promised 
them  not  to  go  !  They  reminded  him  of  his  dead  brother,  that 
idolised  young  Lord  Howe,  who  fell  at  Ticonderoga,  and  whose 
monument  America  had  placed  in  Westminster  Abbey.  "You 
should  have  refused  to  go  against  them,"  wrote  one  indignant 
constituent,1  adding  a  wish  that  if  he  went,  he  might  fall.  Howe, 
who  was  an  amiable  man,  replied  apologetically  that  he  could  not 
help  himself — he  was  commanded  to  go.  Chatham's  eldest  son 
resigned  his  commission  rather  than  serve  against  America.  So 
did  Lord  Effingham,2  whose  ancestor  led  the  English  Fleet  against 
the  Armada.  So  did  Admiral  Keppel.  Granville  Sharpe,  who  held 
a  lucrative  post  in  the  Ordnance,  refused  to  take  any  part  in  sending 
military  stores  to  America,  and  presently  resigned. 

There  were  great  preparations.  "Upwards  of  ioo  cannon,  of  a 
new  construction,  so  light  as  to  be  carried  by  a  man  on  horseback," 
and  10,000  stand  of  arms  were  shipped  from  the  Tower  the  day 
the  Generals  sailed.  A  few  days  before  orders  had  gone  from 
Dartmouth  to  Gage  to  seize  all  Colonial  forts  and  stores,  and  arrest 
all  persons  "  thought  to  have  committed  treason  " ;  and  to  employ 
force,  "  without  waiting "  to  require  the  aid  of  a  civil  magistrate. 
North,  whose  conscience  was  tormenting  him,  also  sent  copies  of 
a  pamphlet  which  Sir  John  Dalrymple 3  had  written  for  him,  and 
had  printed  at  the  public  expense.  It  urged  submission,  but  definitely 
renounced  the  right  of  taxation  !  This  appeared  to  the  Americans 
an  act  of  deliberate  treachery,  designed  to  keep  them  quiet  till  the 
army  could  arrive;  but  it  was  only  the  weak  protest  of  North's 
conscience  against  his  weak  compliance  with  the  King's  will. 

Franklin  was  present  at  most  of  the  great  debates  upon  the  fate 
of  his  country.  No  doubt  Ministers  were  not  sorry  he  should  be 
convinced  that  Great  Britain  was  in  earnest.  It  had  long  been  the 
fashion  to  speak  of  him  as  a  pick-pocket — he  had  even  been  insulted 

1  A  grocer  wrote  less  unkindly  :  "  If  you  should  resolve  at  all  events  to  go, 
I  don't  wish  you  may  fall,  as  many  do,  but  cannot  say  I  wish  success  to  the 
undertaking.  These,  Sir,  are  the  sentiments  of  many  here,  as  well  as  of  Your 
obedient  servant,  Samuel  Kirk." — Nottingham,  February  10,  1775. 

2  "As  I  cannot,  without  reproach  from  my  own  conscience,  consent  to  bear 
arms  against  my  fellow-subjects  in  America  in  what,  to  my  weak  discernment,  is 
not  a  clear  cause,  ...  I  humbly  beg  that  I  may  be  permitted  to  retire." — 
Letter  of  Lord  Howard  of  Effingham  to  Lord  Barrington^  April  10,  1775. 

3  Sir  John  made  one  exceedingly  unwise  remark — referring  to  Rockingham's 
Ministry,  he  had  the  incredible  folly  to  say,  "  If  you  are  inclined  to  pay  com- 
pliments to  an  administration,  which  we  do  not  complain  of,  it  is  very  unfair  in 
you  to  withhold  them  from  that  prince,  by  whose  nod  alone  they  were  permitted 
to  do  anything." 


THE  BILL  OF  FAMINE  AND  WAR        351 

in  the  course  of  a  debate.  On  the  1 6th  of  March,  when  in  the  Debate 
on  the  Fishery  Bill,  Sandwich  not  only  called  the  Americans 
cowards,  but  accused  them  of  entering  into  Association  to  escape 
their  debts,  Franklin  left  the  House  in  indignation,  never  to  return. 

It  was,  indeed,  time  for  him  to  be  gone.  Wedderburn  was 
saying  he  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  return  to  America.  Hutchinson 
appears  to  have  let  North  know  that  Franklin  was  going.  But 
Franklin  still  delayed,  hoping  Chatham  would  do  something.  When 
all  failed,  the  valiant  old  man  told  himself  that  union  with  Britain 
was  unnatural — from  that  moment,  he,  for  one,  knew  that  the 
breach  could  never  be  healed.1 

The  three  Generals  sailed  on  April  21.  Lexington  had  already 
been  fought;  and  on  the  5th  of  May  a  curious  distorted  rumour  of 
it  startled  London.  It  was  reported  that  a  battle  had  been  fought, 
and  Gage  had  lost  a  thousand  men. 

The  same  day  Franklin  sailed  in  the  Pennsylvania  packet. 

1  On  Franklin's  last  day  in  London  he  was  with  Priestley,  looking  over 
American  newspapers,  and  telling  him  what  to  extract  for  the  English  Press — 
the  tears  running  down  his  cheeks.  Part  of  the  same  day  he  was  with  Burke. 
Before  he  left  England,  Franklin  had  offered  to  pay  for  the  tea  at  his  own  risk, 
if  the  Acts  were  repealed. — Franklin  to  Hartley ',  February  2,  1780. 


CHAPTER  XLII 
LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD 

' '  My  Lords  !  the  way  must  be  immediately  opened  for  reconciliation  ;  an  hour 
now  lost  may  produce  years  of  calamity  .  .  .  the  first  drop  of  blood  shed  in 
civil  and  unnatural  war  will  make  a  wound  that  years,  perhaps  ages,  may  not 
heal.  .  .  .  What  though  you  march  from  town  to  town  and  from  province 
to  province  !  How  shall  you  be  able  to  secure  the  obedience  of  the  country 
you  leave  behind  you  in  your  progress  to  grasp  the  dominion  of  1800  miles 
of  continent  ?  .  .  .  We  shall  be  forced  ultimately  to  retract ;  let  us  retract 
while  we  can,  not  when  we  must." — Speech  of  Lord  Chatham  on  his  Bill  for  the 
Removal  of  theTroops from  Boston,  Jan.  20,  1775. 

"  My  Lords,  let  the  Americans  talk  about  their  natural  and  divine  rights  !  their 
rights  as  men  and  citizens  !  their  rights  from  God  and  nature  !  I  am  for 
enforcing  these  measures." — Speech  of  Lord  Gower, 

"  I  was  expressing  my  concern  a  few  days  ago  to  a  person  who  is  near  the  top 
lest  Franklin's  return  to  America  should  excite  to  still  greater  acts  of  revolt — 
'  Give  yourself  no  concern,'  says  he,  ...  *  I  know  the  state  of  the  nation 
in  every  part.  I  never  knew  it  more  united — more  determined  in  anything 
than  in  American  measures.  These  measures  are  not  through  Ministerial 
influence  .  .  .  while  we  continue  united,  the  farther  your  people  go  the  better : 
— better  for  us,  and  better  for  you,  because  your  reduction  will  be  the  more 
effectual.'" — Hutchinson  to  Chief  Justice  Oliver,  March  24,  1775. 

By  the  spring  of  1775,  Boston  was  become  a  camp  of  refuge  for 
loyalists.  General  Timothy  Ruggles  had  entered  into  an  "  Associa- 
tion "  with  the  loyalists  of  Massachusetts,  for  mutual  defence  against 
the  rebels — a  word  already  used  by  the  friends  of  the  British 
Government.  They  said  that  they  meant  to  support  each  other 
in  disregarding  the  Non-importation  agreement,  or,  as  they  put 
it,  "  in  the  free  exercise  of  our  undoubted  right  in  eating,  drinking, 
buying  and  selling  what,  with  whom,  and  as  we  please." 

Gage  was  master  of  the  body  of  Boston,  but  its  soul  had 
slipped  away,  and  was  preparing  to  encounter  him  in  another 
fashion  than  of  old. 

Every  ship  from  England  brought  news  of  more  Acts  passed 
against  the  Colonies — Acts  which,  if  they  could  have  been  carried 
out,  would  have  ruined  the  Colonies  they  were  intended  to  bring 
into    the    old    obedience.     The    dreadful    words    of   the   furious 

352 


LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD  353 

Welshman,  Van,  seemed  to  have  been  taken  literally — sooner  than 
lose  her  power  over  her  Colonies,  England  would  destroy  them. 
It  seemed  to  be,  "Give  up  your  liberties — the  liberties  we  our- 
selves have  guaranteed  to  you  by  'Charter  and  compact' — or 
die!" 

On  February  9,  the  Second  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts 
(214  in  number)  appointed  a  Committee  of  Safety  of  eleven 
members,  to  resist  the  execution  of  the  Acts,  and  empowered  it 
to  take  possession  of  the  powder  and  other  military  stores  belong- 
ing to  the  province.  From  this  moment,  every  step  taken  led 
on  to  the  final  catastrophe  of  an  appeal  to  arms.1 

A  Glasgow  ship  had  been  compelled  to  go  back  from  New  York 
without  breaking  bulk.  Pennsylvania  was  resolving  to  kill  no 
sheep  under  four  years  old,  to  establish  woollen  manufactures; 
to  make  salt  and  saltpetre,  gunpowder  and  paper  ("the  saving 
of  linen  rags  is  particularly  recommended");  to  make  nails,  wire, 
tin-plates,  copper  utensils,  types  for  printing,  and  the  like.  The 
Provincial  Congress  unanimously  approved  the  resolutions  of  the 
General  Congress,  and  shut  up  the  Law-Courts.  The  Provincial 
Congress  was  recommending  the  making  of  firearms  and  bayonets, 
and  declaring  the  deepest  detestation  of  all  persons  who  supplied 
the  troops  in  Boston  with  timber,  spars,  tent-poles,  bricks,  "  or 
any  materials  which  may  enable  them  to  distress  the  inhabitants." 
All  the  counties  of  Virginia  were  forming  companies.  In  Con- 
necticut, nothing  was  talked  of  but  the  appeal  to  arms.  The 
Marylanders  were  "all  in  motion,"  holding  meetings,  choosing 
Committees,  and  laying  in  arms  and  ammunition. 

For  eight  years,  the  Colonies  had  tried  constitutional  means — 
votes  of  their  legislatures,  petitions,  remonstrances,  appeals — and 
the  only  answer  had  been  threats  and  increased  exactions,  until 
at  last  the  British  Cabinet  had  shown  itself  ready  to  destroy  their 
means  of  living,  if  it  could  in  no  other  way  bring  them  to  submit 
to  laws,  however  foolish  and  injurious,  passed  by  the  Parliament 
3000  miles  away.  Each  successive  Parliament  had  been  less  and 
less  disposed  to  confine  its  interference  to  external  trade  and 
Colonial  manufactures — interference  long  submitted  to,  as  men 
submit   to   an   evil  which   they  suppose   is  a  law  of  nature.     But 

1  The  times  are  got  to  be  very  serious.  Great  preparations  on  both  sides  for 
an  engagement,  and  the  sooner  it  comes  the  better — the  sooner  we  shall  get  to 
be  a  peaceable  people.  .  .  .  Our  country  people  are  determin'd  to  oppose  the 
measures  of  Parliament  at  the  risk  of  their  all,  but.it  is  doubted  whether  they 
will  fight  long.  Such  an  enthusiasm  and  madness  of  the  people  never  was 
before  in  any  part  of  the  globe. — Dr.  Peter  Oliver  in  Boston  to  Elishd  Hutchin- 
son in  England,  Feb.  18,  1775. 
VOL.  I. — 23 


354  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

now  the  colonists  began  to  perceive  that  it  was  only  a  law  of 
nature  for  those  who  could  not,  or  dared  not  resist,  and  that 
those  who  want  their  just  liberties  must  take  them. 

And  if  each  Parliament  came  to  Westminster  more  determined 
than  the  last  to  impose  its  will  on  the  disobedient  Colonies,  each 
successive  threat  of  physical  force  made  the  Colonies  resolve  to 
try  what  physical  force  there  might  be  on  their  side.  Gage  found 
it  impossible  to  build  his  new  fort — no  Bostonian  or  New  Englander 
would  work  at  it — as  soon  would  a  man  have  forged  handcuffs 
for  his  own  father ;  nor  would  any  workmen  come  from  New  York. 
The  soldiers  deserted  freely.  The  militia  had  never  disbanded — 
all  through  the  winter  they  had  been  disciplining  themselves. 
Firearms  and  bayonets  were  being  made,  and  a  select  number  of 
the  militia  undertook  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  be 
called  out  on  the  shortest  notice.  They  were  called  the  "  minute- 
men." 

Gage  was  reconnoitring  with  a  view  to  military  operations. 
Among  the  things  left  behind  by  the  British,  when  Boston  was 
evacuated  in  1776,  was  a  paper  entitled,  "A  Narrative  of  General 
Gage's  Instructions,"  addressed  to  Captain  Brown  of  the  52nd 
and  Ensign  D' Bernicre  of  the  10th,  and  dated  Feb.  22,  1775. 
These  officers  are  directed  to  go  through  the  counties  of  Suffolk 
and  Worcester,  "taking  a  sketch  of  the  country  as  you  pass." 
It  was  not  to  be  a  regular  plan,  but  roads,  distances,  nature  of 
the  country,  were  to  be  marked,  "  particularly  all  passes  " — length, 
breadth,  way  in  and  out,  and  whether  to  be  avoided  by  going 
some  other  road.  Also  "  all  rivers  and  fords,  woods  and  heights, 
situations  of  villages  and  towns,  churches  and  churchyards,  whether 
capable  of  defence,"  or  "fit  for  encampment."  The  officers  dis- 
guised themselves  as  countrymen,  "in  brown  cloaths  and  reddish 
handkerchiefs  round  our  necks."  Their  account  gives  a  graphic 
idea  of  the  state  of  feeling.  They  were  evidently  excessively 
nervous,  and  not  without  reason.  They  dared  neither  venture 
into  an  inn  kept  by  enemies,  nor  ask  the  way  to  the  houses  of 
friends.  They  were  occasionally  suspected,  and  once  were 
recognised.  At  one  place,  the  landlord  of  the  inn,  when  asked 
what  there  was  for  breakfast,  replied,  "  Tea,  or  anything  they 
chose" — "an  open  confession  what  he  was."  At  " Buckminster's 
Tavern"  (near  Framlingham),  they  heard  from  their  window  a 
captain  of  militia  haranguing  his  men  after  an  exercise.  His 
advice  was  interesting:  "he  particularly  told  them  they  would 
always  conquer  if  they  did  not  break,  and  recommended  them 
to  charge  us  coolly,  and  wait  for  our  fire,  and   everything  would 


LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD  355 

succeed  with  them — quoted  Caesar  and  Pompey,  brigadiers  Putnam 
and  Ward,  and  all  such  great  men;  put  them  in  mind  of  Cape 
Breton,  and  all  the  battles  they  had  gained  for  his  majesty  in 
the  last  war,  and  observed  that  the  regulars  must  have  been 
ruined  but  for  them."  After  which  he  "dismissed  the  parade, 
and  the  whole  company  came  into  the  house  and  drank  until 
nine  o'clock,"  and  then  went  home  "full  of  pot-valour."1 

The  5th  of  March  that  year  falling  on  a  Sunday,  was  kept 
on  the  6th.  The  Old  South  was  crammed  to  hear  Dr.  Joseph 
Warren's  oration  on  the  "  Massacre."  In  the  crowd  were  forty 
or  fifty  British  officers.  With  a  just  doubt  of  the  motive  which 
had  brought  them,  Samuel  Adams  very  politely  asked  the  people 
in  the  front  pews  to  give  up  their  seats  to  these  gentlemen.  The 
officers  could  not  refuse  this  civility,  which  probably  prevented 
an  ugly  riot,  for  Colonel  James  told  Hutchinson  some  years  after 
that  one  of  them  was  prepared  with  an  egg,  to  throw  at  Warren 
if  he  said  anything  against  the  King.  "That  was  to  have  been 
a  signal  to  draw  swords,  and  they  would  have  massacred  Hancock, 
Adams,  and  hundreds  more ;  and,  he  added,  he  wished  they  had." 
But,  planted  by  Adams  just  under  the  pulpit,  in  full  view  of  the 
meeting,  they  thought  better  of  it.2 

The  crowd  was  so  great  that  Warren  had  to  enter  by  a  ladder 
from  the  window  behind  the  pulpit.  There  were  officers  sitting 
on  the  pulpit  stairs — one  or  two  actually  in  it,  behind  the  orator. 
Warren — unconscious  how  near  he  was  to  a  catastrophe  which 
would  have  made  the  6th  of  March  the  most  infamous  anniversary 
in  Colonial  history — spoke  eloquently  on  the  baleful  effects  of 
standing  armies  in  times  of  peace.     He  described  the  night  after 

1  "Thursday,  Ap.  27,  1775. — In  part  of  a  letter  from  Boston,  in  the  papers 
of  this  day,  it  is  said,  that  Capt.  Brown,  and  another  officer  of  the  $26.  regiment, 
at  Boston,  being  sent  to  take  a  survey  of  the  roads  about  that  country,  very 
narrowly  escaped  being  tarred  and  feathered  at  Marlborough.  They  were 
entertained  there  by  a  Mr.  Barnes,  and,  though  in  disguise,  were  discovered 
by  a  drummer,  who  had  formerly  deserted  from  the  same  regiment.  The 
consequence  was,  the  people  assembled  in  great  numbers,  and  surrounded  the 
house ;  the  two  officers  got  to  Boston,  but  Mr.  Barnes'  house  was  almost  tore 
to  pieces,  and  his  family  dreadfully  frightened." — Gentleman's  Magazine,  1775, 
p.  205. 

D'  Bernicre's  account  shows  that  this  was  an  exaggeration.  He  says  that 
Barnes  came  to  Boston  a  few  days  afterwards,  and  told  them  the  Committee 
of  Correspondence  had  searched  his  house,  but  makes  no  mention  of  any 
damage. 

2  Hutchinson's  Diary.  He  adds,  "I  am  glad  they  did  not;  for  I  think  it 
would  have  been  an  everlasting  disgrace  to  attack  a  body  of  people  without  arms 
to  defend  themselves." 


356  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  massacre,  and  the  present  state  of  the  town — filled  with  armed 
men,  and  the  harbour  crowded  with  ships -of -war.  At  one 
especially  passionate  appeal,  a  captain  on  the  stairs  held  up  his 
hand  with  half  a  dozen  pistol-bullets  lying  on  the  palm.  Warren 
dropped  his  handkerchief  over  the  hand,  and  went  on. 

Although  Gage  is  spoken  of  as  himself  an  amiable  and  well- 
meaning  man,  he  allowed  his  officers  to  give  great  provocation. 
Thus,  the  16th  of  March  having  been  appointed  by  the  Provincial 
Congress  as  a  Fast,  we  read,  "On  that  day,  a  party  of  the  4th 
pitched  two  market-tents  within  ten  yards  of  their  place  of 
worship,  and  with  three  drums  and  three  fifes,  kept  beating  and 
playing  during  the  whole  time  of  divine  service."1  Next  day, 
Hancock's  "fine  seat  near  the  Common"  was  maltreated,  the 
fences  broken  down,  and  the  enclosures  defaced;  and  on  the 
18th,  the  Neck-guard  seized  13,425  musket-cartridges,  with  3000  lbs. 
weight  of  ball,  all  private  property,  which  the  Governor  refused 
to  restore  on  the  application  of  the  owner. 

Lord  Dartmouth  had  written  a  circular  letter  to  the  Colonial 
Governors,  ordering  them  to  do  their  utmost  to  prevent  deputies 
being  appointed  to  the  Colonial  Congress  in  Philadelphia.  The 
same  letter  spoke  of  "pretended  grievances."  The  pretended 
grievances  of  a  people  whose  port  had  been  shut  up,  their  fishery 
taken  away,  and  their  whole  government  changed  to  a  despotism  ! 

Having  seized  all  the  provincial  stores  of  powder  and  ammuni- 
tion immediately  around  Boston,  Gage  made  up  his  mind  early  in 
April  to  have  the  cannon  at  Concord,  eighteen  miles  off.  If  he 
happened  to  find  Hancock  and  Adams  there,  so  much  the  better — 
he  dared  not  venture  on  an  arrest  in  the  ordinary  way. 

On  Tuesday,  the  18th  of  April,  1775,  Dr.  Joseph  Warren  and 
another  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  coming  from  a 
Committee  meeting  at  "Wetherby's  Tavern,"  noticed  some  British 
officers  riding  outside  Charlestown  Neck,  and  suspected  that 
the  Governor  was  about  to  make  the  swoop  which  it  was  known 
he  contemplated.  They  drove  back  to  the  tavern,  to  warn  their 
friends — above  all,  to  send  a  special  messenger  to  Hancock  and 
Adams.  Returning  to  Boston,  Warren  sent  Paul  Revere,  of  the 
"Sons  of  Liberty,"  to  warn  them  again.  It  was  now  late  in  the 
evening.  Two  friends  rowed  Revere  over  to  Charlestown,  five 
minutes  before  the  sentinels  received  an  order  to  allow  no  one 
to  pass.  A  chance  word,  overheard  by  Lord  Percy,  had  let  the 
British  know  that  the  expedition  had  got  wind.  Revere  borrowed 
a  horse  in  Charlestown,  and  rode  hard  for  Concord,  rousing  every 

1  Letter  given  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  1775,  p.  250. 


LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD  357 

house  as  he  went.  Meantime,  a  lantern  in  the  steeple  of  the 
Old  North  Meeting-House  had  given  the  alarm  to  the  minute- 
men,  and  a  second  lantern  had  told  that  the  attack  would  be 
by  Charlestown  Neck. 

That  night,  eight  or  nine  hundred  men — "the  grenadiers  and 
light  infantry" — under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Smith  of  the  10th,  and 
Major  Pitcairn  of  the  Marines,  embarked  "at  the  bottom  of 
Boston  Common,"  and  landed  at  Phipps'  Farm,  "  a  little  way  up 
Charles  River."  By  that  time,  bells  were  ringing  and  signal-guns 
firing ;  and  as  Smith  advanced  on  the  road  to  Concord,  he  found 
the  alarm  had  preceded  him ;  so  he  detached  six  companies  under 
Pitcairn,  to  secure  two  bridges  on  different  roads  beyond  Concord, 
and  thus  it  came  about  that  the  first  blood  shed  in  the  War  was 
drawn  at  Lexington.1 

Paul  Revere,  riding  hard — and  once  nearly  captured — had 
reached  the  village  of  Lexington  just  after  midnight.  Adams 
and  Hancock  were  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Jonas  Clark.  They 
had  gone  to  bed  early  "to  oblige  the  family,"  and  were  asleep. 
By  two  in  the  morning,  they  were  marshalling  the  minute-men 
on  Lexington  Green — 130  answered  the  roll-call.  In  Concord, 
the  bell  of  the  Meeting-House  was  ringing,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants were  mustering  —  their  minister,  William  Emerson,  at  their 
head. 

The  King's  troops  came  in  sight  of  Lexington  "just  before 
sunrise."  About  150  men  were  drawn  up  in  two  lines2  near  the 
Meeting  -  House.  Drums  were  beating  and  alarms  sounding. 
Jonas  Parker,  "  the  best  wrestler  in  Lexington,"  who  commanded 
the  militia,  had  promised  never  to  run  from  British  troops. 
Pitcairn  brought  up  his  men  at  a  run,  and  when  "within  a  few 
rods,"  cried,  "  Disperse,  you  rebels !  Damn  you,  throw  down 
your  arms  and  disperse!"  The  troops  "huzza'd,"  one  or  two 
officers  discharged  their  pistols,  four  or  five  soldiers  fired,  and 
then  "there  seemed  to  be  a  general  discharge  from  the  whole 
body."  Eight  of  the  rebels  were  killed  and  one  was  wounded. 
A  few  shots  were  returned.  Jonas  Parker  ordered  his  men  to 
disperse.  He  had  been  wounded  by  the  first  discharge,  but 
continued  to  fire  until  a  soldier  ran  him  through.  In  all,  eight  or 
nine  were  killed,  and  nine  wounded.  The  rest  dispersed.  The 
King's  troops  had  one  man  wounded,  and  Pitcairn's  horse  was 
grazed.     The    British    accounts    say   that    the   rebels   fired   from 

1  Lexington  was  a  village  of  about  700  inhabitants,  six  miles  below  Concord. 

2  "In  two  lines,  with  intervals  as  wide  as  the  front  of  the  divisions." — 
D"  BernicrJs  account. 


358  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

behind  a  stone  wall,  and  from  the  Meeting-House,  and  other 
houses.     This  was  the  Battle  of  Lexington.1 

Pitcairn  then  marched  on  to  Concord,  "without  anything 
further  happening."  The  troops  arrived  between  nine  and  ten. 
The  Light  Infantry  "  took  the  hills  that  lay  the  length  of  the  town," 
and  the  Grenadiers  the  lower  road.  As  they  approached,  they 
found  a  considerable  body  of  the  rebels  on  the  high  ground  above 
the  North  Bridge,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  town ; 
and  Parsons  of  the  ioth  was  sent  with  "six  light  companies"  to 
take  the  bridge  —  D'  Bernicre  being  sent  with  him  to  show  him 
the  way.  At  the  bridge,  Captain  Lowrie  was  left  with  three 
companies  to  hold  it,  while  the  rest  went  to  search  for  stores. 
They  found  that  most  had  been  removed,  but  they  destroyed  what 
there  was.  While  they  were  doing  this,  Lowrie  was  attacked  by 
about  1500  rebels,  and  driven  from  the  bridge.  Parsons  returned 
to  support  him.  The  rebels  were  destroying  the  bridge — had 
already  taken  up  some  planks.  "But  we  got  over,"  says 
D'  Bernicre;  "had  they  destroyed  it  we  were  most  certainly  all 
lost."  There  was  some  actual  fighting  here — one  British  account 
calls  it  "an  action."  One  lieutenant  was  killed,  and  another 
made  prisoner.     This  was  the  Battle  of  Concord. 

Meantime,  Smith  was  destroying  all  the  stores  he  could  find. 
Two  24-pounders  discovered  in  an  inn-yard  were  spiked;  the 
trunnions  of  "three  iron  cannon"  were  knocked  off;  some  new 
gun-carriages  and  a  great  number  of  wheels  were  burnt;  and  a 
considerable  quantity  of  "flour,  gunpowder,  musket  -  balls,  and 
other  articles  "  was  thrown  into  the  river.  About  noon,  he  began 
to  march  back.  The  hills  on  each  side  were  now  covered  with 
rebels — "there  could  not  be  less  than  5000;  so  that  they  kept 
the  road  always  lined,  and  a  very  hot  fire  on  us  without  inter- 
mission ;  we  at  first  kept  our  order  and  returned  their  fire  as  hot 
as  we  received  it,  but  when  we  arrived  within  a  mile  of  Lexington, 
our  ammunition  began  to  fail,  and  the  light  companies  were  so 
fatigued  with  flanking,  they  were  scarce  able  to  act,  and  a  great 
number  of  wounded  scarce  able  to  get  forward,  made  a  great 
confusion ;  Colonel  Smith  (our  commanding  officer)  had  received 
a  wound  through  his  leg,  a  number  of  officers  were  also  wounded, 
so  that  we  began  to  run  rather  than  retreat  in  order."  D'  Bernicre, 
who  gives  this,  the  only  thoroughly  intelligible  account,  adds, 
"  The  whole  behaved  with  amazing  bravery,  but  little  order ; 
we  attempted  to  stop  the  men  and  form  them  two  deep,  but  to 

1  It  is  said  that  the  British  troops  drew  up  on  the  village  green,  fired  a 
volley,  and  huzzaed  thrice,  by  way  of  triumph. — Bancroft. 


LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD  359 

no  purpose;  the  confusion  increased  rather  than  lessened.1  At 
last,  after  we  got  through  Lexington,  the  •  officers  got  to  the  front, 
and  presented  their  bayonets,  and  told  the  men,  if  they  advanced, 
they  should  die;  but  at  that  instant,  the  first  brigade  joined  us, 
consisting  of  the  4th,  23d,  and  47th  regiments,  and  two  divisions 
of  marines,  under  the  command  of  Brigadier- General  Lord  Percy; 
he  brought  two  field -pieces  with  him,  which  were  immediately 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  rebels,  and  soon  silenced  their  fire."2 
Percy's  arrival  prevented  a  disaster.  Smith  had  sent  back  twice 
for  more  support — luckily  for  him,  Gage  had  despatched  Percy, 
as  soon  as  the  sound  of  firing  warned  him  that  the  troops  were 
meeting  with  resistance. 

Percy  (who  marched  out  to  the  tune  of  "Yankee  Doodle") 
had  met  no  one  on  the  way  to  give  him  any  information — every 
house  was  deserted.  He  came  up  just  in  time — it  is  said  that 
when  he  formed  square  to  receive  Pitcairn's  detachment,  the  men 
lay  down  on  the  ground,  "their  tongues  hanging  out  of  their 
mouths,"  like  dogs  returning  from  a  chase.  The  waggons  with 
refreshments,  sent  by  Gage,  had  been  captured  by  Parsons,  the 
minister  of  Chelsea.  The  whole  force  halted  to  rest.  At  last 
they  started  again — Percy's  men  forming  the  rear -guard.  The 
minute-men  were  swarming  all  around,  and  the  march  was  a 
succession  of  small  skirmishes.  D'  Bernicre  says  the  fire  was 
"very  light"  till  they  came  to  Menotomy,  "a  village  with  a 
number  of  houses  in  little  groups,  extending  about  half  a  mile, 
out  of  these  houses  they  kept  a  very  heavy  fire,  but  our  troops 
broke  into  them  and  killed  vast  numbers;  the  soldiers  showed 
great  bravery  in  this  place."  There  were  probably  never  more 
than  four  hundred  Americans  together  at  any  one  time;  but  as 
soon  as  some  grew  tired,  fresh  men  took  their  place.  They  hung 
on  the  British  rear ;  they  were  good  marksmen,  and  they  availed 
themselves  of  every  wall  and  tree  for  cover,  and  "kept  up  a 
scattering  fire  during  their  whole  march  of  15  miles."3 

At  last,  at  about  seven  in  the  evening,  they  reached  Charles- 

141  The  troops,"  says  the  official  account  (in  the  London  Gazette),  "were 
very  much  annoyed,  and  had  several  men  killed  and  wounded  by  the  rebels  firing 
from  behind  walls,  ditches,  trees,  and  other  ambushes."  There  was  a  sharp 
skirmish  on  Fiske's  Hill,  to  the  west  of  Lexington— here,  "  Deacon  Hay  ward, 
of  Acton,"  and  a  regular,  firing  simultaneously,  killed  each  other. 

2  Lord  Percy  must  have  brought  up  over  iooo  men.  One  regiment  was 
the  Welsh  Fusiliers.  He  had  marched  30  miles  in  ten  hours.  Smith  had 
retreated  20  miles  in  six  hours.  The  whole  British  force  was  probably  about 
1800. 

3  London  Gazette. 


360  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

town  Neck,  and  "took  possession  of  a  hill  that  commanded  the 
town." 1  The  Selectmen  sent  word  to  Percy,  that  if  he  would  not 
attack  the  town,  they  would  take  care  that  the  troops  were  not 
molested  in  crossing  to  Boston.  And  so  it  was  agreed;  the 
Somerset  man-of-war  sent  her  boats  for  the  wounded,  then  the 
rest  were  ferried  over.2  D'  Bernicre  concludes  his  account :  "  The 
rebels  shut  up  the  Neck,  placed  sentinels  there,  and  took  prisoner 
an  officer  of  the  64th  regiment  that  was  going  to  join  his  regiment 
in  Castle-William. — So  that  in  the  course  of  two  days,  from  a 
plentiful  town,  we  were  reduced  to  the  disagreeable  necessity  of 
living  on  salt  provisions,  and  fairly  blocked  up  in  Boston." 

Thus  this  affair,  which  seemed  to  begin  like  a  farce,  ended  in 
something  like  a  tragedy.  The  British  owned  to  a  lieutenant,  a 
sergeant,  a  drummer,  and  62  rank  and  file  killed;  and  2  lieu- 
tenant-colonels, 2  captains,  9  lieutenants,  2  ensigns,  7  sergeants, 
and  157  rank  and  file  wounded.  About  25  more  were  returned 
as  "missing." 

It  was  immediately  put  about  that  the  rebels  had  treated  the 
British  wounded  with  great  inhumanity  —  had  even  scalped 
prisoners,  and  cut  off  their  ears.  No  proof  of  this  was  ever 
offered.  On  the  contrary,  a  great  number  of  affidavits  were 
taken,  contradicting  the  charge — the  most  important  being  that 
of  Lieutenant  Gould,  King's  Own  (4th),  wounded  and  made 
prisoner  at  the  bridge  at  Concord,  "and  am  now  treated  with 
the  greatest  humanity,  and  taken  all  possible  care  of,  by  the 
Provincials,  at  Medford." 

"The  Provincials"  was  now  to  be  the  name  for  the  rebels. 
They  on  their  side  accused  the  King's  troops  of  killing  "  the  old, 
the  infirm,  the  unarmed,  and  the  wounded";  with  "burning 
houses,  and  plundering  everything  that  came  in  their  way."  The 
plundering  was  done  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  when  the 
troops,  incensed  at  the  resistance  of  the  Provincials,  were  not  as 
yet  aware  of  their  own  danger.3 

A  great  deal  of  ink  has  been  expended  on  both  sides  in  the 

1  This  hill  was  Bunker's  Hill. 

2  "  The  rebels  were  very  numerous  and  behaved  far  beyond  any  idea  I  could 
ever  have  formed  of  them." — George  Clerk  to  Robert  Clerk,  Edinburgh.  Hist. 
MSS.  Comm.  Report  XI,  App.  5,  MSS.  of  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  p.  337. 

Percy's  retreat  was  "deemed  a  piece  of  masterly  officership  in  bringing  off 
his  men  with  so  little  loss."  See  a  letter  quoted  by  Lord  Drummond,  Hist. 
MSS.  Comm.  Report  XI,  App.  10,  p.  312. 

3  See  "Address  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts  to  the  In- 
habitants of  Great  Britain";  and  many  depositions.  Also  Gentleman's  Maga- 
zine, 1775,  p.  293. 


LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD  361 

attempt  to  prove  which  side  fired  the  first  shot.  If  the  Colonies 
had  taken  up  arms  before  exhausting  all  constitutional  means  of 
obtaining  redress,  it  would  have  been  worth  while  to  ask  whose 
finger  at  the  last  moment  rendered  inevitable  the  appeal  to  arms. 
But  that  appeal  was  not  rendered  inevitable  at  any  one  given 
moment — it  was  due  to  no  unhappy  chance,  it  was  the  outcome 
of  the  "  steady  plan "  of  the  British  Government  to  exploit  the 
Colonies  more  and  more  for  the  benefit  of  Great  Britain,  and 
of  the  equally  "steady"  determination  of  the  Colonies  not  to  be 
thus  exploited.  The  question  is  not,  Could  the  Colonies  have 
maintained  their  rights  by  respectful  petitions  and  representations, 
and  did  they  choose  rather  to  take  up  arms  ?  The  question  is, 
Ought  they  to  have  submitted  to  whatever  a  Government  three 
thousand  miles  away  chose  to  enact  ?  The  choice  lay,  not  between 
two  methods  of  resistance,  but  between  resistance  and  submission. 
For  eight  years,  they  had  tried  petitions  and  representations — and 
as  in  the  days  of  King  Charles,  petitioning  had  been  denounced  as 
in  itself  a  species  of  rebellion.  At  a  very  early  period  of  the  dispute 
an  antiquated  Statute  (originally  passed  for  the  protection  of  the 
accused)  had  been  revived  for  kidnapping  the  leaders  of  the  people, 
and  bringing  them  to  England  to  be  tried  for  high  treason,  where 
they  would  be  sure  to  be  convicted.  The  contemptuous  rejection 
of  every  petition,  and  every  representation  made  by  the  Colonial 
Agents;  the  reluctant  repeal  of  one  obnoxious  measure,  only  to 
pass  another  on  the  first  opportunity;  the  sending  of  regiment 
after  regiment  to  occupy  Boston,  as  if  it  had  been  the  capital  of  a 
conquered  country;  the  shutting  up  of  Boston  Harbour  by  the 
Port  Bill;  the  establishing  of  military  authority  above  the  civil 
power,  by  the  Act  for  the  Better  Administration  of  Justice;  the 
alteration  of  the  Charter,  by  the  Massachusetts  Government  Act ; 
the  taking  away  of  the  New  England  Fishery  by  the  Fisheries  Bill ; 
and  lastly,  the  despatch  of  Smith  and  Pitcairn  to  seize  the  province's 
means  of  defence — all  these  were  acts  of  war  so  overt,  that  it 
matters  nothing  whether  Jonas  Parker  or  a  British  officer  fired  the 
first  shot  on  Lexington  Green. 

Note. — The  account  of  Lexington  is  taken  almost  entirely  from  the  London 
Gazette,  and  from  Lieutenant  D'  Bernicre's  report,  which  appears  to  have  been 
drawn  up  for  General  Gage.  Other  details  are  from  American  accounts,  chiefly 
those  printed  in  Almon's  Remembrancer. 


CHAPTER   XLIII 
AFTER  LEXINGTON 

"  I  called  upon  General  Harvey,  where  I  found  Grant  and  Dalrymple.  Harvey 
swore,  and  reproached  them — chiefly  Dalrymple,  because  he  wanted  more  force 
— '  How  often  have  I  heard  you  American  colonels  boast  that  with  four  bat- 
talions you  would  march  through  America  ;  and  now  you  think  Gage,  with  3000 
men  and  40  pieces  of  cannon,  may  not  venture  out  of  Boston  ! '  " — Hutchinson, 
Diary,  May  31,  1775. 

"You  who  riot  in  pleasure  in  London,  know  nothing  of  the  distress  in  Boston 
...  we  are  in  the  rotations  of  salt  beef  and  salt  pork  one  day,  and  the  next, 
chewing  upon  salt  pork  and  salt  beef.  The  very  rats  are  grown  so  familiar  that 
they  ask  you  to  eat  them,  for  they  say  that  they  have  ate  up  the  sills  already,  and 
they  must  now  go  upon  the  clapboards.  Indeed,  now  and  then  a  hog  swims 
across  the  water,  and  thinks  it  more  honourable  to  be  cut  up  in  town,  and  ate 
at  a  shilling,  L.M.  (lawful  money)  here  per  pound,  than  wasted  out  of  town  at 
4  pence  per  pound.  ...  It  is  said  that  the  Navy  Orders  are  generally,  not  to 
return  their  fire  till  you  are  killed,  or  at  least  wounded." — Chief  Justice  Oliver 
to  Elisha  Hutchinson,  Boston,  June  10,  1775. 

' '  The  pulpits  of  the  Established  Church  at  this  time  resounded  with  exhorta- 
tions to  the  people  to  smite  the  rebels." — Fonblanque. 

As  the  Fiery  Cross  used  to  be  sent  through  Scotland,  so  now  the 
news  of  Lexington  was  sent  through  New  England.  The  province 
rose.  Six  or  seven  hundred  militia  encamped  on  Boston  Neck. 
For  nine  days,  Colonel  Robinson,  their  commander,  was  almost  the 
only  officer — all  the  other  officers,  and  most  of  the  men,  had  gone 
home,  to  settle  up  their  affairs,  make  their  wills,  and  place  their 
families  in  safety.  For  nine  nights  and  days,  Robinson  never 
changed  his  clothes,  nor  slept  in  a  bed. 

By  Sunday,  the  news  was  known  in  New  York.  The  people  shut 
the  Custom  House,  unladed  two  sloops  full  of  stores  for  Gage,  and 
armed.  In  twenty  days,  the  news  was  known  from  Quebec  to 
Savannah.  Lexington  was  fought  on  Wednesday.  On  Thursday 
morning,  old  Major  Israel  Putnam,  ploughing  in  the  field  at 
Pomfret,  heard  a  drum,  and  saw  a  horseman.  It  was  the  messenger 
with  the  news.  Putnam  was  at  Ticonderoga,  and  young  Lord  Howe 
fell  at  his  side.  He  had  known  Indian  warfare,  too — had  been 
tied  to  a  tree  while  tomahawks  were  flung  at  him  for  sport,  and 


AFTER  LEXINGTON  363 

French  officers  looked  on.  He  had  been  stripped  and  tied  to  a 
stake,  to  be  roasted  alive,  and,  after  the  fire  was  lighted,  was  saved 
by  a  Frenchman  nobler  than  the  rest.  Once  at  Pomfret,  he  had 
crawled  into  a  she-wolf's  den,  to  dislodge  her.  There  was  not 
much  that  old  Israel  Putnam  feared.  When  he  saw  the  messenger, 
he  unyoked  the  plough  horses,  got  on  one,  just  as  he  was — leathern 
frock  and  apron,  check  shirt  and  all,  and  so  rode  100  miles  to 
Cambridge,  and  reached  it  at  sunrise. 

Others  were  there  by  that  time — John  Starke,  of  the  Indian 
War,  with  his  New  Hampshire  men  \  and  Ethan  Allen  of  Benning- 
ton, Colonel  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys — a  wild  figure,  just 
proclaimed  outlaw  for  his  doings  about  the  New  Hampshire  Grants. 
On  the  26th,  Captain  Benedict  Arnold  of  New  Haven  came  in  at 
the  head  of  his  company.  Soon  there  were  twenty  thousand  men 
encamped  between  Roxbury  and  Cambridge — a  line  thirty  miles 
long.  Artemus  Ward  was  their  General.  He,  too,  like  Putnam, 
had  fought  in  Canada  under  Abercrombie.  There  was  also 
General  Thomas,  who  fought  in  the  war  of  '56. 

The  first  thing  Gage  did,  after  Lexington,  was  to  offer  passes  to 
all  who  chose  to  leave  Boston,  and  take  their  goods  with  them. 
For  the  first  few  days,  the  road  to  Roxbury  was  crowded  with 
waggons,  carrying  household  goods  and  fugitives.  The  Provincial 
Congress  had  to  provide  for  these  persons — soon  5000  of  them 
were  distributed  in  the  villages.  Those  were  wise  who  went  at 
once.  The  Loyalists  of  Boston  had  immediately  formed  them- 
selves into  a  Volunteer  Corps  200  strong ;  and  when  they  saw  the 
rebels  flocking  out  of  the  town,  they  went  to  the  Governor,  and 
insisted  on  their  being  detained — their  presence  might  be  all  that 
stood  between  the  town  and  a  bombardment !  Gage  hesitated. 
They  threatened  to  go  themselves — to  New  York,  by  sea.  Gage 
temporised — first,  he  prohibited  the  carrying  out  of  merchandise, 
then  of  provisions,  then  of  bedding  and  trunks,  and  by  the  22nd 
passes  were  refused  altogether.  Gage  especially  tried  to  detain  the 
women — the  rebels  would  not  bombard  them.  The  same  day,  he 
sent  for  the  Selectmen,  and  struck  a  bargain — to  use  no  violence, 
if  they  did  not.  A  town-meeting  next  day  ("although  the  Sabbath, 
a  thing  never  known  here  before  ")  ratified  this  compact ;  and  the 
inhabitants  agreed  to  deposit  all  arms  in  Faneuil  Hall,  under 
the  charge  of  the  Selectmen — each  musket  to  be  marked  with 
the  owner's  name,  and  returned,  when  things  are  quiet  once 
more. 

Charlestown  was  nearly  deserted.  A  few  people  went  now  and 
then  "  to  look  after  their  effects,"  dig  their  gardens,  or  mow  their 


364  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

grass.     It  was  reported  that  Charlestown  was  to  be  burned — fire- 
stages  were  to  be  floated  down  the  river. 

Boston  was  already  on  salt  provisions,  and  it  was  "  even  affirmed 
that  pork  and  peas  are  eaten  at  the  General's  own  table." 

There  were  not  as  many  rebels  encamped  round  Boston  as  the 
British  supposed ;  but  the  Provincials  were  constantly  relieved, 
which  came  to  almost  the  same  thing.  Once,  General  Thomas, 
on  an  alarm  of  a  sally,  marched  his  700  men  round  and  round 
Prospect  Hill,  till  they  looked  like  an  army.  And,  undisciplined  as 
were  the  rank  and  file,  there  was  a  good  sprinkling  of  old  soldiers 
trained  in  the  war  of  '56.  Most  of  them  "were  with  Braddock." 
Gage,  watching  the  Provincials  through  his  glass,  could  recognise 
more  than  one  old  comrade.  One  day,  he  made  out  Putnam,  and 
got  a  message  to  him,  to  come  and  speak  with  him.  Putnam 
came  in,  and  Gage  showed  him  his  fortifications,  and  advised  his 
old  comrade  to  lay  down  his  arms ;  but  Putnam  only  returned  the 
kind  advice. 

On  May  25,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  town — occasioned  by  a 
cartridge  catching  fire.  Great  damage  was  done.  By  an  unhappy 
augury,  the  same  day  arrived  the  three  Generals,  Howe,  Clinton, 
and  Burgoyne — to  find  they  had  come  to  a  beleaguered  town. 
Burgoyne  was  much  disgusted  to  think  that  "ten  thousand 
peasants  should  keep  five  thousand  King's  troops  shut  up,"  but 
hoped  he  should  "  soon  find  elbow-room  " — an  unfortunate  remark, 
with  which  he  was  twitted  later  on.  It  was  asserted  that  the 
British  officers  so  little  expected  anything  serious,  that  they  brought 
out  "  angling  rods,"  to  pass  the  time. 

The  Provincial  Council,  sitting  at  Watertown,1  voted  that  Gage 
was  no  longer  Governor  of  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
It  merely  stated  a  fact.  Gage  was  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
forces,  and  military  governor  of  the  town  of  Boston,  but  there 
his  authority  ended.  The  Provincial  Congress  appointed  a  post- 
master; empowered  their  Receiver-General  to  borrow  ^100,000 
"in  lawful  money"  on  Colonial  securities,  at  6  per  cent.,  repayable 
in  two  years ;  and  drew  up  an  address  "  to  their  Friends  and 
Fellow-subjects,  the  Inhabitants  of  Great  Britain." 

On  the  3rd  of  May,  Benedict  Arnold  —  with  the  Provincial 
Committee  of  Safety's  commission  as  Colonel — set  off  to  take 
Ticonderoga  with  one  man,  intending  to  raise  volunteers  on  the 
way.  He  came  up  with  Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  and  wrent  on  with 
him.  That  day  week,  this  little  force  of  100  Green  Mountain  Boys, 
and  50  Massachusetts  Militia,  walked  into  Ticonderoga,  forced  the 
1  April  25,  or  a  few  days  earlier. 


AFTER  LEXINGTON  365 

guards,  and  rushed  into  the  fort.  Delaplace,  the  Commandant,  who 
was  dressing — it  was  about  sunrise — ran  out  in  his  shirt  to  know 
what  was  the  matter.  Allen  summoned  him  to  surrender.  "In 
whose  name?"  asked  the  Commandant.  "In  the  name  of  the 
Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress,"  replied  Allen.  And 
so  Ticonderoga,  which  had  cost  the  British  Government  eight 
millions  sterling,  and  many  campaigns,  was  taken  in  ten  minutes, 
almost  without  a  blow.  The  same  day,  Seth  Warner,  Allen's 
lieutenant,  surprised  Crown  Point. 

In  the  interval  between  Lexington  and  Bunker's  Hill,  the 
Second  Continental  Congress  met  at  Philadelphia.  It  did  not 
assume  to  be  an  Executive,  or  even  a  Legislative  Body ;  but  only 
the  assembled  Committees  of  Twelve  Colonies,  met  to  consult  on 
the  state  of  public  affairs,  and  endeavour  to  agree  on  the  measures 
most  likely  to  obtain  redress  of  American  grievances,  and  to  restore 
harmony  between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies. 

The  People  of  America,  represented  in  the  Second  General 
Congress,  had  not  departed  from  their  original  contention — that 
they  owed  allegiance,  and  were  ready  to  maintain  that  allegiance, 
to  the  King,  but  not  to  the  Parliament.  This  has  very  often 
been  misunderstood;  and  because  it  was  misunderstood,  it  has 
been  ridiculed  as  illogical  and  denounced  as  hypocritical.  It  was 
neither.  It  meant  that  the  Colonies  demanded  to  be  upon  precisely 
the  same  footing  as  the  people  of  Great  Britain.  This  was  what 
they  meant,  when  they  professed  loyalty  to  the  King,  while  defying 
the  Parliament.  The  people  of  Great  Britain  were  governed  by 
laws  passed  by  the  representatives  they  themselves  had  chosen. 
The  Charters  of  the  American  provinces  acknowledged  their  right 
to  be  governed  in  all  internal  affairs  by  laws  passed  by  their  pro- 
vincial Assemblies — that  is,  by  representatives  chosen  by  the  people 
of  the  Colonies.  They  had,  in  fact,  been  granted  Home  Rule. 
The  colonists  maintained  that  the  provincial  Assemblies  were 
sister-parliaments  to  the  Parliament  at  Westminster,  and  stood  in 
the  same  relation  to  the  King  as  the  Parliament  of  Westminster. 
As  regarded  all  internal  questions,  they  governed  themselves,  with 
the  exception  that  their  Governors  were  appointed — though  not 
paid — by  the  Crown,  and  that  in  international  questions,  affecting 
peace  and  war,  and  international  trade,  the  British  Government  had 
a  claim  to  their  obedience. 

The  Congress  met  on  the  5th  of  May.  On  the  10th,  Franklin — 
who  arrived  the  night  before,  and  had  been  elected  a  delegate  to 
Congress  that  morning — took  his  seat.  "He  has  been  received 
with  the  greatest  respect   by  all  ranks  of  people."     On  the  13th, 


366  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

John  Jay  moved  for  a  second  Petition  to  the  King.  Congress 
were  discussing  this,  when,  on  the  18th,  came  the  news  of 
Ticonderoga.  Their  victory  threw  Congress  into  great  perturba- 
tion— they  were  half  inclined  to  give  the  Fort  back — they  had  not 
thought  of  anything  so  daring  as  an  invasion  of  Canada.  Ethan 
Allen  ought  to  have  said,  "  In  the  name  of  the  Committee  of  Safety 
of  Connecticut " — a  more  reckless  body  by  far.  At  last  it  was  agreed 
to  withdraw  the  captured  artillery  to  the  head  of  Lake  George — 
to  be  scrupulously  returned  when  the  troubles  are  over. 

A  plan,  said  to  have  been  placed  before  the  First  Continental 
Congress,  was  submitted  to  the  Second — by  whom,  or  with  how 
much  of  authority,  seems  to  be  doubtful.  It  seems  to  have  been 
a  revival  of  one  of  Governor  Shirley's  schemes.  It  was  for  "a 
British  and  American  Legislature,  for  regulating  the  administra- 
tion of  the  general  affairs  of  America " — to  be  administered  by  a 
President- General,  appointed  by  the  King,  and  a  Grand  Council, 
chosen  by  the  Colonies.  This  Grand  Council  was  to  meet  more  or 
less  often  than  once  a  year,  as  might  be  necessary,  and  to  have  all 
the  privileges  exercised  by  the  House  of  Commons ;  it  was  to  be 
"  an  inferior  and  distinct  branch  of  the  British  Legislature."  Any 
of  the  Regulations  might  originate  with  either  body,  and  must  be 
transmitted  to  the  other  for  assent,  the  assent  of  both  being  required 
to  make  it  law — except  that,  in  time  of  war,  the  Grand  Council's 
Bills  for  granting  aid  to  the  Crown,  need  not  wait  for  the  assent  of 
Parliament. 

On  June  i,  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia  was  convened 
for  the  last  time  under  British  rule.  It  met  anxious  and  displeased. 
The  finances  of  the  province  were  much  embarrassed  by  the  Indian 
Frontier  War  of  last  year — which  has  not  been  mentioned,  as  it  had 
no  immediate  bearing  on  the  general  situation.1  But  the  Indian 
trouble  helped  to  intensify  the  indignation  at  Dunmore's  threat  to 
emancipate  the  slaves,  "  if  he  was  pressed "  to  give  up  the  powder 
of  Williamsburg,  which  he  had  seized  in  the  night  of  April  20. 
Dunmore  had  had  to  "  fortify  himself  in  his  palace,"  when  Patrick 
Henry  appeared  to  demand  it.  He  paid  for  the  powder,2  rather 
than  give  it  up;  but  this  did  not  help  him  much,  for  Peyton 
Randolph,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  rode  over  from 
Congress  with  "an  escort  of  independent  companies  of  horse  and 
foot  "—in  fact,  a  little  army.  Some  of  the  Burgesses  came  in  the 
new  uniform — a  hunting -shirt  of  coarse  homespun,  and  a  wood- 
man's axe. 

Dunmore  now  made  a  conciliatory  speech,  full  of  the  "gracious 
1  See  Note  at  end  of  chapter.  2  He  paid  £350. 


AFTER  LEXINGTON  367 

declaration  of  King  and  Parliament,"  to  redress  their  "  well-founded 
grievances."  No  specific  sum  was  demanded  of  the  Colonies — 
their  gift,  if  they  offered  any,  was  to  be  free.  It  was  never  intended 
to  require  them  to  tax  themselves,  without  Parliament  taxing  the 
subjects  of  Great  Britain  on  the  same  occasion  in  a  far  greater 
proportion.  Dunmore  apologised  for  taking  the  powder — he  had 
had  "the  best  of  motives" — thought  it  was  in  a  dangerous  place 
where  it  was — and  reminded  them  how  he  had  ventured  his  life 
against  the  Indians  in  the  service  of  the  province.  But  he  could 
not  deny  his  threat  to  arm  the  slaves. 

The  Burgesses  received  these  professions  with  polite  incredulity, 
and  passed  a  Bill  for  defraying  the  cost  of  the  Indian  War,  and 
providing  for  the  widows  and  orphans.  To  do  this,  it  placed  a 
duty  of  £$  (equal  to  about  10  per  cent.)  on  the  head  of  every  slave 
imported  from  the  West  Indies.  Dunmore  refused  assent,  on  the 
ground  that  this  duty  would  injure  the  British  traffic  in  negroes. 
Thus  the  last  exercise  of  the  power  of  veto,  by  a  British  Governor 
of  Virginia,  was  for  the  protection  of  the  British  slave-trade. 

In  the  middle  of  this  business,  Dunmore  received  a  letter  from 
Gage,  informing  him  that  he  was  about  to  issue  a  Proclamation  of 
pardon  to  all  except  Hancock  and  Adams.  It  occurred  to  Dunmore 
that  if  Gage  seized  these  gentlemen,  Randolph's  little  army  might 
arrest  himself  for  a  hostage,  so  he  left  Williamsburg  suddenly  in 
the  night,  and  went  with  his  family  on  board  the  Fowey  man-of-war. 
He  explained  his  flight  by  saying  he  was  afraid  of  "falling  a 
sacrifice"  to  the  "blind  and  unreasoning  fury  which  had  so  un- 
accountably seized  upon  great  numbers  of  people  " ;  and  he  invited 
the  House  to  come  to  him  "  at  his  present  residence."  The  House 
voted  that  it  was  a  high  breach  of  privilege  to  require  it  to  attend 
his  lordship  on  board  of  his  Majesty's  man-of-war.  He  had  now 
given  up  the  key  of  the  powder  magazine.  Three  days  before  he 
did  so,  the  Burgesses  of  Virginia  had  formally  rejected  North's 
propositions.  They  said  they  "  contended  not  merely  for  the  mode 
of  raising  their  money,  but  for  the  freedom  of  granting  it."  The 
Acts  had  not  been  repealed — Acts  restraining  trade,  altering  the 
government  of  Massachusetts  and  Quebec,  enlarging  the  Admiralty 
jurisdiction,  taking  away  trial  by  jury,  and  establishing  standing 
armies.  The  Colonies  had  been  invaded  by  large  armaments  by 
sea  and  land — this  is  a  style  of  asking  gifts  not  reconcilable  with 
freedom.  They  therefore  committed  their  injuries  "  to  the  justice 
of  the  evenhanded  Being  Who  doth  no  wrong." 

They  further  resolved  that  a  well-regulated  militia  of  gentlemen 
and  yeomen  was  necessary,  and  "  is  the  natural  strength  and  only 


368  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

security  of  a  free  government."  And  till  this  unhappy  dispute  is 
settled,  there  should  be  as  little  going  to  law  as  possible l — those 
that  cannot  wait,  should  refer  their  differences  to  "judicious 
neighbours";  creditors  should  be  "as  indulgent  as  maybe,"  and 
"  debtors  should  pay  as  far  as  they  are  able." 

For  many  months — indeed,  almost  ever  since  the  punitive  Acts 
had  come  into  operation — the  King's  Government  in  Massachusetts 
had  been  virtually  dissolved.  When,  a  few  days  after  Lexington, 
the  Provincial  Congress  voted  that  Gage  was  no  more  Governor  of 
the  province,  "he  having,  by  his  conduct,  forfeited  all  right  to  it," 
the  fact  had  long  been  obvious  to  all.  General  Gage  was  better 
aware  of  it  than  anybody,  and  had  said  long  since  that  it  might 
be  well  to  leave  the  Provincials  to  "anarchy  and  repentance." 
But  the  dissolution  of  Government  had  not  produced  the  kind  of 
anarchy  for  which  members  of  the  British  Parliament  hoped.  As 
one  Royal  Governor  after  another  lost  control  of  his  province,  one 
Provincial  Congress  after  another  sprang  into  being,  and  took  on 
itself  all  the  functions  of  the  old  Assemblies  and  Councils  combined. 
And  each  Provincial  Congress,  as  soon  as  it  met,  began  to  consider 
North's  proposals — that  the  British  Government  should  call  for 
what  revenue  it  pleased,  and  the  Colonies  should  raise  it  as  they 
pleased.  Each  province  decided  that  this  was  unjust,  and  while  re- 
affirming its  loyalty  to  the  King,  also  re-affirmed  its  entire  rejection 
of  the  authority  of  Parliament.  Governor  Franklin,  the  Loyalist  son 
of  the  valiant  old  philosopher,  summoned  the  Assembly  of  New 
Jersey,  hoping  it  would  pronounce  for  North's  offer;  but  it  only 
voted  its  intention  to  abide  by  "the  united  voice  of  the  Continental 
Congress."  Governor  Martin  of  North  Carolina  made  his  Assembly 
a  conciliatory  speech,  but  could  not  persuade  it  not  to  send  delegates 
to  Congress.  At  the  beginning  of  April,  the  Provincial  Congress 
of  Massachusetts  had  drawn  up  "  Rules  "  for  the  Army.  They  are 
curious  reading,  these  "  rules  "  for  a  citizen  Army,  and  the  penalties 
for  ill-behaviour  are  left  in  what  was  no  doubt  believed  to  be  a 
judicious  vagueness.  Congress  had  sent  off  an  address  to  our 
"Friends  and  Fellow-subjects,  the  Inhabitants  of  Great  Britain." 
Now,  in  May,  Massachusetts  appointed  a  Postmaster,  and  wrote  to 
Congress  desiring  it  to  assume  the  regulation  of  the  Army,  "now 
collecting  from  different  Colonies  for  the  defence  of  America." 

It   had    long   been   apparent   that    the    Army    must    have    a 

Commander-in-Chief.     The  difficulty  was   to   conciliate   provincial 

susceptibilities.     Old   General   Artemus  Ward,  now   in   command 

outside  Boston,  was  too  infirm — scarcely  able  to  mount  a  horse. 

1  The  Courts  were  shut. 


AFTER  LEXINGTON  369 

But  he  was  a  Massachusetts  man,  and  it  would  not  do  to  offend 
Massachusetts.  Mr.  Hancock  was  known  to  think  of  himself  for 
the  post ;  but  he  had  seen  no  service,  and  his  health  was  delicate. 
There  were  many  officers  who  had  seen  service — at  Cape  Breton, 
at  the  two  Sieges  of  Louisburg,  and  with  Wolfe.  But  the  Army 
was  to  a  great  extent  a  Northern  Army — the  South  might  be 
jealous  if  there  were  a  Northern  General  too.  Colonel  Charles  Lee 
had  been  spoken  of — but  he  was  an  Englishman,  in  itself  almost 
a  sufficient  reason  against  him.  Then  came  news  that  the  three 
British  Generals,  Howe,  Clinton,  and  Burgoyne,  were  actually  in 
Boston ;  and  the  need  for  a  Provincial  General  became  imperative. 
It  was  a  relief  to  everyone  when  one  morning  in  June  Mr.  John 
Adams — now  looked  on  as  the  leading  man  of  Massachusetts — 
rose  and  moved  that  Congress  should  appoint  a  General,  adding 
that  he  had  no  hesitation  to  declare  he  had  but  one  gentleman 
in  his  mind  for  that  command, — "a  gentleman  of  Virginia,  now 
among  us,  and  very  well  known  to  us  all," — a  gentleman,  whose 
skill  and  experience,  whose  independent  fortune,  great  talents  and 
excellent  universal  character,  would  command  the  approbation  of 
all  America. 

Colonel  Washington  was  sitting  near  the  door  of  the  "library- 
room,"  and  slipped  away  while  Adams  was  speaking.  There  was 
a  little  opposition — chiefly  on  the  score  that  Ward  was  already  in 
command,  and  was  holding  the  British  imprisoned,  which  was 
all  that  could  be  expected  or  desired.  But  when,  on  the  15th, 
Mr.  Johnson  of  Maryland  formally  nominated  Mr.  Washington 
to  be  Generalissimo  of  the  Continental  Forces,  the  ballot  was 
unanimous. 

Washington  was  now  forty-three — over  six  feet  in  height,  broad, 
and  well-proportioned,  with  a  constitution  of  iron.  He  had  been 
his  own  teacher  ever  since,  at  sixteen,  he  went  out  into  the  wilder- 
ness to  survey  Lord  Fairfax's  vast  estates  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge — 
never  surveyed  till  then,  though  granted  to  Fairfax's  ancestor  by 
Charles  11.  At  nineteen  he  was  an  Adjutant-General  with  a  Major's 
commission,  on  the  western  frontier.  At  twenty-one  he  was  sent 
as  Envoy  of  Virginia  to  the  Council  of  Indian  Chiefs  on  the  Ohio, 
and  to  the  French  on  Lake  Erie.  He  led  the  first  military  expedi- 
tion from  Virginia  that  ever  crossed  the  Alleghanies.  Two  years 
later  Braddock  chose  him  for  his  aide-de-camp,  in  the  disastrous 
attempt  on  Fort  Duquesne.  On  the  terrible  day  by  the 
Monongahela,  when  Braddock's  force,  marching  carelessly,  was  set 
upon  and  utterly  routed  by  a  handful  of  French  and  six  hundred 
Indians,  Washington  escaped  as  by  miracle — he  had  two  horses 
vol.  1. — 24 


370  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

shot  under  him,  and  four  balls  passed  through  his  coat.1  It  was 
Washington  and  Gage  who  rallied  the  shattered  remnants  of 
Braddock's  men,  and  saved  the  dying  General  from  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  Indians.  Next  year,  when  he  was  still  but  twenty-four, 
Washington  was  chosen  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Maryland 
as  second  in  command  of  the  army  for  the  Ohio,  of  which  Governor 
Shirley  was  Commander-in-Chief.  Again,  in  1758,  he  served  under 
Forbes.  Since  then,  he  had  lived  at  Mount  Vernon  the  life  of  a 
country  gentleman  and  planter  of  Virginia — the  life  he  loved  best.2 
His  character  need  not  be  described — it  is  a  part  of  the  history  of 
the  country  he  saved. 

Washington's  first  act  as  Generalissimo  was  to  refuse  all  pay 
except  his  expenses — of  which  he  promised  Congress  to  keep  a 
strict  account.  His  last  was  to  hand  back  his  commission  to 
Congress,  the  day  after  the  last  British  soldier  embarked  at  New 
York. 

Washington  knew  well  what  was  the  task  before  him.  The 
day  he  was  appointed,  he  said  to  Patrick  Henry,  "  This  day  will  be 
the  commencement  of  the  decline  of  my  reputation."  He  knew 
that  he  had  to  create  an  army  out  of  a  fortuitous  concourse  of 
farmers,  lawyers,  traders,  merchants,  and  artificers;  he  knew  that 
Congress  could  give  him  no  authority,  for  it  possessed  none,  and 
could  not  pay  his  army,  for  it  had  no  revenue.  He  knew  that, 
besides  the  ordinary  jealousies,  which  assail  every  man  in  a  great 
station,  he  would  have  the  conflicting  interests  and  meannesses  of 
thirteen  colonies  to  reckon  with.  Lastly,  he  knew  that  with  his 
little  experience  of  border  warfare,  he  must  pit  himself  against 
British  Generals  trained  in  great  wars,  with  the  resources  of  a 
mighty  empire  behind  them. 

Four  Major-Generals  were  appointed — Lee,  Ward,  Schuyler, 
and  Putnam  ;  and  eight  Brigadier-Generals. 

Philip  Schuyler  came  of  a  great  Dutch  family  of  New  York — a 

1  "  We  have  been  most  scandalously  beaten  by  a  trifling  body  of  men." — 
Washington's  Letter  to  his  Mother,  1756. 

Braddock,  who  had  five  horses  shot  under  him,  was  mortally  wounded.  He 
died  at  Great  Meadows,  four  days  after  the  battle.  As  the  chaplain  was  wounded, 
Major  Washington  read  the  Burial  Service. 

2  In  1770,  Washington,  having  established  the  rights  of  the  soldiers  and 
officers  who  had  served  with  him  in  the  French  war  to  200,000  acres  in  the 
western  valley,  undertook  to  select  their  tracts  for  them,  and  went  down  to  the 
Great  Kanawha.  He  floated  down  the  Ohio  in  a  canoe — innumerable  wild-fowl, 
turkeys,  etc.,  deer  browsing  on  the  banks — and  chose  the  good  land,  setting  his 
mark  on  a  maple  or  elm,  a  hoop- wood  or  ash,  as  the  corner  of  a  soldier's  survey. 
The  red-men  received  him  with  public  honours.     So  Tennessee  was  founded. 


AFTER  LEXINGTON  371 

man  greatly  respected,  a  good  mathematician  and  engineer,  and 
something  of  a  martinet.  Charles  Lee  was  a  very  curious  person — 
an  English  soldier  of  fortune,  a  vain,  restless,  disappointed  man, 
affecting  eccentricity.  Both  he  and  Schuyler  had  fought  in  Canada 
under  Abercrombie  (now  in  Boston).  Since  then,  he  had  fought 
in  Portugal  and  Turkey,  and  been  aide-de-camp  to  King  Stanislaus 
of  Poland.  In  England  he  had  fought  a  duel,  and  killed  his  man ; 
and  had  written  a  political  pamphlet  which  made  the  Ministry 
think  him  dangerous.  Lee  was  a  friend  of  Burke ;  but  of  human 
beings  he  professed  to  prefer  the  Mohawks,  whom  he  had  learned 
to  know  in  Canada.  They  adopted  him,  and  gave  him  the  name 
of  "  Boiling  Water."  He  also  admired  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don. 
But  on  the  whole,  he  affected  misanthropy,  disliked  women  without 
loving  men,  and  considered  horses  and  dogs  more  worthy  of  regard 
than  humankind.  He  was  strongly  of  opinion  that  Charles  Lee 
was  the  man  to  command  the  Continental  Armies.  He  had  offered 
to  teach  the  Americans  military  tactics,  and  had  written  long  letters 
to  Lord  Percy  and  General  Burgoyne, — his  old  comrade  in  Portugal, 
— remonstrating  with  them  for  engaging  in  so  bad  a  cause. 

Washington,  Lee,  and  Schuyler  set  out  on  June  21  for  the 
Camp  at  Cambridge.  They  had  not  ridden  six  miles  out  of 
Philadelphia  when  they  met  an  express  riding  post  to  Congress, 
with  news  that  a  great  battle  was  fought  at  Boston  on  Saturday,  and 
Dr.  Warren  was  killed. 


CHAPTER   XLIV 
BUNKER'S  HILL 

"Mr.  Gibbon  called.  He  says  many  who  were  strong  for  the  measures  of 
Parliament  are  much  discouraged  by  the  news  from  America,  they  having  been 
made  to  believe  there  would  be  no  action." — Hutchinson's  Diary,  June  19,  1775. 

"  I  am  sure  I  never  wrote  anything  I  did  not  believe  to  be  true.  I  am  sure  I 
never  wrote  anything  that  I  thought  would  hurt  the  interest  of  my  country." — 
Hutchinson  to  Mr.  Sewall,  Attorney-General  of  Massachusetts,  July  8,  1775. 

"  In  short,  it  is  as  preposterous  to  recur  to  Athens  and  Sparta  for  comparisons 
to  their  courage,  as  it  is  to  suppose  their  spring  of  action  in  this  revolt  analogous 
to  the  genuine  spirit  of  liberty  that  guided  those  states. " 

On  the  12th  of  June  Gage  issued  his  Proclamation  beginning, 
"  Whereas  the  infatuated  multitudes,"  and  going  on  to  offer  pardon 
to  all  who  would  lay  down  their  arms — always  excepting  Samuel 
Adams  and  John  Hancock.  It  expatiated  on  "  the  infringements 
of  the  sacred  rights  of  the  Crown  and  people  of  Great  Britain  "  (to 
make  foolish  and  anti-commercial  laws) ;  and  on  the  conduct  of  "  a 
number  of  armed  persons,"  who  on  April  19,  "from  behind  walls 
and  lurking  holes,  attacked  a  detachment  of  the  King's  troops," 
who,  not  expecting  "  so  consummate  an  act  of  phrenzy,"  and  un- 
prepared and  unwilling  for  vengeance,  only  used  their  arms  in  self- 
defence.  Since  then  these  rebels  "have  added  insult  to  injury," 
have  fired  on  the  King's  ships,  and  "with  a  preposterous  parade  of 
military  arrangement,  affect  to  hold  the  army  besieged."  Finally, 
it  proclaimed  martial  law.1  The  same  day  Gage  wrote  to  Dart- 
mouth, that  the  town  continued  surrounded  by  a  large  body  of 
Provincials,  and  that  all  communication  with  the  country  was  cut 
off.  A  few  days  before  this,  Dr.  Peter  Oliver  (son  of  the  Chief 
Justice)  had  written  to  Elisha  Hutchinson  :  "  we  are  besieged  this 
moment  with  10  or  15,000  men,  from  Roxbury  to  Cambridge; 
their  rebel  sentrys  within  call  of  the  troops'  sentry  on  the  Neck. 
.  .  .  You  seem  in  England  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of  the  temper 
of  our  people.  They  are  as  much  determined  from  Florida  to 
Halifax  to  oppose  you  at  home,  do  what  you  will,  as  I  hear  the 

1  Burgoyne  wrote  this  Proclamation,  and  many  others. 
372 


BUNKER'S  HILL  373 

Ministry  are  determined  to  pursue  their  plan.  I  am  in  no  doubt 
but  you  will  be  able  to  conquer  America  at  last,  but  a  horrid 
bloody  scene  will  be  opened  here,  as  never  was  in  New  England 
before.  What  comfort  or  satisfaction  do  you  think  we  take  now,  or 
can  take,  when  the  dreadful  scene  opens  ?  " 1 

And  now  the  dreadful  scene  opened. 

The  "persons  in  arms,"  who  were  "affecting"  to  besiege 
Boston,  became  more  formidable  every  day.  About  the  1st  of 
June  twelve  pieces  of  "battering  cannon" — 18-  and  24-pounders — 
had  been  sent  from  Providence  to  the  Camp  at  Cambridge.  The 
Camp  was  rough  enough — canvas  and  sails,  given  by  the  seaport 
towns,  formed  the  tents.  Nobody  had  any  experience,  and  there 
was  no  discipline — the  private  was  as  good  a  man  as  the  captain. 
Worse  still,  there  was  very  little  ammunition ;  and,  worst  of  all, 
there  were  quarrels  and  discontents.  It  was  not  even  quite  certain 
who  was  in  command,  and  whether  Ward  was  General-in-Chief  or 
only  commanded  the  New  Hampshire  regiments.  There  was 
difference  of  opinion — Ward,  sick  and  timid,  was  for  retiring  from 
Cambridge  and  fortifying  the  heights  of  Brookline.  Putnam  not 
only  insisted  that  Cambridge  must  be  held,  but  could  hardly  be 
prevented  from  advancing  the  lines  of  the  Connecticut  men  to 
Prospect  Hill. 

The  peculiar  situation  of  Boston,  at  the  head  of  the  deep  bay 
of  Massachusetts,  must  be  realised  in  order  to  understand  the 
extraordinary  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill.  The  town  stands  on  a 
peninsula,  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  very  low  and  narrow 
isthmus — called  Boston  Neck — about  50  yards  broad,  and  so  low 
that  the  spring-tides  sometimes  washed  the  road.  In  1775 
Boston  was  about  two  miles  long,  and  contained  about  4000 
houses,  mostly  brick,  with  18,000  inhabitants.  The  streets  were 
broad  and  regular,  the  houses  of  the  richest  merchants  were 
"very  stately,  well-built  and  convenient."  There  were  so  many 
wharves  and  warehouses,  that  more  than  fifty  vessels  could  unlade 
at  one  time  "with  great  conveniency."  To  north  of  Boston, 
divided  from  it  by  a  large  navigable  river,  lay  Charlestown,  on 
another  peninsula,  between  the  Mystic  and  the  Charles  rivers. 
Charlestown  was  about  half  as  large  as  Boston,  but  less  con- 
veniently situated  for  sea-going  trade.  To  the  north  of  the 
peninsula  of  Charlestown  rose  Bunker's  Hill,  a  round  smooth 
mound,  about  no  feet  high.  It  commanded  both  peninsulas. 
The  rising  ground  fell  away  gradually  for  about  700  yards,  and  just 
north  of  Charlestown  rose  again  to  Breed's  Hill,  about  75  feet 
1  Letter  of  June  I,  1775. — Hutchinson's  Diary^  i. 


374  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

high.  Dorchester  Neck — another  peninsula — was  to  the  south. 
Close  round  lay  the  smaller  towns  of  Roxbury,  Dorchester,  and 
Cambridge. 

Towards  the  middle  of  May  the  Committee  of  Safety  and 
a  Council  of  War  had  resolved  to  fortify  Bunker's  Hill — they  were 
only  waiting  for  a  supply  of  powder.  About  the  14th  of  June  they 
heard  that  Gage  was  preparing  to  post  troops  there  himself,  and 
that  the  18th  was  the  day  fixed  for  the  attempt,  so  on  the  15th 
a  Council  of  War  determined  to  take  possession  of  Bunker's  Hill 
at  once.  The  command  was  given  to  Prescott,  who  had  had 
considerable  experience  in  French  and  Indian  warfare;  and  on 
the  evening  of  the  1 6th,  after  prayers  by  the  President  of  Harvard, 
1000  men  marched  from  Cambridge.  By  some  mistake,  never 
explained,  and  little  noticed,  Prescott  had  been  ordered  to  fortify 
Breed's  Hill — the  summit  nearer  Boston.  At  midnight  the  works 
were  begun  by  the  light  of  dark-lanterns.1  As  day  broke  the 
watch  on  board  the  Lively  (lying  in  the  ferry  between  Boston  and 
Charlestown)  saw  what  the  Provincials  were  about,  and  gave  the 
alarm.  By  that  time  a  small  redoubt  about  8  rods  square  had 
been  thrown  up,  and  the  entrenchments  were  6  feet  high.2  At 
once  the  Lively  fired  her  great  gun,  the  Falcon  and  the  Somerset 
followed,  until  a  heavy  fire  from  the  ships,  the  floating  batteries, 
and  the  fort  on  Copps'  Hill — in  Boston  itself — was  directed  on 
the  new  works. 

The  Provincials  worked  on — now  fortifying  the  marshy,  grassy 
ground  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  When  the  fire  grew  too  heavy, 
Prescott  returned  to  the  redoubt,  and  walked  up  and  down  on 
the  parapet.  Gage,  on  Copps'  Hill,  only  1200  yards  away  as  the 
crow  flies,  watched  this  tall  figure,  the  only  one  in  uniform  that 
day — saw  him  take  off  cocked-hat  and  tie-wig,  and  walk  bare- 
headed in  the  blazing  sun,  the  bald  patch  on  his  head  distinctly 
seen.  "Who  is  the  person  who  appears  to  command?  Will  he 
fight?"  asked  Gage.  And  Councillor  Willard  (a  "Mandamus 
Councillor ")  replied,  "  He  is  my  brother-in-law ;  and  he  will  fight 
while  there  is  a  drop  of  blood  in  his  body." 

Meanwhile  the  Provincials  were  alternately  asking  in  despair, 
Why  Ward  did  not  send  them  reinforcements?  and  in  astonish- 

1  The  work  was  performed  so  quietly,  that  Prescott,  who  went  down  twice 
in  the  night  to  the  water's  edge  to  listen,  could  hear  the  sentinels  on  the  men- 
of-war  cry,  "All's  Well  !" 

2  Colonel  Gridley  was  their  engineer.  It  was  he  who  fired  the  shot  into 
the  Citadel,  at  the  First  Siege  of  Louisburg,  which  brought  about  the 
capitulation. 


BUNKER'S  HILL  375 

ment,  Why  Gage  did  not  send  the  soldiers  ?  But  Ward  was  afraid 
of  weakening  his  camp;  and  Gage  hoped  to  dislodge  the  rebels 
with  his  artillery — the  fire  was  now  so  heavy,  that  the  smoke  hung 
upon  the  hills.  But  the  works  were  being  made  stronger  every 
hour,  and  Gage  saw  that  he  must  fight.  So  at  high -water 
the  Glasgow  and  the  two  floating  batteries  were  moored  where 
their  guns  would  rake  Charlestown  Neck,  and  about  noon  the 
Provincials  in  the  redoubt  saw  the  red-coats  swarming  out  on 
Long  Wharf.  Under  the  protection  of  the  ships,  28  barges  were 
rowed  across  to  Moulton's  Point,  carrying  the  5th,  38th,  43rd,  and 
52nd  infantry,  ten  companies  of  grenadiers,  ten  of  light  infantry, 
and  "a  proportion"  of  field-artillery,  under  Generals  Howe  and 
Pigot.  With  them  went  Abercrombie,  Pitcairn,  and  a  great 
number  of  other  officers.  No  sooner  had  Howe  landed  and 
formed  his  troops  in  order  of  march,  than  he  perceived  that  "  the 
rebels  on  the  heights  "  were  "  in  great  force  and  strongly  posted." 
The  redoubt  was  full  of  men,  and  defended  with  cannon;  and 
"a  large  body,  posted  in  the  houses  in  Charlestown,  covered  their 
right  flank,  the  left  being  covered  by  a  breastwork,  part  of  it 
cannon-proof."  Howe  also  discovered  that  "Mr.  Lovell  of  the 
Ordnance"  had  sent  the  wrong  shot — 12-pounders,  when  the 
cannon  were  only  six.  He  sent  back  for  reinforcements,  and  for 
the  right  shot,  and  meanwhile  he  made  the  men  sit  down  in  the 
long  grass  and  refresh  themselves. 

Perhaps  no  battle  ever  had  so  many  spectators.  All  Boston 
was  looking  on — the  roofs  and  steeples  were  crowded,  and  many 
of  the  watchers  feared  that  their  families  might  be  in  Charlestown. 
The  distance  was  so  short  that  they  could  distinctly  see  the  white 
houses  and  green  gardens  when  the  smoke  of  the  cannonade 
lifted  for  a  moment. 

The  Provincials,  though  they  made  so  formidable  an  appear- 
ance, were  but  ill-prepared  to  resist  such  an  attack.  The  day 
was  intensely  hot,  it  was  hours  before  any  refreshments  arrived  for 
the  men  who  had  been  toiling  all  night,  reinforcements  were  slow 
in  coming,  and  even  now  nobody  knew  exactly  who  was  command- 
ing— Prescott  or  Putnam.  But  just  as  the  troops  disembarked, 
John  Starke  brought  up  2000  of  the  New  Hampshire  men. 

Howe,  too,  had  been  reinforced — some  more  companies  of 
Grenadiers  and  Light  Infantry  and  the  1st  battalion  of  Marines 
had  now  arrived,  making  his  force  in  all  over  2000.  He  sent  his 
left,  under  Pigot,  to  attack  Charlestown,  and  advanced  slowly  with 
his  right,  the  lines  frequently  halting  to  give  the  artillery  time  to 
fire.     Presently  the  people  in  the  steeples  saw  that  Charlestown 


376  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

was  on  fire,  but  the  Provincials  succeeded  in  withdrawing.  Those 
in  the  redoubt  awaited  the  attack.  Putnam  had  ordered  them 
not  to  fire  till  they  could  see  the  whites  of  the  enemies'  eyes. 
Accordingly  they  reserved  their  fire  till  the  British  were  within 
"  ten  or  twelve  rods."  "  Then  began  a  furious  discharge  of  small 
arms."  The  British  halted — then  fell  back  in  disorder  to  the 
landing-place.  The  Provincial  account  says  that  officers  were 
"seen,  with  passionate  gestures,  pushing  the  men  forward  with 
their  swords."  Two  of  Howe's  aides  were  shot  down  at  his  side. 
Three  times  he  was  left  alone,  standing  unmoved  amidst  a  rain 
of  bullets.  At  last  he  rallied  the  men,  and  led  them  up  the  hill 
again.  A  second  time  the  Americans  reserved  their  fire — till  the 
British  were  within  "  five  or  six  rods " ;  and  a  second  time  the 
regulars  gave  way,  and  "  ran  in  great  confusion  towards  their 
boats."  Then  Howe  brought  the  cannon  to  bear,  and  raked  the 
breastwork,  while  the  fire  from  the  ships  was  redoubled,  and  at 
last  the  Provincials  retreated  to  the  redoubt.  A  British  account 
says  word  was  brought  to  Howe  that  the  rebels  had  been  heard 
to  say  their  powder  was  all  gone.  At  the  same  moment  General 
Clinton  brought  up  two  regiments  he  had  found  in  confusion  on 
the  shore,  and  had  re-formed.  American  accounts  say  that  an 
order  given  by  Pomeroy  was  mistaken  for  an  order  to  retreat. 
It  appears,  however,  that  at  this  moment  Prescott  did  give  the 
word  to  retreat.  It  was  almost  too  late — the  British  had  advanced 
for  the  third  time,  and  the  redoubt  was  half  full  of  them ;  and  if 
a  flanking-party  of  the  Provincials  had  not  made  a  determined 
stand  none  would  have  escaped.  The  retreat  across  the  Neck 
was  terrible — the  Provincials  fighting  their  way  inch  by  inch  in 
a  hand-to-hand  encounter,  for  it  was  true  that  they  had  fired 
their  last  round  of  powder.  Charlestown  Neck  was  being  raked 
by  the  fire  from  the  ships, — the  Glasgow  and  the  two  floating 
batteries, — it  was  this  fire  which  had  prevented  the  Provincial 
reinforcements  from  coming  up.  Here  Dr.  Warren,  gallantly 
trying  to  rally  the  retreat,  was  mortally  wounded  by  a  British 
officer  who  recognised  him. 

The  Provincials  expected  that  Howe  would  pursue  and  march 
to  Cambridge — only  two  miles  distant,  and  undefended.  But 
Bunker's  Hill  was  one  of  those  victories  which  are  only  less 
terrible  than  a  defeat.  Half  the  British  force  engaged  was  killed 
or  wounded.  Howe's  own  escape  was  miraculous — one  wonders 
whether  in  those  awful  moments  he  remembered  the  kind  wish 
of  his  Nottingham  friends.  All  his  staff-officers  were  killed  or 
wounded.     Burgoyne,  who  watched  the  battle  from  Brattle  church- 


BUNKER'S  HILL  377 

steeple,  wrote,  "The  whole  was  for  complication,  for  horror  and 
importance  beyond  anything  it  ever  came  to  my  lot  to  witness. 
It  was  a  sight  for  a  young  soldier  that  the  longest  service  may 
not  occur  again."  To  Rochford  he  wrote,  "The  retreat  was  no 
flight :  it  was  even  covered  with  bravery  and  military  skill  .  .  . 
let  it  not  pass  even  in  a  whisper  from  your  lordship  to  more  than 
one  person  .  .  .  discipline  not  to  say  courage  was  wanting.  In 
the  critical  moment  of  carrying  the  redoubt,  the  officers  of  some 
corps  were  almost  alone;  and  what  was  the  worst  part  of  the 
confusion  of  these  corps — all  the  wounds  of  the  officers  were 
not  received  from  the  enemy."  He  explains  that  he  does  not 
charge  the  men  with  "backwardness  in  the  cause  of  Govern- 
ment," as  little  would  he  "imply  any  dislike  or  ill-will  to  their 
officers.  ...  I  only  mean  to  represent  that  the  men  in  the  defective 
corps  being  ill-grounded  in  the  great  points  of  discipline,  and  the 
men  in  all  the  corps  having  twice  felt  their  enemy  to  be  more 
formidable  than  they  expected,  it  will  require  some  training  under 
such  Generals  as  Howe  and  Clinton  before  they  may  prudently 
be  entrusted  in  many  exploits  against  such  odds.  .  .  .  Look,  my 
Lord,  upon  the  country  near  Boston — it  is  all  fortification." x 

So  soon  had  Burgoyne  changed  his  first  opinion  of  the  peasants 
who  held  the  King's  troops  beleaguered. 

The  British  loss  was  enormous;  92  officers  were  killed  or 
wounded — a  number  out  of  all  proportion  to  that  of  the  rank  and 
file,  and  telling  its  own  tale.  Among  the  slain  were  Abercrombie  2 
and  Pitcairn.  It  was  reported  that  Howe  had  said  the  death  of 
Warren  was  equal  to  the  loss  of  500  Provincials.  But  the  British 
casualties  at  Bunker's  Hill  were  more  than  at  Minden,  or  Quebec.3 
Howe  never  got  over  it — his  hesitation  on  several  future  occasions 
was  believed  to  be  prompted  by  dread  of  exposing  his  troops  in 
attacks  on  works  behind  which  were  American  marksmen. 

1<{Our  expectations  have  all  along  been  that,  on  the  arrival  of  the 
Irish  troops,  something  decisive  would  be  effected  ;  but  if  every  small  hill  or 
rising  ground  about  Boston  is  to  be  recovered  in  the  same  way,  I  see  no 
prospect  of  an  end  to  the  war." — Elisha  Hutchinson  to  his  Wife,  August  I, 
1775.     (From  England.) 

Eden  said,  eight  more  such  victories,  and  there  would  be  no  one  left  to 
bring  the  news  of  them.     (Auckland  MSS.) 

2  As  Colonel  Abercrombie  was  carried  off  the  field,  mortally  wounded,  he 
said,  "If  you  take  Major  Putnam  alive,  don't  hang  him,  for  he's  a  brave 
man." 

3  The  casualties  were:  I  Lieut. -Col.,  2  Majors,  8  Captains,  10  Lieutenants, 
15  Sergeants,  1  Drummer,  191  rank  and  file,  killed.  Wounded— 3  Majors,  26 
Captains,  31  Lieutenants,  8  Ensigns,  40  Sergeants,  12  Drummers,  706  rank 
and  file. 


CHAPTER  XLV 
THE  BLOCKADE  OF  BOSTON 

"  In  point  of  numbers  they  ('the  rebels')  so  far  surpass  us,  that  we  are  like 
a  few  children  in  the  midst  of  a  large  crowd.  .  .  .  They  know  our  situation  as 
well  as  we  do  ourselves,  from  the  villains  that  are  left  in  town,  who  acquaint 
them  with  all  our  proceedings,  making  signals  at  night  with  gunpowder,  and 
at  day  out  of  the  church  steeples.  About  three  weeks  ago,  three  fellows  were 
taken  out  of  one  of  the  latter,  who  confess  they  had  been  employed  so  for  seven 
days.  .  .  .  Another  was  caught  last  week,  swimming  over  to  the  rebels  with 
one  of  their  General's  passes  in  his  pocket ;  he  will  be  hanged  in  a  day  or  two." 
— Extract  of  a  gemtine  Letter  from  Boston,  July  25,  1775.  Given  in  The 
Remembrancer. 

"Friends,  Countrymen,  and  Brethren, — By  these,  and  by  every  other 
appellation  that  may  designate  the  ties  which  bind  us  to  each  other,  we  entreat 
your  serious  attention  to  this  our  second  attempt  to  prevent  their  dissolution. 
Remembrance  of  former  friendships,  pride  in  the  glorious  achievements  of  our 
common  ancestors,  and  affection  for  the  heirs  of  their  virtues,  have  hitherto 
preserved  our  mutual  connection. — The  Twelve  United  Colonies,  by  their 
Delegates  in  Congress,  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Great  Britain,  Philadelphia, 
July  8,  1775." 

"  'Now,'  said  he,  'my  boys,  we  will  aim  at  the  damn'd  Presbyterian  church. 
Well,  my  brave  fellows,  one  shot  more,  and  the  House  of  God  will  fall  before 
you.'" — Extract  from  a  Letter  from  Gloucester,  August  13,  1775,  describing  the 
Attack  on  Captain  Lindsey,  " Falcon"  man-of-war,  on  the  9th. 

1 '  The  detested  town  of  Norfolk  is  no  more  !  ...  It  burnt  fiercely  all  night 
and  the  next  day ;  nor  are  the  flames  yet  extinguished ;  but  no  more  of 
Norfolk  remains  than  about  12  houses  that  have  escaped  the  flames." — 
Letter  "  dated  '  Otter?  off  the  ruins  of  Norfolk,  Jan.  9,  1776."  (Given  by 
Almon. ) 

Parties  were  so  evenly  balanced  in  the  New  York  Assembly,1 
that  a  very  curious  situation  had  arisen.  The  Dutch,  Huguenot, 
and  Scottish  elements  were  strongly  Whig;  the  great  influence 
of  the  De  Lanceys  was  Tory.  On  the  25th  of  January,  1775,  a 
motion  to  consider  the  proceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress 
was  lost  by  one  vote ;  on  February  17a  proposal  to  send  delegates 
to  Congress  was  rejected  by  1 7  to  9.     But  in  April,  "  a  poll  through 

1  New  York  and   North   Carolina  were  considered  so  loyal  that  they  were 

exempted  from  the  operation  of  the  Restraining  Acts, 

378 


THE  BLOCKADE  OF  BOSTON      379 

the  city"  reversed  this  by  5  to  1,  and  on  the  21st  delegates  were 
elected. 

Governor  Try  on  had  been  called  home  to  give  the  Ministry 
an  account  of  affairs,  but  had  returned,  and  was  in  harbour, 
hourly  expected  to  land,  when  Washington  drew  near.  The 
Provincial  Congress  had,  in  a  manner,  been  governing  for  him 
during  his  absence.  At  the  same  time  it  professed  loyalty. 
Respect  must  be  shown  the  Governor  on  his  return — but  what 
was  to  be  done  about  General  Washington?  A  singular  way  of 
escape  was  devised — a  militia  regiment  was  called  out,  and  ordered 
to  pay  military  honours  to  whichever  arrived  first — the  Governor 
or  the  General.  Washington  was  the  first,  and  received  the 
honours.  Hardly  less  curious  was  the  address  presented  to  him 
by  the  Committee  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  which  met  him  at 
Newark.  The  good  Whigs  of  New  York  had  been  thinking  about 
Oliver  Cromwell,  who  was  also  elected  Generalissimo  of  a  patriot 
army,  and  felt  a  little  uneasiness  lest  Washington,  like  Cromwell, 
should  "make  himself  master  of  the  Government."  So  Peter 
Van  Burgh  Livingston,  President  of  the  Congress,  in  receiving 
Washington,  took  care  to  express  "the  fullest  assurance  that  as 
soon  as  this  important  contest  shall  be  decided  by  that  fondest 
wish  of  every  American  soul,  an  accommodation  with  our  Mother 
Country,  you  will  chearfully  resign  the  important  deposit  committed 
into  your  hands,  and  reassume  the  character  of  our  worthiest 
citizen."  To  this  Washington  replied  that  he  and  the  other 
Generals  would  most  sincerely  rejoice  when  the  establishment  of 
American  liberty  should  enable  them  to  return  to  their  private 
station. 

On  the  2nd  of  July  the  British  in  Boston  heard  the  firing 
of  salutes,  and  a  great  noise  of  shouting  from  the  Camp  at 
Cambridge — General  Washington  had  arrived.  Next  day  he  took 
formal  command.  An  ancient  elm  on  Cambridge  Common  was 
long  pointed  out  as  the  tree  under  which  Washington  wheeled  his 
horse,  and  drew  his  sword,  as  Generalissimo  of  the  Continental 
Armies.  And  as  soon  as  his  army  had  done  shouting,  he  began 
to  get  it  into  shape.1 

1  It  was  said  the  Americans  had  bought  up  all  the  powder  on  the  coast 
of  Africa — for  rum.  The  whole  country  was  preparing  for  war.  In  Reading 
(Berks  Co.  Pa.)  there  was  an  Old  Man's  Company,  of  about  eighty  Germans, 
all  aged  40  and  upwards.  "The  Person  who  at  their  first  assembling  led 
them  to  the  field  is  97 — has  been  40  years  in  regular  service,  in  17  pitched 
battles.  The  Drummer  is  84.  Instead  of  a  cockade  they  wear  a  black  crape, 
for  sorrow  at  events,  and  at  being  too  old  to  fight.  Travel  where  you  will, 
you  see  the  inhabitants  training,   making    fire-locks,   casting    mortars,    shells 


380  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Such  an  army  as  it  was!  The  British  called  it  "a  rustic  rout 
with  calico  frocks  and  fowling-pieces."  It  was  totally  deficient 
in  gold-lace,  had  no  uniform,  and  no  discipline  to  speak  of.  It 
wanted  clothes,  tents,  hospitals,  and  skilled  engineers.  Above 
all,  it  wanted  arms — especially  artillery,  and  powder — an  official 
list  of  warlike  stores  in  Massachusetts  gives  little  more  than  half 
a  pound  of  powder  to  a  man.  Nobody  ever  knew  how  it  was  fed, 
yet  fed  it  was  somehow.  Every  householder  contributed  some- 
thing ;  everybody  who  had  anything  to  spare  sent  it  to  the  Camp, 
in  somebody's  waggon  lent  for  the  occasion.  For  a  long  while 
the  troops  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  were  fed  without 
so  much  as  a  barrel  of  flour  from  Congress.  And  Washington 
made  them  all  work  at  the  entrenchments  from  eleven  to  four  every 
day,  got  rid  of  a  good  many  incompetent  officers,  and  kept  up 
the  siege  of  Boston.  But  the  men  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode 
Island  were  only  engaged  till  December  i,  those  of  Massachusetts 
only  to  the  end  of  the  year;  the  Paymaster  had  not  a  dollar  in 
hand.  Soon  winter  would  be  upon  them,  and  they  wanted 
blankets,  shelter,  and  fuel.  The  most  shipshape  camp  was  Greene's 
—as  neat  as  the  British ;  and  his  Rhode  Islanders  were  the  best 
drilled.1  Greene  had  followed  the  plough  and  worked  at  the  forge ; 
he  had  also  read  Caesar's  Comme?itaries,  and  studied  the  art  of  war. 
Putnam  had  had  a  fine  banner  sent  him — on  one  side  it  bore  the 
words,  "  An  Appeal  to  Heaven,"  on  the  other,  "  Qui  Transtulit 
Sustinet."  On  July  21  this  standard  was  set  up  on  Prospect  Hill, 
amidst  great  shouting  and  cheering — after  a  striking  address  from 
the  Connecticut  Chaplain. 

Meanwhile  the  country  was  waiting  to  hear  that  the  army  had 
dislodged  Gage  from  Boston,  and  wondering  why  it  so  seldom 
fired  a  cannon.  It  was  because  it  had  no  powder — it  could 
not  afford  to  fire — the  army  had  not  five  rounds  of  powder  a 
man ! 

For  six  months  Washington  maintained  a  post  within  musket- 
shot    of    the    British   army   in   Boston,    without   cannon,   without 

and  shot,  and  making  saltpetre  to  keep  the  gun-powder  mills  at  work  next 
autumn  and  winter." — Extract  of  a  Letter  from  Philadelphia,  July  10,  from 
a  Gentleman  of  consideration  and  fortune. 

1  "It  is  very  diverting  to  walk  among  the  camps.  They  are  as  different  in 
their  forms,  as  the  owners  are  in  their  dress ;  and  every  tent  is  a  portraiture 
of  the  temper  and  taste  of  the  persons  who  encamp  in  it.  Some  are  made  of 
boards,  and  some  are  made  of  sail-cloth ;  some  are  partly  of  one,,  and  partly 
of  the  other.  Again,  some  are  made  of  stone  and  turf,  brick  and  brush.  Some 
are  thrown  up  in  a  hurry,  others  curiously  wrought  with  wreathes  and  withes." — 
Rev.  William  Emerson. 


THE  BLOCKADE  OF  BOSTON      381 

powder,1  without  money.  As  he  lay  awake  at  night,  devising  how 
to  feed  his  army,  how  to  clothe  it,  and  how  to  arm  it,  he  thought 
how  much  happier  he  would  have  been  if  he  had  enlisted  as  a 
private.  He  had  done  all  he  could — all  that  did  not  cost  hard 
money,  but  only  hard  labour.  He  had  strengthened  his  works. 
He  had  established  discipline.  There  was  now  "the  strictest 
government."  There  were  prayers  every  morning,  and  after 
prayers  the  Orders  of  the  Day  were  read.  "  Everybody  was  made 
to  know  his  place,  and  keep  it,"  or  be  tied  up  and  receive  thirty 
lashes.  Lee  was  credited  with  this  severity.  Ward  commanded 
the  right  wing,  Lee  the  left,  Putnam  the  centre.  One  day 
1400  riflemen  marched  in  from  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and 
Maryland — bush-fighters  and  sharpshooters,  many  of  them  over 
six  feet  in  height — giants  in  fringed  frocks  and  round  hats.  One 
company  was  led  by  Dan  Morgan,  who  had  been  a  waggoner 
in  Braddock's  expedition. 

To  the  British  in  Boston,  the  Provincials  appeared  "very 
audacious " ;  but  on  the  4th  of  August,  while  Washington  was 
thinking  of  trying  to  force  a  general  action,  he  discovered  that 
he  had  just  nine  cartridges  a  man  !  The  Committee  of  Supplies 
had  forgotten  to  allow  for  what  had  been  expended;  so  instead 
of  300  barrels  of  powder  there  were  only  32.  Washington  sent 
everywhere  for  powder.  For  a  fortnight  he  hardly  dared  breathe. 
Even  when  a  supply  came  from  the  Jerseys,  it  would  only  have 
served  for  one  day  of  a  general  action.  Congress  was  always 
writing  to  know  why  he  was  so  inactive — why  he  did  not  drive 
the  British  out  of  Boston,  and  he  dared  not  tell  them  why,  lest 
a  bird  of  the  air  should  carry  the  truth  to  Boston.  One  morning 
he  looked  from  the  window  of  his  quarters,  and  saw  General 
Putnam  riding  up  with  a  stout  woman  en  croupe  behind  him. 
For  the  only  time  in  the  campaign  Washington  laughed.  But 
it  was  no  laughing  matter — the  woman  had  been  detected  playing 
go-between  from  someone  in  Camp  to  Major  Kane  in  Boston. 
She  had  a  letter  written  in  cypher.  Threats  and  persuasion  drew 
from  her  that  it  was  from  Dr.  Benjamin  Church,  one  of  the  "  Sons 
of  Liberty,"  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  now 
Surgeon-General  to  the  Camp.  He  was  arrested,  but  a  friend 
had  had  time  to  get   at   his   papers — nothing  was  found,  and  he 

1  Franklin  thought  bows  and  arrows  might  be  reintroduced  with  good  effect. 
"  1st.  because  a  man  may  shoot  as  truly  with  a  bow  as  with  a  common  gun. 
2ndly.  He  can  discharge  four  arrows  in  the  time  of  charging  and  discharging 
one  bullet."  With  other  reasons  perfectly  valid  in  the  then  state  of  fire-arms. — 
Franklin  to  General  Lee ,  Philadelphia,  February  II,  1776. 


382  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

tried  to  excuse  the  letter  (which  proved  to  be  a  description  of 
the  Provincial  army)  by  saying  he  wished  to  exaggerate  its 
numbers  to  prevent  the  British  from  attacking.1 

The  little  seaport  towns  had  fitted  out  cruisers  to  check  the 
marauding  of  Captain  Wallace  and  other  British  officers.  One  of 
these  cruisers  belonged  to  the  small  town  of  Falmouth  (now 
Portland)  in  Maine.  On  the  nth  of  October  Lieutenant  Mowatt 
appeared  before  the  town  with  several  armed  vessels,  and  gave 
the  inhabitants  two  hours  "to  remove  the  human  species" — 
after  which  a  red  pennon  from  the  main-top-gallant  would  give 
the  signal  for  destruction.  To  a  deputation  of  the  inhabitants  he 
said  that  Admiral  Graves  had  ordered  the  burning  of  every  town 
from  Boston  to  Halifax — adding  that  he  expected  New  York  was 
by  that  time  in  ashes.  Next  day  the  people  of  Falmouth  stood 
on  the  heights  while  the  ships  opened  fire.  The  bombardment 
went  on  all  day ;  then  the  vessels  in  harbour  were  destroyed  or 
carried  off,  and  Mowatt  left  the  people  to  go  back  to  the  smoking 
ruins  of  their  homes.  After  this  Washington  posted  700  men 
in  the  towns  and  villages  along  the  coasts,  to  prevent  such 
depredations  as  far  as  possible. 

On  the  last  day  of  the  year  the  last  enlistments  expired. 
"The  desire  of  retiring  to  a  chimney-corner  seized  them" — they 
could  not  be  persuaded  to  stay. 

Early  in  January,  1776,  a  great  stir  was  observed  in  Boston 
Harbour — it  was  evidently  a  preparation  for  embarking  troops. 
A  squadron  set  sail.  Washington  guessed  what  it  all  meant. 
Last  October  letters  from  London  had  been  laid  before  Congress, 
detailing  a  ministerial  plan  for  cutting  the  rebellion  in  two  by 
seizing  New  York  and  Albany.  If  this  could  be  done,  com- 
munications would  be  cut  off  between  North  and  South;  the 
rebel  garrisons  in  Canada  would  be  starved  out;  Johnson  and 
the  Indians  could  swoop  down  on  New  England,  and  the  result 
must  be  the  raising  of  the  siege  of  Boston.  The  plan  was  to 
be  accomplished  by  the  aid  of  the  Tories  of  New  York  and 
Long  Island — already  banded  together  in  arms,  and  in  close 
correspondence  with  Governor  Tryon,  still  on  board  the  Duchess 
of  Gordon, 

Washington  naturally  thought  the  movement  at  Boston  was 
connected  with   this  design.     General   Lee   was   eager  to  under- 

1  Church  was  imprisoned,  but  as  his  health  was  delicate  he  was  soon  allowed 
to  leave  the  country.  He  sailed  for  the  West  Indies,  but  the  ship  was  never 
heard  of  again.  Paul  Revere  had  had  suspicions  of  the  Doctor — he  knew  that 
someone  was  betraying  what  passed  at  the  meetings  of  the  "Sons  of  Liberty." 


THE  BLOCKADE  OF  BOSTON  383 

take  the  securing  of  New  York,  but  Congress — much  better  at 
drawing  up  remonstrances  and  framing  constitutions  than  at 
making  war — could  not  make  up  its  mind.  Washington  was  not 
sure  his  authority  extended  so  far.  John  Adams  thought  it  did, 
and  at  length  Lee  Was  sent.  Congress  ordered  the  enlistment 
of  troops  for  the  security  of  New  York,  and  then — just  as  the 
attack  on  the  Tories  of  Long  Island  was  about  to  be  made — 
ordered  disbandment.  At  last,  on  the  4th  of  February,  Lee  arrived 
in  New  York,  and  the  same  day  Sir  Peter  Parker's  squadron, 
.which  the  besiegers  had  seen  leaving  Boston,  put  into  harbour, 
with  Sir  Henry  Clinton  on  board.1  The  city  had  been  thrown 
into  a  terrible  panic  when  the  loyalists  were  to  be  attacked;  it 
was  now  more  terrified  still,  and  many  removed  their  goods  into 
the  country.2  But  Clinton's  errand  was  not  with  New  York — he 
was  going  south.  He  had  merely  looked  in,  he  said,  on  a  short 
visit  to  his  friend  the  Governor,  and  to  see  how  matters  stood — 
he  would  not  stay — he  had  no  troops  with  him,  and  he  pledged 
his  honour  that  none  were  coming.  Lee  was  vowing  that  if 
Clinton  set  a  single  house  on  fire  he  would  chain  a  hundred 
loyalists  by  the  neck,  "and  make  that  house  their  funeral  pyre." 
The  unhappy  New  Yorkers  did  not  know  which  General  to  be 
more  afraid  of.  But  Lee  was  one  of  those  whose  bark  is  worse 
than  their  bite. 

Clinton  went  on  to  South  Carolina ;  and  the  rebels  set  about 
the  defences  of  the  Hudson.  There  is  a  grand  defile,  fifteen  miles 
long,  where  the  river  winds  between  "forest-clad  mountains  and 
rocky  promontories."  Two  forts,  Washington  and  Montgomery, 
about  six  miles  apart,  had  been  begun  there  last  autumn,  as  soon 
as  the  letter  from  London  was  known. 

Lee  now  made  a  strong  redoubt  at  Horen's  Rock,  opposite 
Hell  Gate,  to  prevent  an  enemy  from  passing  between  the  main- 
land and  Long  Island.  "What  to  do  with  this  city,"  he  wrote, 
"puzzles  me.  It  is  so  encircled  with  deep  navigable  water,  that 
whoever  commands  the  sea,  commands  the  town."  It  was  so 
indeed,  and  the  town  lived  in  terror  of  a  bombardment.  Mean- 
while Lee  freely  "  weeded  out "  Tories,  until  a  British  officer  said 
he  had  driven  out  "all  the  well-affected  people.  ...  To  see  the 
vast  number  of  houses  shut  up,  one  would  think  the  city  almost 

1  Clinton  was  related  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle.  His  father  had  been 
Governor  of  New  York. 

2  "All  that  day  and  all  that  night  were  there  carts  going  and  boats  loading, 
and  women  and  children  crying,  and  distressed  voices  heard  in  the  roads  in 
the  dead  of  the  night." — Letter  quoted  by  Irving,  "  Life  of  Washington,'''' 


384  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

evacuated.  Women  and  children  are  scarcely  to  be  seen  in  the 
streets."  The  troops  took  possession  of  any  house  for  quarters 
that  they  found  shut  up.  Lee  did  a  great  deal  to  strengthen  this 
indefensible  place,  but  early  in  March  he  was  sent  to  South 
Carolina  to  take  the  command  against  Clinton. 

On  the  ist  of  January,  1776,  the  new  flag  was  unfurled — it  had 
thirteen  stripes — one  for  each  colony.  By  now  Washington  had 
not  10,000  men.  Next  day,  however,  a  piece  of  fortune  befell 
him — a  large  brigantine,  the  Nancy,  full  of  arms  and  ammunition, 
was  taken,  and  the  stores  were  brought  into  camp — 2000  Tower 
muskets,  100,000  flints,  30,000  round  shots,  and  30  tons  of  bullets, 
together  with  a  monster  mortar,  which  Putnam  christened  "The 
Congress."  But  she  split  the  third  time  she  was  fired.  And  on 
the  1 6th  came  news  from  Schuyler — the  assault  on  Quebec  had 
failed,  Montgomery  was  killed  and  Arnold  wounded. 

At  last,  in  February,  Washington  had  organised  his  army — 
recruiting  it  amidst  all  the  difficulties  that  attend  a  citizen  army 
which  will  serve  only  under  officers  of  its  own  choice.  He  drew 
his  lines  closer  and  closer.  Putnam — always  crying  out  for 
powder — powder ! — was  entrenched  on  Cobble  Hill,  and  was 
mounting  the  huge  brass  mortar  taken  in  the  brigantine,  ready 
to  bombard  Boston.  The  marshes  were  frozen  over.  Washington 
was  only  waiting  for  Knox  to  bring  the  cannon  from  Ticonderoga. 
At  last,  far  in  February,  it  came — 43  cannon,  dragged  through  the 
frozen  forests  and  over  the  lakes  of  Canada,  on  "  strong  sleds,"  by 
eighty  oxen. 

Washington  meant  to  take  Dorchester  Heights  first,  and  then 
Nook  Hill,  close  to  the  town — the  familiar  names  bring  the  un- 
natural character  of  the  conflict  into  terrible  relief !  The  day  was 
to  be  the  anniversary  of  the  "  massacre."  Minute-men  came  in 
from  all  the  countryside ;  and  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  besieged 
a  heavy  cannonade  was  kept  up  for  two  nights.  The  wife  of  John 
Adams  has  left  a  record  of  how  the  awful  sounds  struck  on  the 
hearts  of  non-combatants. 

Harassed  by  small-pox,1  and  sickly  from  the  want  of  fresh 
provisions,  the  British  in  Boston  thought  England  had  forgotten 
them.  "We  are  shamefully  neglected,"  wrote  Dr.  Oliver.  "If 
10,000  troops  had  been  sent  last  fall,  the  matter  would  have  been 
over."  The  besieged  relieved  their  ennui  by  theatrical  representa- 
tions. One  of  these — said  to  be  written  by  General  Burgoyne — 
was  called  "  The  Blockade  of  Boston."     It  made  great  fun  of  the 

1  Howe  forbade  inoculation  because  it  spread  the  disease.  He  had  been 
advised  to  cease  firing  upon  the  rebels,  as  it  only  inured  them  to  danger  ! 


THE  BLOCKADE  OF  BOSTON      385 

Provincials— Washington  was  represented  as  a  "hedge-general" 
in  ragged  regimentals,  with  a  huge  wig,  and  a  long  rusty  sword. 
Just  as  this  personage  came  on  the  stage,  a  sergeant  rushed  on 
behind  him,  exclaiming,  "  The  Yankees  are  attacking  our  works  on 
Bunker's  Hill ! "  It  was  the  beginning  of  Washington's  attack,  and 
the  guard  at  Charlestown  had  been  surprised. 

The  regular  bombardment  began  on  the  2nd  of  March.  On 
the  evening  of  the  4th,  General  Thomas  began  to  entrench  a  line 
along  Dorchester  Neck.  As  on  that  other  March  night,  the  moon 
was  shining,  but  there  was  a  slight  haze,  and  the  cannonade  of  the 
Provincials  so  engaged  the  attention  of  the  garrison,  that  even  those 
who  were  watching  the  flight  of  the  shells  did  not  suspect  what  was 
going  on,  till  the  dawn  showed  two  strong  redoubts  crowning  the 
two  hills.  Howe  said  they  "  must  have  been  the  work  of  at  least 
12,000  men";  and  to  his  officers  they  seemed  almost  the  effect  of 
enchantment.1  He  called  a  Council  of  War.  It  was  resolved  to 
try  to  dislodge  the  enemy,  and  Percy  was  sent  with  2400  men  to 
attack  Dorchester  Heights.  But  he  got  no  farther  than  the  Castle 
— then  a  great  gale  sprang  up  from  the  south,  and,  raging  all  night, 
drove  some  of  his  transports  ashore.  The  Americans  had  floating 
batteries,  and  boats  ready  to  carry  4000  men  into  Boston.  On 
the  morning  of  the  6th — the  storm  had  scarcely  abated — a  second 
Council  advised  instant  evacuation.  There  was  no  time  to  make 
special  terms  for  the  refugees,  but  the  Selectmen  were  allowed  to 
go  to  the  enemy's  outposts,  and  come  to  what  informal  arrange- 
ment they  could.  Before  they  went,  Howe  told  them  he  saw  that 
Mr.  Washington  was  determined  to  have  the  town ;  and  as  Boston 
was  of  no  consequence  to  the  King's  service,  he  would  abandon  it, 
if  Mr.  Washington  would  not  disturb  his  embarkation — it  was  a 
pity  so  fine  a  town  should  be  burnt.  And  he  showed  them  the 
combustibles  he  had  laid  ready  for  firing  it.  Washington  would 
make  no  promises  whatever ;  but  the  arrangement  suited  him  very 
well — the  truth  being  that  his  great  cannonade  had  again  almost 
exhausted  his  powder.  It  was  understood  that  if  the  British  did 
not  attempt  to  fire  the  town,  they  might  embark  unmolested.  So 
all  Howe's  army — according  to  his  orderly  book,  which  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Provincials,  it  was  7575  strong,  exclusive  of  the 
staff,  the  marines,  and  the  sailors — began  to  embark  at  3  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  8th.  All  the  iron  ordnance  on  the  Neck 
and  Bunker's  Hill  had  to  be  left — also  all  the  artillery  horses, 
"  which  General  Howe  had  not  time  to  put  on  board  ship."     He 

1  "They, were  all  raised  during  the  night,  with  an  expedition  equal  to  that 
of  the  genii  belonging  to  Aladiris  wonderful  lamp." 
VOL.  I. — 25 


386  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

threw  into  the  sea  two  bombs  for  the  same  reason.  "The  con- 
fusion was  very  great."  "  The  people  of  the  town,  who  were  friends 
to  Government,  took  care  of  nothing  but  their  merchandise,"  says 
a  letter  written  on  board  H.M.S.  Chatham,  on  March  24;  and  not 
only  made  the  men  belonging  to  the  transports  embark  their  goods, 
but  filled  several  of  these  vessels  with  private  property,  instead  of 
with  the  King's  stores.  "  It  was  not  like  breaking  up  a  camp  .  .  . 
it  was  like  departing  your  country,  with  your  wives,  your  servants, 
your  household  furniture,  and  all  your  encumbrances."  With  great 
difficulty  the  soldiers,  "  who  thought  they  were  exchanging  for  the 
better,"  were  kept  from  plunder  and  drink.  The  1500  refugees 
had  to  be  crowded  into  the  transports,  and  were  embarked  first. 
Thirty-seven  of  them  were  huddled  together  on  the  floor  of 
Hallowell's  cabin.  Hasty  and  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made 
to  "burst"  the  mortars  and  heavy  artillery,  and  to  destroy  the 
small-arms  belonging  to  the  town  (the  arms  of  which  Gage  had 
cheated  the  people);  and  while  this  was  going  on,  a  Provincial 
deserter  came  in  and  told  Howe  that  Washington  was  preparing 
for  "a  general  storm,"  whereupon  all  the  troops  were  hurriedly 
embarked,  and  even  the  hospital  stores  were  left  behind.  Howe 
blew  up  Castle  William,  as  he  fell  down  to  Nantasket  Roads  with 
his  160  transports  and  the  three  men-of-war.  "The  terms  of 
agreement  between  the  two  Generals  were  secret,"  says  another 
letter  with  great  frankness ;  "  but  it  is  supposed  that  nothing  was 
to  have  been  destroyed,  and  that  this  breach  of  it  determined 
the  Provincials  to  enter  the  town  sooner  than  was  intended." 
Washington  entered  Boston  with  drums  beating  and  colours 
flying,  as  Howe  quitted  it.  The  "  colours "  were  the  flag  bearing 
the  words,  "An  Appeal  to  Heaven." 

The  army  which  had  cost  Great  Britain  a  million  sterling 
thought  itself  happy  to  have  embarked  in  safety.  On  April  8, 
after  a  miserable,  though  luckily  short,  voyage — for  their  clothes 
were  all  worn  out,  and  it  was  bitterly  cold — the  troops  reached 
Halifax,  and  found  it  "a  cursed  cold,  wintry  place,  even  yet. 
Nothing  to  eat,  and  less  to  drink." 


CHAPTER   XLV1 
CANADA 

"  Sir, — I  have  already  in  my  letter  to  you  of  the  5th  inst.,  hinted  that  the  time 
might  possibly  come  when  the  King,  relying  upon  the  attachment  of  his  faithful 
allies,  the  Six  Nations  of  Indians,  might  be  under  the  necessity  of  calling  upon 
them  for  their  aid  and  assistance  in  the  present  state  of  America.  ...  It  is 
therefore,  his  Majesty's  pleasure,  that  you  do  lose  no  time  in  taking  such  steps 
as  may  induce  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  his  Majesty's  rebellious 
subjects  in  North  America,  and  to  engage  them  in  his  Majesty's  service,  upon 
such  a  plan  as  shall  be  suggested  to  you  by  Gen.  Gage,  to  whom  this  letter  is 
sent,  accompanied  with  a  large  assortment  of  goods  for  presents  to  them,  upon 
this  important  occasion." — Lord  Dartmouth  to  Colonel  Johnson,  his  Majesty's 
Indian  Agent,  July  24,  1775. 

"Quebec,  Aug.  10,  1775. — About  three  weeks  ago  Col.  Guy  Johnson,  his 
Majesty's  Superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  arrived  at  Montreal,  accompanied  by 
a  considerable  number  of  Chiefs  and  Warriors  of  the  Six  Nations  ;  after  which 
he  held  a  General  Congress  with  the  Chiefs  and  Warriors  of  the  Canada  Con- 
federacy, to  the  amount  of  1700,  who,  in  presence  of  his  Excellency  Gen. 
Carleton,  unanimously  resolved  to  support  their  engagements  with  his  Majesty, 
and  remove  all  intruders  on  the  several  communications." 

"The  people  of  South  Carolina,  in  turning  rebels  to  their  king,  have  lost  all 
faith  ;  when  opportunity  offers,  make  the  Indians  take  arms  against  his  Majesty's 
enemies,  and  distress  them  all  in  their  power.  Supply  them  with  what  they 
want,  be  the  expense  what  it  will,  as  every  exertion  must  now  be  made  on  the 
side  of  Government." — General  Gage  to  Stuart,  Indian  Agent  for  the  Southern 
Department,  July,  1775." 

Richard  Montgomery,  one  of  the  eight  Brigadier-Generals  ap- 
pointed by  Congress,  was  an  Irishman,  of  the  Montgomerys  of 
Beaulieu.  He  entered  the  British  Army  in  1756,  was  at  the  Siege  of 
Louisburg,  Cape  Breton,  and  the  posts  on  Lake  Champlain.  He 
was  also  at  the  capture  of  Martinique  and  the  Havana.  At  the 
Peace,  he  went  to  New  York,  but  returned  home  (with  his  regiment) 
in  1765.  Then  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Barr£,  Burke,  and 
Fox.  In  1772  he  sold  out,  and  bought  a  farm  at  King's  Bridge. 
Soon  after  he  married.  He  bought  an  estate  on  the  Hudson,  and 
was  settled  in  America.  In  1775  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  First 
Provincial  Congress  at  New  York;  and  in  June  he  "sadly  and 
reluctantly  "  consented  to  be  made  a  Brigadier-General.     Now  he 

387 


388  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

came  to  Canada  as  second  in  command.  He  was  in  his  thirty- 
ninth  year. 

On  June  i,  1775,  Congress  had  disclaimed  the  intention  of  in- 
vading Canada,  and  a  French  translation  of  their  resolution  had 
been  circulated.  But  on  June  9  General  Carleton  proclaimed 
the  American  borderers  to  be  rebellious  traitors,  summoned  the 
French  peasantry  to  serve  against  them,  and  engaged  as  many 
Indians  as  he  could  get.1  His  new  commission  gave  him  extra- 
ordinary powers.  It  authorised  him  to  arm  the  Canadians  and 
march  them  out  of  the  country,  for  the  subjugation  of  the  other 
Colonies.  He  had  even  the  power  to  execute  all,  in  all  places, 
whom  he  should  deem  rebels.  Thus  threatened,  the  Americans 
thought  they  might  as  well  attack  as  wait  to  be  attacked.  The 
result  was  the  expedition  of  Montgomery,  and  Arnold's  wonderful 
march. 

In  the  beginning  of  September  3000  Provincials  under  Schuyler 
marched  into  Canada.  There  were  other  incursions,  and  there 
was  great  independence  of  the  central  authority.  Ethan  Allen 
thought  he  could  surprise  Montreal  as  he  had  surprised  Ticonderoga, 
but  was  himself  surprised  near  Long  Point  by  "  a  mixed  party  of 
regulars,  English  residents  of  Montreal,  Canadians  and  Indians." 
They  were  500,  he  counted  scarcely  100,  and  after  a  fight  of 
nearly  two  hours  he  and  38  of  his  men  surrendered.  General 
Prescott  put  him  in  irons,  and  sent  him  to  England,  where  he  was 
imprisoned  in  Pendennis  Castle. 

As   was   everywhere   the   case    at   the   beginning  of  the   war, 

1  At  the  Conference  at  Montreal,  in  the  summer  of  1775,  Carleton  gave  each 
of  the  Canadian  tribes  a  hatchet  and  war-belt.  They  were  afterwards  invited  to 
"feast  on  a  Bostonian,  and  drink  his  blood."  General  Schuyler's  letter  to 
Congress,  from  which  the  expression  is  quoted,  says  that  "an  ox  was  roasted 
for  the  purpose,  a  pipe  of  wine  given  to  drink,  and  the  war-song  was  sung." 
"  One  of  the  Chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  who  attended  at  that  Conference  accepted 
a  very  large  black  war-belt  with  a  hatchet  pictured  on  it,  but  would  neither  eat 
nor  drink,  nor  sing  the  war-song."  He  adds  that  this  belt  has  now  been  delivered 
up,  "by  which  it  is  proved  that  the  servants  of  the  Crown  have  attempted  to 
engage  the  savages."  The  ox  was  jestingly  named  "  Bostonian  " — a  jest  nothing 
short  of  a  crime,  when  we  remember  that  the  white  men  who  indulged  in  it 
knew  the  customs  in  war  of  the  red -men  with  whom  they  jested.  The  chief 
who  refused  to  eat  or  drink  at  that  unholy  feast  put  the  civilised  race  to  shame. 

Great  promises  were  held  out.  "Quebec,  Aug.  3,  1775.— Cap.  William 
Dunbar's  company  of  the  Royal  Highland  Emigrants  are  promised  200  acres  in 
any  province  of  N.  Amer.  he  shall  think  proper,  the  K.  to  pay  the  patent 
fees,  Secretary's  fees,  and  Surveyor  General ;  besides  20  years  free  of  quit- 
rent,  each  married  man  gets  50  acres  for  his  wife,  and  50  for  each  child  on  same 
terms,  and  one  guinea  levy  money  as  a  gratuity." — Remembrancer. 


CANADA  389 

Montgomery  was  hampered  for  want  of  powder.  But  the  little  Fort 
of  Chamblee — surrendered  to  him  on  October  20,  after  a  siege  of  a 
day  and  a  half — supplied  him  with  seventeen  cannon  and  six  tons 
of  powder.  He  defeated  Carleton  at  Longeuil,  and  on  November  2 
took  St  Johns,  "  the  key  to  Montreal."  Immediately  after  Montreal 
capitulated.  Canada  seemed  to  be  lost,  and  the  capture  of 
Carleton  himself  inevitable,  deserted  as  he  now  was  by  all  except  the 
English  immigrants.  He  wrote  to  Gage,  "  I  had  hopes  of  holding 
out  for  this  year,  had  the  savages  remained  firm ;  but  now  we  are  on 
the  eve  of  being  overrun  and  subdued."  His  despatch  home  of  the 
26th  October  was  suppressed,  and  the  Gazette  informed  the  public 
that  no  news  had  been  received  later  than  the  12th,  when  Gage 
left  Boston. 

Meanwhile  two  battalions,  led  by  Colonel  Benedict  Arnold  of 
Newhaven, — sent  by  Washington  to  reinforce  Montgomery, — had 
come  up  from  New  England  by  an  untried  route,  suffering  terrible 
hardships  on  the  way — now  rowing  painfully  against  the  fierce 
stream  of  the  Kenebec ;  now,  at  the  "  carrying-places,"  unloading 
the  boats  and  carrying  them  and  their  contents  on  their  shoulders, 
through  forest  and  morass,  till  they  again  reached  a  navigable  part 
and  took  to  the  river  once  more.  The  "Great  Carrying-place" 
was  twelve  miles  across.  On  land  they  were  torn  by  thorns  and 
drenched  by  the  early  winter  rains.  So  they  went  on,  through  bogs 
and  swamps,  by  lakes  and  craggy  ravines,  up  stony  mountain-sides, 
the  air  growing  ever  keener,  and  the  snow  falling  thicker  every  day, 
till  it  seemed  as  though  they  would  never  see  the  waters  of  the  great 
Chaudiere  Pond.  But  Arnold  had  foreseen  everything,  planned 
everything ;  and  at  last — when  they  had  come  to  half  a  square-inch 
of  raw  pork  for  dinner,  and  had  eaten  the  dogs  and  the  barber's 
powder-bag — they  came  out  at  Sartigan,  twenty-five  leagues  from 
Quebec,  and  saw  a  human  habitation — the  first  for  thirty-one 
days.  They  also  saw  a  party  of  French  Canadians  bringing  the 
supplies  which  Arnold  had  hurried  forward  to  seek.  It  was  time — 
the  invaders  were  brought  so  low  that  they  wept  for  joy. 

This  was  the  2nd  of  November — the  day  Montreal  was  taken. 
On  the  9th  Arnold  began  to  embark  his  men  in  canoes,  and  before 
daybreak  on  the  15  th  he  had  landed  them  undiscovered  at  Wolfe's 
Cove.  Unopposed,  they  climbed  Wolfe's  path  to  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  and  summoned  Quebec.  No  reply  was  given.  In 
Carleton's  absence,  Cramahe,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  had  put  the 
walls  into  a  good  state  of  defence,  and  as  he  had  intercepted  some 
of  Arnold's  letters  to  Montgomery,  he  knew  pretty  well  the  numbers 
of  his  enemy.     But  the  same  day  Prescott  surrendered  his  flotilla 


39Q  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

of  eleven  armed  vessels,  with   all  the   troops  and  volunteers  who 
had  taken  refuge  with  him  on  hearing  of  Montgomery's  approach. 

The  night  before,1  Carleton,  disguised  as  a  peasant,  and  rowing 
with  muffled  oars,  had  slipped  past  Arnold's  guard,  where  the  Sorel 
falls  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  got  safe  into  Quebec.  He  found 
the  town  so  disaffected  that  his  first  act  was  to  turn  out  all  those 
who  declined  to  volunteer  for  its  defence.  Nothing  but  the  fear  of 
being  pillaged  by  the  Provincials  caused  any  of  the  inhabitants  to 
rally  to  the  Governor. 

Montgomery  came  up  on  the  3rd  of  December ;  but  the  system  of 
short  enlistments  operated  with  effects  almost  as  fatal  as  the  want  of 
powder.     Many  of  his  men  had  gone  home  already,  and  the  engage- 
ments of  the  New  Englanders  expired  on  the  last  day  of  the  year. 
He  had  only  600  all  told,  and  had  been  compelled  to  leave  some  of 
these  as  garrisons.    Arnold's  1000  were  reduced  to  675  by  the  terrible 
march.     But  Quebec  was  provisioned  for  eight  months — long  before 
that,  succour  would  be  sent  from    England.     There  was  nothing 
for  it,  therefore,  but  to  storm,  and  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost. 
But  a  dark  night  must  be  waited  for,  and  it  did  not  come  till  the 
30th,  and  then  it  came  with  a  snowstorm  from  the  north-east.     As 
the  Provincials  scrambled  up  the  rocks,  covered  by  two  feet  of  snow, 
they  often   slipped   and   fell.     All   went   wrong.     A   deserter  had 
betrayed  the  plan  to  Carleton,  all  the  garrison  were  sleeping  in  their 
clothes,  and  two-thirds  were  under  arms.     The  signal  for  the  assault 
was   given   half  an  hour  too  soon,  and  served  to  warn  Carleton. 
Dearborn's  company  were  too  late — they  had  to  cross  the  Charles  at 
high-tide.     Another  company  lost  its  way  in  the  snow.     A  young 
Irishman,  who  afterwards  joined  Burgoyne's  army  as  a  volunteer, 
has  left  us  a  description  of  the  causeway  by  which  Montgomery 
made  his  attack.     It  was  not  more  than  24  feet  wide ;  on  one  side 
a  lofty  perpendicular  rock,  and  on  the  other  a   steep   precipice, 
without  any  fence,  down  to  the  river.     This  causeway  was  defended 
by  two  strong  barriers — the  first  was   immediately  abandoned  by 
the  British,  and,  flushed  with  success,  the  Americans  rushed  on  to 
the  second,  where  two  pieces  of  cannon  were  concealed,  and  were 
fired  on  their  approach.     Great  numbers  were  killed  and  wounded, 
and  many  fell  down  the  precipice — the  British  had  orders  not  to 
fire  till   the   enemy  was    close  at  hand,  and  as    the   Americans 
advanced   many  abreast   they   were   mown   down.      Montgomery, 
leading  the  way,  fell  at  the  first  discharge ;  the  attack  was  repulsed 
with  loss,  and  Aaron  Burr  was  one  of  the  few  officers  not  wounded. 
On  the  north-west  side  of  the  town,  Arnold,  leading  the  assault, 
1  November  16-17. 


CANADA  391 

was  almost  immediately  wounded.  Morgan  cut  his  way  into  the 
town,  but  only  to  find  himself  outnumbered,  and  after  a  long  and 
stubborn  resistance  he  was  compelled  to  surrender. 

The  British  loss  was  small ;  that  of  the  Americans  about  sixty 
killed  and  wounded,  and  three  or  four  hundred  prisoners.  Carleton 
used  them  kindly,  and  even  allowed  Morgan  to  go  home  on  parole. 
Bitter  was  the  grief  for  the  gallant  Montgomery.  Even  his  enemies 
lamented  him.  Carleton  buried  him  honourably  in  Quebec ; 
Burke  and  Fox  pronounced  his  eulogy  in  the  House  of  Commons  ; 
and  even  North  admitted  that  he  was  a  brave,  able,  humane,  and 
generous — rebel. 

The  assault  on  Quebec  had  failed,  but  Arnold  maintained  the 
blockade  till  spring.  His  wound,  which  was  in  the  leg,  was  very 
severe,  and  healed  slowly.  Like  Washington,  he  was  in  sore  need 
of  men  and  money — at  one  time  sickness  had  reduced  his  force 
to  500  men.  The  small-pox  raged,  and  there  were  neither  barracks 
nor  medicines.  Arnold  did  what  he  could,  by  intercepting 
Carleton's  supplies  and  harassing  him  with  alarms.  But  the 
Canadians  were  not  now  so  friendly — they  looked  on  the  Americans 
as  intruders,  who  might  spoil  them  with  their  new  masters. 
Carleton  was  a  very  different  Governor  from  Bernard  and  Hutchinson 
— he  did  not  drive  his  province  into  rebellion  by  treating  it  as  if 
it  was  just  going  to  rebel.  But,  sure  of  reinforcements  in  spring, 
he  would  not  hazard  a  sortie. 

In  April,  General  Wooster  came  from  Montreal  with  reinforce- 
ments. Arnold  thought  Wooster — a  very  much  older  man — 
did  not  consult  him  enough  on  military  affairs,  and  asked  leave 
of  absence.  He  went  to  Montreal  and  took  command  there. 
Soon  General  Thomas  came  to  Quebec.  The  men  were  in  a 
wretched  state,  but  as  soon  as  the  river  was  clear  of  ice  Thomas 
devised  a  scheme  for  another  attack — he  would  send  up  a  fire-ship 
with  flood-tide,  and  make  the  assault  when  the  shipping  in  harbour 
was  in  flames.  It  was  tried  on  the  night  of  the  3rd  of  May.  The 
ship  came  up,  and  was  not  observed  till  close  on  the  shipping. 
Her  crew  applied  the  match  to  the  train  and  rowed  away.  But 
the  flames  caught  her  own  sails,  she  did  not  fetch  up,  and  drifted 
harmlessly  away  with  the  ebb. 

There  was  now  nothing  for  it  but  to  raise  the  siege  before  the 
British  reinforcements  arrived.  The  Provincials  were  embarking 
when,  on  May  6,  the  Surprise,  the  /sis,  and  the  Martin  came  into 
the  Bason,  bringing  the  29th  and  the  Marines.  Carleton  called 
his  besiegers  "  these  mighty  boasters,"  but  his  own  despatch  shows 
that  they  had  prevented  any  supplies  coming  in,  had  burnt  the 


392  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

suburbs,  and  had  kept  him  in  constant  expectation  of  an  assault 
for  three  months.     He  did  not  pursue  them  on  their  retreat. 

Now  came  the  affair  of  the  Cedars — in  itself  unimportant, 
except  for  the  light  it  throws  on  the  manner  of  warfare  when 
Indians  were  enlisted,  and  also  because  it  affected  the  exchange  of 
prisoners  throughout  the  war. 

There  was  no  longer  any  pretence  that  Indians  were  not 
employed — every  effort  to  enlist  them  had  been  ordered  by 
Germaine,  and  every  British  force  marched  accompanied  by  its 
bands  of  Ottawas,  Chippeways,  Wyandots,  Shawnees,  and  Senecas. 

The  Cedars  was  a  small  fort  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  forty  miles 
from  Montreal.  On  the  12th  of  May,  1776,  Captain  Forster 
marched  to  attack  it,  with  a  mixed  force  of  English,  Canadians,  and 
"savages "(we  did  not  even  shrink  from  the  word);  wishing  "to 
relieve  the  citizens  of  Montreal  from  the  oppressive  tyranny  of  the 
rebels."  Major  Butterfield  commanded  at  the  fort.  Forster  sum- 
moned him  to  surrender,  "  while  it  was  yet  in  his  power  to  save  their 
lives,"  as,  if  they  delayed,  "  the  savages  "  could  not  be  restrained. 
Butterfield  refusing,  and  Forster  hearing  that  a  Major  Sherburne 
was  advancing  with  a  small  force  to  relieve  the  post,  sent  a  letter 
in  which  he  told  Butterfield  that  he  had,  "  by  entreaty,  overcome  the 
resolution  formed  by  the  savages,  of  allowing  no  quarters,  on  your 
refusing  my  offer  to  you."  He  again  invited  Butterfield  to  surrender 
at  discretion,  but  promised  the  garrison  personal  safety;  but  "as 
the  disposition  of  the  savages  is  not  very  certain,5'  advised  him  to 
"  take  advantage  of  the  present  favourable  terms." x  Cowed  by  these 
threats,  and  not  knowing  that  relief  was  coming,  Butterfield 
surrendered.  "  The  savages "  had  to  be  allowed  "  to  take  the 
plunder."  Being  "dissatisfied  with  the  capitulation,"  they  also 
stripped  the  prisoners  of  "  some  watches  and  money,  and  perhaps 
of  a  laced  hat  or  two ;  but  of  nothing  else,  nor  did  they  receive 
any  other  insult."  At  this  moment  news  was  brought  that  "80 
savages,  aided  by  18  Canadians,  under  the  command  of  M.  Maurer, 
had  attacked  Sherburne's  party,  killed  5  or  6  and  made  97 
prisoners."  Forster  had  sent  M.  de  Montigny  to  harass  Sherburne, 
but  the  latter  was  already  defeated  before  the  Frenchman  could 
arrive.  It  is  impossible  that  Sherburne  could  have  been  over- 
whelmed by  equal  numbers.  The  Provincial  account  gives  the  force 
which  attacked  as  500,  and  says  that  he  was  "  surrounded."  The 
English  Officer  continues,  apropos  of  Sherburne :  "  It  is  here 
to  be  remarked,  that  they  were  made  prisoners  without  any 
stipulation,  and  that  savages  ever  deem  their  prisoners  as  private 
1  "English  Officer's  Narration,"  Gentleman s  Magazine,  1777,  p.  68. 


CANADA  393 

property,  and  have,  generally,  in  former  wars,  sacrificed  their 
prisoners  to  the  manes  of  their  deceased  friends." 

"The  savages  who  remained  at  the  Cedars,"  continues  the 
Officer,  "had  been  very  unruly,  and  notwithstanding  every  effort 
to  prevent  them,  did  strip  some  of  the  prisoners."  They  also 
"  threatened  to  revenge  on  them  the  loss  which  their  friends,  then 
engaged  with  Sherburne,  might  sustain ;  which  happening  to  be 
a  principal  chief  of  the  Senecas,  killed,  with  others  of  different 
nations  wounded,  they  became  still  more  violently  enraged."  "  To 
appease  them,  individuals  were  bought  from  them  at  high  prices," 
and  presents  to  a  considerable  amount  were  given  to  the  friends 
of  the  killed  and  wounded  Indians.  "  All  endeavours  proved 
ineffectual  with  some  of  the  savages,  who  would  not  relinquish  their 
prisoners,  yet  they  were  but  few.  The  whole  number  of  our 
prisoners  amounted  to  487,  who,  being  all  lodged  together,  and 
the  savages  insisting  on  their  right  to  pillage  the  prisoners  taken 
at  Quinchien  [Quinze  Chene],  they  could  not  be  prevented  from 
entering  the  barracks  for  that  purpose,  and  we  do  fear  they  pillaged 
the  prisoners  indiscriminately;  but  they  did  not  otherwise  injure 
them." 

This  is  the  defence — the  best  story  that  can  be  made  out  for 
Forster  and  his  "  savages."  The  American  account  says  that  "  two 
of  the  prisoners  were  put  to  death "  the  evening  they  were  taken 
(perhaps  these  were  the  prisoners  whom  the  "  savages  "  would  not 
"  relinquish  "  ),  and  "  four  or  five  others  at  different  times  afterwards." 
One,  who  was  included  in  the  capitulation,  was  killed  on  the  eighth 
day  after  the  surrender.  "That  one  was  first  shot,  and  while 
retaining  life  and  sensation  was  roasted,  as  related  by  his 
companion ;  and  that  several  others  were  left  exposed  on  an  island, 
naked  and  perishing  with  cold  and  hunger." 

This  account  was  published  by  Congress  in  the  following  July, 
together  with  the  "Narration"  of  an  Officer  in  the  Royal  army, 
quoted  above.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  Congress  was  furious 
with  Butterfield  for  surrendering,  and  takes  care  to  say  that 
Forster's  force  consisted  of  40  regulars,  100  Canadians,  and  500 
Indians,  "  and  had  no  cannon,"  and  that  the  garrison  of  the  Cedars 
had  ammunition  and  victuals  enough  to  have  held  out  for  twenty 
or  thirty  days. 

The  story  had  a  sequel.  The  Officer's  Narration  continues 
— The  prisoners  were  taken  to  an  island,  when  it  was  dis- 
covered that  Arnold  was  coming  to  the  rescue,  and  preparing 
to  attack,  and  in  the  evening  he  made  a  descent  on  the  post, 
but   was   repulsed.     "Now   the   savages    seemed   determined    to 


394  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

disencumber  themselves  of  their  prisoners."  To  frustrate  this 
inhuman  purpose,  a  flag  was  sent  to  Mr.  Arnold,  "  with  a  cartel  for 
an  exchange  of  prisoners."  The  American  version  is  that  Forster 
threatened  that  if  Arnold  attacked  every  prisoner  should  instantly 
be  killed.  (The  English  version — "disencumbering  themselves" 
is  not  incompatible  with  this.)  After  much  hesitation,  Arnold 
agreed  to  the  cartel,  with  an  amendment  of  the  article  restraining 
the  Americans  from  again  taking  arms.  Arnold  gave  four  hostages 
— who  were  immediately,  says  the  American  account,  plundered 
and  stripped  by  the  savages ;  and  Forster  gave  up  his  prisoners — 
except  a  few  Canadians,  "  as  they  were  to  be  considered  even  in  a 
worse  light  than  deserters  from  his  Majesty's  army."  These  were 
afterwards  released.  The  English  Officer  admits  that  while  the 
prisoners  were  embarking  "the  savages  amusing  themselves  by  the 
waterside,  did  fire  several  muskets,"  but  they  did  not  hurt  anybody, 
nor  mean  to  hurt.  He  adds  that  the  prisoners  who  remained  with 
"  the  savages  "  were  bought  from  them,  at  a  considerable  expense, 
but  were  treated  by  the  Indians  during  their  captivity  "  more  like 
children  than  prisoners,"  and  if  they  remain,  "do  so  by  choice." 
The  hostages  also  have  been  sent  home,  and  are  very  indignant 
with  their  leaders.  Thus,  from  being  a  set  of  unmanageable 
savages  at  the  commencement  of  the  "  Narrative,"  at  the  end  the 
Indians  have  become  paternal  hosts  of  their  involuntary  guests.1 

Congress  was  so  angry  with  Butterfield  for  his  hasty  surrender, 
that  it  was  only  induced  even  partially  to  ratify  Arnold's  agree- 
ment by  the  consideration  that  Sherburne  had  fought  bravely  at 
great  odds.  For  the  rest,  it  resolved  that  Arnold  had  ex- 
ceeded his  powers  in  promising  an  unconditional  exchange,  and 
it  refused  to  give  up  the  British  prisoners  until  the  "authors, 
abettors  and  perpetrators  of  the  horrid  murder  committed  on  the 
prisoners  "  were  delivered  up,  and  indemnity  made  for  the  plunder, 
— these  acts  being  contrary  to  the  laws  of  Nations, — with  a  threat 
of  retaliation  in  kind  if  the  enemy  ill-treat  the  prisoners  remaining 
with  them.  For  nearly  five  years  Congress  persisted  in  its  refusal 
to  reckon  the  prisoners  taken  at  the  Cedars  as  returned  prisoners, 
and  only  gave  in  at  last  when  it  was  desirable  to  consent  to 
exchange  General  Burgoyne. 

After  these  disasters,  Schuyler's  position  became  almost 
intolerable.  Everything  was  laid  to  him — he  had  not  got  up 
reinforcements  and  supplies  j  he  had  let  Sir  John  Johnson  go  when 

1  This  Narrative  is  attested  by  Andrew  Parke,  Capt.  in  the  King's  8th 
Regiment,  J.  Maurer,  and  Hugh  Mackay.  "The  truth  confirmed  by  Capt. 
Forster." 


CANADA  395 

he  had  him  in  his  power.  It  was  even  hinted  that  he  was  a 
traitor,  and  he  heard  that  some  of  the  people  in  the  Hampshire 
Grants  had  thought  of  seizing  him  as  a  Tory.  The  Hampshire 
Grants  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  prejudice  against  this  most 
respectable  and  honourable  man.  He  had  been  one  of  the 
Commissioners,  and  had  defended  the  rights  of  the  New  York 
grantees  against  the  New  Englanders — and  was  never  forgiven. 
Washington,  however,  stood  by  him ;  and  on  calmer  reflection  the 
Committee  of  Berkshire  County  admitted  that  they  had  been  hasty. 
But  all  these  heart-burnings  did  not  improve  American  chances 
of  success. 

Little  by  little  the  invaders  were  being  driven  out.  General 
Thomas  was  dead  of  the  small-pox.  Sullivan  came  to  take  command, 
and  for  a  moment  it  seemed  as  though  the  Canadians  would  rally 
to  the  Americans  after  all.  Sullivan  wrote  glowing  accounts — he 
did  not  know  that  Burgoyne  had  arrived  with  a  new  army. 


CHAPTER  XLVII 
IN  ENGLAND 

"  I  cannot  help  thinking  these,  an  oppressed  people,  asked  for  nothing  more 
than  their  legal  rights,  and  that  in  the  most  modest  and  inoffensive  manner  that 
the  nature  of  the  thing  would  allow.  But,  waiving  this,  I  ask  :  Is  it  common 
sense  to  use  force  toward  the  Americans  ?  .  .  .  these  men  will  not  be  frightened, 
and  they  will  not  be  conquered  easily.  Some  of  our  valiant  officers  say,  '  Two 
thousand  men  will  clear  America  of  these  rebels.'  No :  nor  twenty  thousand 
.  .  .  nor  perhaps  treble  that  number.  They  are  strong,  they  are  valiant ; 
they  are  one  and  all  enthusiasts ;  enthusiasts  for  liberty  ;  calm,  deliberate 
enthusiasts.  In  a  short  time  they  will  understand  discipline  as  well  as  their 
assailants. 

"  But  you  are  informed,  'they  are  divided  among  themselves.'  So  was  poor 
Rehoboam  informed  concerning  the  ten  tribes  ;  so  was  Philip  informed  concern- 
ing the  people  of  the  Netherlands.  No :  they  are  terribly  united ;  they  think 
they  are  contending  for  their  wives,  children,  and  liberty."— -John  Wesley  to  Lord 
Dartmouth,  June,  1775. 

"  It  is  with  the  utmost  astonishment  that  I  find  any  of  my  subjects  capable  of 
encouraging  the  rebellious  disposition  which  unhappily  exists  in  some  of  my 
colonies  in  North  America." — His  Majesty's  Answer  to  the  Humble  Petition 
presented  to  him  from  the  City  of  London,  deprecating  the  War  with  America, 
April  10,  1775. 

' '  We  have  already  expressed  to  your  Majesty  our  abhorrence  of  the  tyrannical 
measures  pursued  against  our  fellow-subjects  in  America.  ...  As  we  would  not 
suffer  any  man,  or  body  of  men,  to  establish  arbitrary  power  over  us,  we  cannot 
acquiesce  in  any  attempt  to  force  it  upon  any  part  of  our  fellow-subjects." — The 
Humble  Address,  Remonstrance,  and  Petition  of  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen, 
and  Livery  of  the  City  of  London,  agreed  to  in  Common  Hall,  June  24, 
1775. 

Governor  Hutchinson  was  in  the  confidence  of  Ministers, 
and  his  Diary  of  this  date  is  particularly  interesting  for  the  glimpses 
it  affords  us  behind  the  scenes.  All  the  alternations  of  public 
feeling  are  there  recorded.  Thus  in  February,  1775,  he  writes, 
"Administration  is  tender,  doubting,  and  undermined.  Opposi- 
tion—  or  rather  Lord  Chatham  —  resolute  and  determined." 
Hillsborough  complains  to  him  of  "the  langour  about  America," — 
all  owing,  says  the  ex-Colonial   Secretary,  to  North's   aversion   to 


IN  ENGLAND  397 

business.1  The  Punitive  Bills  scared  Hutchinson.  Of  the  Port 
Bill  he  writes,  "I  had  rather  no  Bill  had  passed  than  such  a 
one  as  this;  as  soon  as  I  knew  of  it,  I  gave  my  opinion  that 
it  would  distress  more  of  the  friends  than  of  the  enemies  to 
Government."  He  begged  that  Boston  might  be  opened,  though 
the  other  ports  were  closed.  But  even  this  small  favour  was 
denied  him — "it  looks  like  concession."  The  "langour"  was 
passing.  On  May  23  Jenkinson  tells  him  "the  kingdom  would 
raise  twenty  millions  a  year,  rather  than  concede  American 
claims."  Hutchinson  hears  "one  and  another  of  the  King's 
Ministers  say  there  is  no  receding.  And  yet  to  think  of  going  on, 
makes  me  shudder."  2 

The  first  news  of  Lexington  came  by  Captain  Darby  on 
the  28th  of  May.  He  had  sailed  from  Marblehead  on  the  29th 
of  April,  and  brought  the  account  prepared  by  Congress.  The 
first  governmental  news  came  on  June  10,  by  "a  young  lieuten- 
ant who  commanded  the  first  party  at  Lexington."  It  was  a 
great  shock.  On  the  19th  Gibbon  told  Hutchinson  that  many 
who  had  been  strong  for  the  late  measures  "were  much  dis- 
couraged, they  having  been  made  to  believe  there  would  be  no 
action."  Doubtless  owing  to  this  "  discouragement,"  a  singular 
rumour  presently  spread  of  a  second  action,  in  which  the 
Americans  had  lost  2500  men.  Secretary  Pownall  told  Hutchinson 
of  this  rumour  on  the  19th  of  June — it  was  a  "report  from 
Bristol."  On  the  24th  came  the  news  of  Ticonderoga;  and 
now  a  veritable  panic  set  in.  There  was  a  scare  of  a  Spanish 
fleet.  A  stranger  stopped  Hutchinson  in  the  Park,  and  told  him 
the  War  Office  had  heard  Gibraltar  was  taken !  On  July  1 8 
Jenkinson  came  to  ask  Hutchinson  about  the  report  of  a  second 
action — "on  June  16" — this  time,  a  letter  from  Bristol  had 
mentioned  the  arrival  of  a  lieutenant  at  Waterford  with  the 
news.  On  the  21st  a  rumour  ran  through  the  town  that  the 
Cerberus  was  arrived — she  was  known  to  have  sailed  on  the  18th 
of  June — and  had  brought  news  of  a  great  battle — "the  regulars 
lost  2000,  the  provincials  5000."  But  the  Cerberus  did  not  come 
till  the  25th,  and  these  premature   rumours  remain  unexplained.3 

1  "Nothing  kept  him  from  resigning  but  the  love  of  money,  and  his  father's 
desire  that  he  would  keep  in  till  all  his  connexions  were  provided  for,  and  they 
are  numerous." — Diary ',  February,  1775. 

2  Three  years  after  this,  Hillsborough  told  Hutchinson  that  North  was  "  a 
good  man,  but  apt  to  resolve  suddenly,  and  then  repent  when  he  finds  it  more 
difficult  than  he  expected." 

3  "  On — or  before — the  19th  of  July  a  rumour  spread — traced  to  a  vessel  just 
come   from   New  England — of  an  action  on  June  23,  more  bloody   than   that 


398  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

"  It  was  a  dear  victory,"  says  Hutchinson  in  recording 
it.1 

The  New  York  Remonstrance  had  already  (May  15)  been 
censured  by  the  House,  and  left  with  no  answer.  The  King 
now  recalled  Gage,  and  appointed  General  Howe  in  his  room — 
the  last  Royal  Governor  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  He  next  set 
about  raising  troops — Scotch  Highlanders,  Irish  Papists,  Canadians, 
Indians,  all  were  to  be  employed.  By  the  4th  of  August  he  had 
got  five  battalions  from  his  Electorate — he  explains  to  North 
that  this  will  be  cheaper  than  raising  them  at  home;  above  all, 
there  will  be  no  half-pay  afterwards  ! 

The  immediate  effect  of  the  resistance  of  the  Colonies  was 
a  lightening  of  the  oppression  under  which  Ireland  had  groaned 
ever  since  William  the  Deliverer  "restored"  liberty  to  England, 
and  riveted  Ireland's  chains.  Ireland  was  still  classed  with 
the  Colonies  —  Congress  invited  her  to  join  in  their  protest. 
The  British  Government  had  so  far  learned  a  lesson  from 
America  as  to  perceive  that  this  was  not  a  favourable  moment 
for  keeping  its  foot  down  on  Ireland.  The  repeal  of  the 
Penal  Laws  began  to  be  considered,  and  in  July  Congress 
sent  a  message  to  Ireland  expressing  "inalterable  sympathy," 
and  joy  that  the  trials  of  America  had  extorted  some  mitigation 
of  Ireland's  wrongs.2  Those  who  resist  oppression  anywhere, 
aid  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  everywhere. 

On    the   6th    of    July   Congress    adopted   a   very   remarkable 

of  the  17th.  On  July  20  'a  letter  received  at  a  capital  house  in  the  city,'  con- 
tained an  imperfect  account  of  the  engagement  near  Boston,  in  which  it  was 
said,  that  5000  of  the  provincials  were  either  killed  or  wounded,  with  a  consider- 
able loss  on  the  part  of  the  regulars.  This  account  was  reported  to  have  come 
by  a  ship  arrived  at  Whitehaven.  Another  account  was  received  about  the  same 
time,  which  differs  but  little  from  the  former  in  ascertaining  the  loss  of  the  pro- 
vincials ;  that  of  the  regulars  was  said  to  be  3000.  Whether  these  letters  were 
real  or  imaginary,  they  came  from  two  different  quarters  of  the  kingdom  ;  and 
one  of  them  fixes  the  very  day  on  which  the  battle  was  fought." — Remembrancer, 

P.  349- 

1  A  story  went  that  when  the  news  of  Bunker's  Hill  came,  the  King  sum- 
moned a  private  council  of  Jenkinson,  Lord  Barrington,  and  another.  "  His 
Majesty  seemed  highly  displeased  when  it  was  over;  supped  on  a  potato  and 
a  glass  of  water,  his  usual  food  when  things  go  wrong.''''  The  King  was  so 
impressed  by  seeing  his  Uncle  of  Cumberland  die  at  forty-four  of  a  com- 
plication of  diseases  brought  on  by  corpulence,  that  he  was  very  sparing  in 
his  diet. 

2  The  Bishop  of  Deny  wrote  to  Dartmouth  that  he  believed  the  rebellious 
spirit  of  America  was  due  to  "the  exportation  from  Ireland  of  nearly  33,000 
fanatical  and  hungry  republicans  in  the  course  of  a  few  years." — May  23, 
1775- 


IN  ENGLAND  399 

document — a  Declaration  of  the  Causes  of  their  taking  up 
Arms.1  They  then  drew  up  Appeals  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Great 
Britain,  and  to  the  People  of  Ireland.  They  had  before  appealed 
to  Canada.  Lastly,  they  adopted  the  Petition  to  the  King — to 
be  the  last.  They  called  it  "an  Olive  Branch."  On  July  12 
Richard  Penn,  a  former  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Dr. 
Arthur  Lee,  embarked  with  it  for  England. 

When  Penn  arrived,  on  August  11,  not  a  single  Minister  sent 
for  him,  or  asked  him  a  single  question.  The  King  would  not 
see  him.  "The  King  and  his  Cabinet,"  said  Suffolk,  when 
approached  to  hear  Penn,  "are  determined  to  listen  to  nothing 
from  the  illegal  Congress."  They  will  only  treat  with  the  Colonies 
"one  by  one."  A  Proclamation  was  getting  ready,  and  the 
King  was  blaming  North  for  delay.  On  August  29  this  Proclam- 
ation was  read  in  Palace  Yard  and  at  Temple  Bar  by  the  Heralds ; 
and  at  the  Exchange  by  one  of  the  Lord  Mayor's  officers,  attended 
only  by  the  Common  Crier — for  Lord  Mayor  Wilkes  would  not 
have  the  horses  out,  nor  allow  the  mace  to  be  carried.  The 
Proclamation  prohibited  all  intercourse  with  the  Colonies — it  was, 
in  fact,  a  Declaration  of  War.  After  it  was  read  "there  was  a 
general  hiss."2  When  at  last — on  September  1 — Penn  was 
"permitted"  to  hand  "the  Olive  Branch"  to  Dartmouth,  he 
was  told  there  would  be  no  answer. 

Chatham  was  ill  again — the  mysterious  cloud  had  descended 
once  more,  and  his  voice  was  silent.  But  during  the  session 
°f  1775—6,  witnesses  to  justice  and  common-sense  were  not 
wanting.  The  strangest  was  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  who  had 
reluctantly  remained  in  the  Cabinet  till  now.  Before  Parliament 
met  he  had  a  long  interview  with  the  King,  and  assured  his 
Majesty  that  he  was  being  deluded  by  Ministers  who  were  them- 
selves deluded.  The  King  condescended  to  tell  him  that  a 
large  body  of  German  troops  would  join  the  British  force.  "  Your 
Majesty,"  replied  Grafton,  "will  find  too  late  that  twice  the 
number  will  only  increase  the  disgrace,  and  never  effect  the 
purpose." 

The  Recorder  of  London  put  on  mourning  for  the  Provincials 
slain  at  Lexington. 

1  The  Petition,  and  the  "Causes  of  Taking  up  Arms,"  were  written  by 
Dickinson,  of  the  Farmer's  Letters.     See  end  of  Chapter. 

2  The  Public  Advertiser  of  June  9,  1775,  mentions  "a  collection  of  ,£100 
by  some  of  the  Constitutional  Society,  '  for  the  widows,  orphans,  etc. ,  of  the 
brave  Americans  inhumanly  murdered  by  the  King's  troops  at  Lexington,  April 
19th,  1775,  because  they  preferred  death  to  slavery."' 


400  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Nothing  was  spared  to  silence  Opposition.  Administration  set 
about  whispers  of  treason — directed  against  particular  persons  in 
both  Houses.  Probably  the  scare  of  the  23rd  of  October 
suggested  to  some  informer  the  extraordinary  charge  against 
Sayre  the  banker — a  story  which  by  its  insensate  folly  recalls  the 
Meal-Tub  Plot.1 

Terrible  things  were  said  in  the  course  of  the  Debates. 
Lyttleton,  a  former  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  said  "the 
Southern  Colonies  were  weak,  on  account  of  the  number  of 
negroes  in  them."  He  intimated  that,  if  a  few  regiments  were 
sent  there,2  "the  negroes  would  rise,  and  embrue  their  hands  in 
the  blood  of  their  masters."  He  was  against  "any  conciliatory 
offers  .  .  .  the  colonists  ought  to  be  conquered,  and  then  to  have 
mercy  shown  them.  Parcere  subjectis."  Rigby  said  he  would 
vote  for  the  Address,  "because  it  sanctified  coercive  measures. 
America  must  be  conquered."  In  vain  Adair  urged  that  the 
colonists  should  be  taken  at  their  word,  and  put  back  to 
the  footing  of  1763.  The  Address  was  carried  by  278  to  no  in 
the  Commons — in  the  Lords,  by  two  to  one.  The  same  day  the 
University  of  Oxford  addressed  the  King,  and  spoke  of  the 
Americans  as  "a  people  who  had  forfeited  their  lives  and 
fortunes."  On  November  10  Richard  Penn  was  examined  at 
the  Bar  of  the  House  of  Lords,  on  the  wish  of  America  for  a 
peaceful    settlement.3     Richmond    moved    that    the    Petition   be 

1  On  October  23,  three  days  before  Parliament  met,  "thousands  of 
incendiary  papers  were  dispersed,  inciting  the  people  to  rise  and  prevent  the 
meeting  of  Parliament."  (Walpole,  Last  Journals.)  The  guard  was  trebled, 
and  the  Justices  of  Westminster  distributed  papers  to  let  the  people  know  the 
Court  was  prepared  for  any  attempt.  The  same  day  Stephen  Sayre,  a  London 
banker,  an  American  born,  was  arrested  and  sent  to  the  Tower  for  high 
treason.  People  at  first  supposed  he  had  been  sending  money  to  the  insurgents — 
but  the  charge  was  that  he  designed  to  seize  the  King,  as  he  went  to  the  House 
of  Lords,  hurry  him  to  the  Tower,  and  thence  out  of  the  kingdom  !  Only  one 
witness  spoke  to  this  story,  and  no  shadow  of  proof  of  any  preparation  was 
ever  offered — it  was  alleged  that  a  few  sergeants  had  been  bribed.  The  story 
spread  through  the  kingdom  like  wildfire ;  but  in  a  few  days  Sayre  was 
brought  up  before  the  Lord  Chief  Justice,  who  let  him  be  bailed  in  three 
recognisances  of  only  ^500  each  !  Sayre  afterwards  recovered  ^"iooo  damages 
in  an  action  against  Lord  Rochford  for  false  imprisonment. 

2  On  the  16th  of  October,  1775,  the  King  wrote  to  Lord  North  that  when 
two  regiments  should  be  sent  to  Ireland  in  December,  there  would  remain  but 
four  battalions  in  Britain. 

3  "Such  scandalous  jobs  have  prevailed,  as  on  repetition  would  put  common 
honesty  to  the  blush.  Scarcely  a  day  has  passed  wherein  I  have  not  received 
several  letters,  some  from  private  soldiers,  others  from  officers,  all  of  which 
have  unfolded  scenes  of  singular  iniquity.  ...  A  most  chimerical  design  was 


IN  ENGLAND  401 

accepted  as  a  ground  for  conciliation.     Two  to  one  voted  against 
him. 

On  November  1  Lord  George  Germaine  was  made  Colonial 
Secretary.  This  man  had  been  cashiered  by  a  court-martial  for 
cowardice  at  Minden.  His  friends  said  he  had  only  erred  through 
temper,  and  ill-will  to  Prince  Ferdinand.  George  11  had  scratched 
him  off  the  list  of  Privy  Councillors  with  his  own  hand.  It  was 
almost  the  first  act  of  George  in  and  Bute  to  reinstate  him ;  and 
no  one  action  of  the  Favourite  had  more  deeply  disgusted  Pitt. 
He  would  never  sit  with  Sackville  at  the  Council-Board.  If 
there  was  a  worse  Colonial  Secretary  than  Weymouth,  Germaine 
was  that  worse.  His  rancorous  dislikes  were  a  serious  hindrance 
to  public  business.  He  pursued  Carleton  with  his  resentment,  and 
did  his  best  to  thwart  the  great  efforts  that  general  made  to  save 
Canada.  It  was  Germaine's  way  to  demand  the  impossible,  and 
then  to  throw  the  blame  of  the  inevitable  failure  on  his  sub- 
ordinates. With  an  irritating  love  for  minutiae,  he  was  not  even 
methodical — we  shall  see  that  he  was  guilty  of  the  most  astound- 
ing piece  of  neglect  known  in  all  our  history.  He  did  all  the 
more  harm  because  he  often  spoke  well,  had  some  ability,  and 
a  lack  of  sympathy  which  shallow  minds  mistook  for  firmness.1 

Somehow  or  other  he  seemed  to  put  spirit  into  Ministers, 
while  Opposition  seemed  to  lose  heart.  Even  the  coming  over 
of  the  Duke  of  Grafton  did  them  no  good.  Horace  Walpole  has 
left  a  bitter  description  of  the  North  Ministry  as  it  was  in  1776. 
He  was  a  harsh  critic,  but  the  main  features  of  his  criticism 
cannot  be  denied.2 

some  time  since  on  the  tapis.  It  was  proposed  to  send  light  horse  to  America. 
I  had  the  curiosity  to  enquire.  ...  I  was  told  there  was  a  precedent.  ...  I 
was  referred  to  Lord  Oxford's  letter  to  Queen  Anne.  In  that  curious  piece 
the  noble  lord  ascribes  his  misfortunes  to  a  job  of  this  nature.  The  sum  of 
^"20,000  was  charged  in  an  account  for  an  ideal  project  of  this  kind.  Lord 
Oxford  exclaimed  against  the  measure,  but  he  was  over-ruled  by  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  who  roundly  asserted,  'that  no  government  was  worth  serving, 
that  would  not  let  them  make  those  advantages,  and  get  such  jobs.'" — 
Lord  Shelburne  in  the  House  of  Lords,  on  the  Petition  of  the  American  Congress, 
November  10,  1775.     (When  Mr.  Richard  Penn  was  examined  at  the  Bar.) 

1  He  was  a  son  of  the  Duke  of  Dorset  (Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland),  and  was 
Lord  George  Sackville  until  Lady  Betty  Germaine  left  him  her  fortune  and  her 
name. 

a  "  Lord  North  was  a  pliant  tool,  without  system  or  principle  ;  Lord  George 
Germaine  of  desperate  ambition  and  character  ;  Wedderburn  a  thorough  knave  ; 
Lord  Sandwich  a  more  profligate  knave  ;  Lord  Gower  a  villain  capable  of  any 
crime ;  Elliot,  Jenkinson,  Cornwall,  mutes  that  would  have  fixed  the  bowstring 
round  the  throat  of  the  Constitution.  The  subordinate  crew  to  name  is  to 
VOL.  I. — 26 


402  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

The  King's  Speech  had  spoken  of  small  forces  to  be  sent  to 
America.  But  it  presently  leaked  out  that  he  had  written  with 
his  own  hand  to  Catherine  n,  for  any  number  of  Cossacks,  from 
five  to  twenty  thousand,  and  carte  blanche  for  the  terms.  Also 
that  "  Sister  Kitty,"  as  Gibbon  called  her,  had  refused,  with  some- 
thing less  than  the  civility  usual  between  Sovereigns.1  Fierce  were 
the  Opposition  speeches  against  the  employment  of  foreign  troops 
— the  bad  precedent,  the  danger  to  liberty,  and  the  enormous 
cost.  Opposition  were  but  a  little  band,  and  their  ranks  were 
every  now  and  then  thinned,  as  North  succeeded  in  buying  over 
one  more  to  support  Administration,  but  they  made  a  stubborn 
fight,   and  disputed  every  inch  of  the   political   battlefield.     Bill 

stigmatise  ;  they  were  Dr.  Johnson,  the  pilloried  Shebbeare,  Sir  John  Dalrymple, 
and  Macpherson  !  The  pious  though  unconscientious  Dartmouth  had  been  laid 
aside  .  .  .  Lord  Barrington  remained  to  lie  officially ;  Lord  Weymouth  had  acceded 
with  all  his  insensibility  to  honour,  and  by  acceding  had  given  new  edge  to 
Thurlow,  who  was  fit  to  execute  whatever  was  to  be  done.  Almost  every  Scot 
was  ready  to  put  his  sickle  to  the  harvest,  and  every  Jacobite  country  gentleman 
exulted  in  the  prospect  of  reversing  on  the  Whigs  and  Dissenters  all  their 
disappointments  since  the  Revolution  ;  and  they  saw  a  prince  of  the  House  of 
Brunswick  ready  to  atone  for  all  the  negative  hurt  his  family  had  done  to  their 
ancestors.  .  .  .  There  was  still  another  body  ready  to  profit  by  the  restoration 
of  Stuart  views — the  bishops  and  clergy.  How  deeply  and  joyfully  they  waded 
into  a  civil  war  on  the  Constitution  and  on  Dissenters,  let  their  votes,  addresses, 
and  zeal  for  the  war  declare  ! " — Walpole,  Last  Journals,  ii.  5. 

"Lord  George  Germaine,  as  was  foreseen,  set  out  with  spirit,  seizing  two 
chests  of  letters  that  were  going  out  by  a  common  ship  to  America." — Ibid. 

Germaine  was  a  tall,  large-made  man,  with  a  powerful  voice.  He  sometimes 
spoke  well.  He  had  a  great  advantage  over  North,  in  that  his  sight  was  very 
good,  whereas  North  could  hardly  see  clearly  across  the  table.  By  this  means, 
Germaine  could  judge  of  the  temper  of  the  House — see  who  was  there,  and  know 
when  to  let  a  debate  "drag,"  and  when  to  close  it.  But  his  temper  was  very 
bad,  and  when  he  was  angry  he  blurted  out  Government  secrets.  It  was 
therefore  the  object  of  Opposition,  when  they  wished  to  know  what  North  would 
not  tell,  to  insult  Germaine,  until  he  fell  into  a  rage,  and  made  indiscreet 
admissions.  Even  the  King  complained  of  his  rancours  and  enmities,  often 
harboured  against  the  best  officers. 

Shelburne  says  that  "a  Mr.  Carter,  a  shrewd  old  man,  once  observed  young 
George  Sackville  at  table,  when  a  dispute  occurred,  and  on  his  return  to  Ireland 
(Carter  was  Master  of  the  Rolls  for  Ireland),  advised  the  Duke  of  Dorset — then 
Lord -Lieutenant — whatever  he  did  with  his  son,  not  to  put  him  in  the  army." 
Shelburne  thinks  if  the  Duke  had  acted  on  this  advice,  Sackville  would  certainly 
have  come  to  be  Prime  Minister,  and  have  ruined  the  empire. — Shelburne's 
A  utobiography. 

1  "  The  letter  of  the  Empress  is  a  clear  refusal,  and  not  in  so  genteel  a  manner 
as  I  should  have  thought  might  have  been  expected  from  her.  She  has  not 
had  the  civility  to  answer  in  her  own  hand,  and  has  thrown  out  some  expres- 
sions that  may  be  civil  to  a  Russian  ear,  but  certainly  not  to  more  civilized  ones." 
— The  King  to  Lord  North ,  November  3,  1775. 


IN  ENGLAND  403 

after  Bill  of  "  Propositions  for  Conciliation "  was  moved  and  lost. 
On  November  16  Burke's  "Composing  Bill"  was  debated.1 
Governor  Pownall  took  a  strange  line.  "  If  we  are  to  repeal  all 
Acts  which  grant  duties  as  revenue,  in  1696,  not  in  1764,  was 
the  system  changed."  In  King  William's  time  a  tax  of  6d.  a 
month  was  laid  on  American  seamen,  for  augmenting  the 
revenues  of  Greenwich  Hospital.  By  the  10th  Anne,  the  Post 
Office  granted  duties  in  America  to  enable  her  Majesty  to 
carry  on  the  war  with  France.  Let  gentlemen  who  doubt 
whether  before  1764  duties  were  ever  appropriated  to  revenue, 
refer  to  the  Civil  List  Act,  1st  George  1, — there  they  will  find  that 
the  plantation  duties  granted  by  the  25th  Car.  11  to  the  King 
and  his  heirs,  are  to  be  paid  into  the  Exchequer,  to  form  a  fund 
for  the  Civil  List.  It  is  therefore  of  no  use  to  repeal  only  Acts 
since  1764!  They  should  ask  for  the  repeal  of  everything  since 
1672. 

On  the  20th  of  November  North  brought  in  his  "  Prohibitory 
Bill" — usually  called  "the  Capture  Bill,"  because  one  clause 
authorised  the  seizure  of  every  species  of  American  property 
found  floating  on  the  sea,  or  in  ports  or  harbours,  and  the  sharing 
of  the  spoil  among  the  captors.  This  the  Duke  of  Manchester 
declared  was  "a  direct  violation  of  that  yet  sacred  palladium  of 
our  liberties,  the  Bill  of  Rights."  It  was  also  objected  that  the 
Bill  would  ruin  the  West  Indian  planters — whose  goods  were 
already  embarked,  and  could  not  be  recalled.  A  member  who 
had  much  at  stake  insisted  on  being  heard  on  this — the  House 
trying  to  shout  him  down.  Under  this  Act,  also,  prisoners  taken 
in  American  ships  could  be  compelled  to  fight  against  their 
countrymen. 

Recruiting  was  not  brisk — to  the  credit  of  the  Englishmen  of 
that  day,  the  American  service  was  not  popular.  It  was  even 
said  that  at  Bunker's  Hill  the  regulars  had  with  difficulty  been 
got  to  fire  on  men  who  spoke  their  own  language.  Nor  were 
the  Irish  eager  to  enlist.  The  King  was  compelled  to  try 
Germany — the  only  country  which  sold  its  people  for  soldiers. 
Besides  his  own  2355  Hanoverians,  he  bought  4636  Brunswickers 
of  the  "most  serene  Duke,"  at  thirty  crowns  Banco  per  head  levy 
money,  the  crown  to  be  reckoned  at  4s.  9f  d. ;  pay  to  be  the  same 
as  for  the  royal  troops;  every  man  killed  to  be  paid  for  at  the 
rate  of  levy  money,  and  three  wounded  men  to  reckon  as  one 

1  "No  Englishmen,  except  the  members,  were  admitted  during  this  debate  ; 
the  only  strangers  in  the  gallery  were  four  women  of  quality,  and  a  few 
foreigners." — Morning  Chronicle,  quoted  in  Pari.  Hist.  XVIII,  p.  963. 


404  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

killed.  Sick  and  wounded  to  be  taken  care  of  in  British 
hospitals.  Besides  the  levy  money,  the  King  was  to  grant  his 
"  most  serene  Highness  "  an  annual  subsidy,  to  commence  from  the 
day  the  Treaty  was  signed — 64,500  German  crowns  a  year,  as 
long  as  the  troops  "enjoyed"  the  pay,  and  double  that  amount 
when  the  pay  ceased — this  double  subsidy  to  continue  for  two 
years  after  the  troops  should  return  to  Brunswick. 

His  Most  Serene  Highness,  the  terrible  Landgrave  of  Hesse 
Cassel,  demanded  higher  terms,  and  was  so  violent  that  he  fright- 
ened Faucitt,  the  King's  Agent,  into  accepting  them.  The  double 
subsidy  was  to  be  paid  from  the  day  the  Treaty  was  signed  till 
it  expired.  For  his  12,000  men  the  Landgrave  asked  450,000 
crowns  per  annum,1  and  a  year's  notice,  the  notice  not  to  be  given 
till  the  troops  actually  arrived  within  his  dominions.  He  would 
not  even  let  the  British  Government  do  the  clothing  of  these 
levies.  Another  Most  Serene  Highness,  the  Reigning  Count  of 
Hanau,  sold  668  of  his  subjects  at  the  same  rate  per  head,  and  a 
subsidy  of  25,000  crowns,  with  the  year's  notice  as  before.  Then 
there  were  the  Waldeckers  and  the  Anspachers.  All  these  petty 
sovereigns  were  to  be  guaranteed  against  attack  while  their  armies 
were  away  bringing  America  to  reason.  Frederick  the  Great 
heartily   detested    the    business,   said    he   was    glad    he   had  no 

1  Thirty  crowns  were  about  £7,  4s.  4d.,  so  450,000  crowns  were  equal 
to  ,£108,250.  The  Landgrave's  treaty  was  in  force  about  ten  years,  so  he 
made  ;£  1,200,000  on  the  transaction.  These  high  terms  were  paid  that  the 
troops  might  be  ready  by  February.  They  were  ready  by  the  15th,  but  they 
came  in  private  ships,  that  interested  people  might  levy  a  commission  on 
the  contractors,  so  the  first  detachment  of  Brunswickers  did  not  sail  from 
England  till  April  4 — and  yet  reached  Quebec  before  the  first  of  the  Hessians 
were  out  of  the  Channel.  More  tragic  incidents  are  commemorated  in 
Schiller's  Kabale  und  Liebe. 

"Lady  Milford.     What  did  these  jewels  cost  ? 

"  Valet.     Nothing. 

"  Lady  M.     Did  you  say  these  precious  jewels  cost  nothing? 

"  Valet.  Yesterday,  seven  thousand  children  of  the  land  left  their  homes 
for  America — they  pay  for  all. 

' '  Lady  M.     What  distresses  you,  old  man  ?  you  are  weeping  ? 

"  Valet.     Yes  ;  for  those  jewels — my  two  sons  are  among  the  number. 

"  Lady  M.     But  they  went  not  on  compulsion  ? 

"  Valet.  Oh  dear  no  !  they  were  all  volunteers.  There  were  certainly 
some  few  forward  lads  who  pushed  to  the  front  of  the  ranks  and  inquired 
at  what  price  the  Prince  sold  his  subjects  per  yoke.  Upon  which  our 
gracious  ruler  ordered  the  regiments  to  be  marshalled  on  parade,  and  the 
malcontents  to  be  shot.  We  heard  the  report  of  the  muskets,  and  saw 
brains  and  blood  spirting  about  while  the  whole  band  shouted-— >'  Hurrah  for 
America ! ' " 


IN  ENGLAND  405 

colonies,  and  swore  he  would  make  the  levies  pay  toll  as  cattle 
if  they  came  through  his  dominions — and  he  did.  Some  of 
these  human  cattle  tried  to  escape.  Many  deserted  on  the 
road — especially  in  Prussia.  The  Brunswickers  fled  to  Hanover. 
The  Anspachers  refused  to  march,  and  their  Prince  was  obliged 
to  disarm  and  fetter  them,  and  drive  them  himself  with  a  whip 
to  the  seaside !  On  his  return  from  this  unpleasant  duty  he  was 
hooted  in  every  Dutch  town  he  had  to  pass  through.  The 
Hessians,  on  the  contrary,  were  eager  for  the  unlimited  loot  pro- 
mised them  by  their  hirers.  Most  of  the  treaties  contain  a  clause 
that  the  men  shall  not  be  allowed  to  settle  in  America  without 
their  sovereign's  permission.      They  were  too  valuable  to  be  lost. 

Great  was  the  misery  in  England  that  winter.  The  weather 
was  uncommonly  severe — flocks  of  sheep  were  buried  in  the  snow, 
coaches  were  overturned  or  detained  on  the  roads,  the  mails  were 
late,  post-boys  and  travellers  were  frozen  to  death,  intercourse 
between  towns  was  interrupted,  and  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  were 
so  great  that  circular  letters  were  sent  to  every  county  and  all 
Justices  of  the  Peace  recommending — the  carrying  out  the  Act  17 
Geo.  11  against  rogues  and  vagabonds. 

In  January  came  a  report  of  the  capture  of  Quebec,  and  certain 
news,  that  if  not  taken,  the  town  was  besieged  by  the  Provincials, 
and  the  whole  province  almost  lost.  When  Admiral  Graves 
arrived,  he  brought  news — obtained  no  one  knew  exactly  how — 
that  the  attack  had  failed,  and  Montgomery  was  killed;  but 
Ministers  feared  this  was  too  good  to  be  true.  As  soon  as  Parlia- 
ment reassembled,  Fox  moved  for  an  enquiry  into  the  causes  of 
our  ill-success,  but  the  good  news  was  soon  confirmed.  On  March 
1 1,  on  the  terrible  subject  of  the  Army  Extraordinaries,  Burke  told 
the  House  that  the  40,000  men  who  conquered  Canada  for  England 
cost  less  than  the  8000  now  cooped  up,  starved  and  disgraced,  in 
the  town  of  Boston.1  Then  he  referred  to  Montgomery,  "  who  had 
conquered  two-thirds  of  Canada  in  one  campaign."  Fox  also 
praised  Montgomery.  North  called  them  both  to  order  for  praising 
a  rebel — a  brave,  able,  humane,  and  generous  rebel,  it  is  true,  but 
still  only  a  brave,  able,  humane,  and  generous  rebel,  and  that  verse 
from  "  Cato  "  might  be  applied  to  him — 

"Curse  on  his  virtues,  they've  undone  his  country!" 

1  Barre  said  so  small  a  body  of  troops  had  never  cost  the  nation  so  much 
money ;  and  it  was  ludicrous  to  compare  Bunker's  Hill  with  Marlborough's 
victories — the  "forcing  the  lines  thrown  up  by  a  mob  in  a  summer's  night" 
compared  with  Blenheim  and  Schellenburgh  ! 


406  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Fox  said  it  was  not  always  a  disgrace  to  be  called  a  rebel — all 
the  great  saviours  of  their  country  in  all  ages  were  called  rebels ; 
and  they  all  sat  in  that  House  by  virtue  of  a  Constitution  which 
they  owed  to  a  rebellion — 

"Sunt  hie  etiam  sua  pnemia  laudi, 
Sunt  lachrymse  rerum " 

Then  they  fell  to  wrangling  as  to  who  proposed  the  tea-tax,  and 
North  said  it  was  not  he — he  found  it  when  he  came — he  interrupted 
Johnstone,  and  lost  his  temper.  The  House  carried  the  Extra- 
ordinaries  by  three  to  one. 

On  the  27th  of  March,  1776,  Burke  proposed  one  of  those 
motions  which  will  keep  his  memory  green  in  the  annals  of 
humanity.  That  day  he  asked  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  to  prevent 
the  plundering  of  shipwrecked  vessels.1  Incredible  as  it  may 
appear,  as  the  law  then  stood  all  flotsam  and  jetsam  was  the 
property  of  the  first-comers.  Such  a  law  produced  its  inevitable 
effect — it  not  merely  completed  the  pecuniary  ruin  of  the  owner 
whose  vessel  had  the  misfortune  to  run  ashore  in  a  fog  or  a  tempest 
— it  created  one  of  the  worst  forms  of  crime,  by  making  a  ship- 
wreck a  piece  of  good  fortune  for  the  neighbourhood.  It  was  but 
one  step  from  this  to  the  temptation  to  make  so  fortunate  a 
misfortune  happen,  and  so  we  had  towns  and  villages  where 
"  wrecking  "  was  a  science.  It  was  not  only  in  Scilly  and  Cornwall 
that  wrecks  were  piously  spoken  of  as  God-sends,  nor  were  those 
the  only  places  where  Providence  was  helped  to  send  such  blessings, 
by  means  of  a  lantern  attached  to  a  cow's  tail — by  which  simple 
expedient  many  an  ill-starred  mariner  was  deluded  into  imagining 
he  saw  the  light  of  a  vessel  riding  safely  at  anchor  in  deep  water, 
and  so  was  lured  to  his  doom.  And,  to  men  capable  of  such  an 
enormity,  it  was  but  a  final  step  to  knock  any  survivors  on  the 
head.  Burke  does  not  seem  to  have  referred  to  the  darker  aspects 
of  the  question — he  confined  himself  to  the  undeniable  practice  of 
plundering.  Scarcely  a  winter  passed,  he  said,  but  our  public 
prints  contained  accounts  that  were  a  disgrace  to  any  civilised 
people.  "  Commercial  countries — especially  this,  which  prides 
itself  so  much  on  its  national  honour — ought  to  do  all  in  its  power 
to  discourage  such  practices."  He  proposed  that  when  a  ship  was 
plundered,  the  Hundred  should  make  good  the  damage. 

1  "  To  prevent  the  inhuman  practice  of  plundering  ships  wrecked  on  the 
coast  of  Great  Britain,  and  for  the  further  relief  of  ships  in  distress  on  the  said 
coast." 


IN  ENGLAND  407 

Instantly  the  country  gentlemen — who  would  have  to  pay — 
were  up  in  arms.  Not  a  word  was  said  about  our  honour  as  a 
commercial  nation.  Some  said,  indeed,  that  the  country  gentlemen 
in  a  neighbourhood  could  prevent  plundering  if  they  tried,  and  so 
there  was  no  need  of  a  new  law ;  and  others  said  that  the  country 
gentlemen  often  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost  already — in  vain 
— and  so  a  new  law  would  be  in  vain  too,  and  very  cruel  besides. 
Leave  would  have  been  refused  even  to  bring  in  the  Bill,  but  Sir 
Grey  Cooper,  with  a  fine  instinct  for  public  opinion,  said  he  should 
vote  for  leave— not  that  he  meant  to  support  the  Bill,  but  because 
it  would  have  "  a  very  strange  appearance  in  the  votes  "  if  leave 
were  refused.  So  the  Bill  was  "ordered  in  by  56  to  13,"  this  not 
being  a  question  which  much  interested  the  House. 

Decency  having  been  thus  provided  for,  on  April  30,  when  the 
Bill  was  read  a  second  time,  members  felt  free  to  speak  their 
minds.  "  The  Bill  was  more  abused  than  the  American  measures." 1 
It  was  called  a  cruel,  a  profligate  Bill.  Van,  the  bloodthirsty 
Welshman,  called  it  "a  Black  Bill."  Mr.  Rice  said  the  remedy 
was  worse  than  the  evil — meaning  for  the  country  gentlemen. 
Give  us  time  to  consider — let  us  try  to  make  a  plan — we  will 
never  consent  that  the  County  or  the  Hundred  shall  pay.  Lord 
Mulgrave — answering  those  who  protested  that  the  Bill  would  be 
quite  useless — said  every  man  in  the  district  where  a  ship  was 
wrecked  would  have  an  interest  in  protecting  the  wreck — this  was 
why,  in  old  time,  the  Hundred  had  to  make  good  losses  by  robbery 
on  the  highway.  Other  members  said  this  was  the  only  civilised 
country  under  heaven  where  such  outrages  were  suffered. 
Henniker  told  the  House  how  he  had  had  a  ship  wrecked  on  the 
northern  coast  of  England,  where  the  gentlemen  did  their  utmost, 
but  to  very  little  purpose.  He  had  another  wrecked  on  the  coast 
of  the  Mediterranean — there,  everything  that  was  saved  was 
returned  to  him,  and  when  he  offered  a  gratuity,  the  answer  was, 
"No.  You  have  lost  enough  in  the  loss  of  your  ship — we  will 
take  nothing." 

Wallace  entreated  the  House  to  maintain  at  least  "the  ap- 
pearance of  public  virtue."  This  is  the  only  country  in  Europe 
where  such  things  are  done.  Then  Burke  spoke  for  his  Bill, 
showed  them  how  well  the  French  law  worked,  and  reminded 
them  of  the  severity  of  our  other  laws  on  stealing — we  have  laws 
against  pulling  a  stake  out  of  a  hedge,  or  touching  a  paling — even 
against  "  disturbing  a  thorn."  The  House  seems  to  have  thought 
these  laws  would  do — anyway,  the  country  gentlemen,  already 
1  Macknight,  Life  of  Burke. 


408  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

crushed  under  the  land-tax,  were  determined  not  to  pay  for  ships 
plundered  by  their  tenants.     The  Bill  was  lost  by  43  to  55.1 

None  of  the  American  measures  prospered.  The  Fishery  Bill 
was  passed  so  late  that  the  fishing  fleet  had  already  started.  Nor 
was  it  so  easy  to  transfer  the  advantages  of  the  fishery  to  Great 
Britain.  The  deficiency  in  men  was  not  supplied,  and  all  who 
were  employed  by  sea  or  land  were  thrown  into  such  distress  that 
ships  had  to  be  loaded  with  food  instead  of  with  the  fish.  On 
the  whole  it  was  computed  that  by  this  stroke  of  Administration, 
half  a  million  sterling  "  was  left  in  the  bowels  of  the  deep,  and  for 
ever  lost  to  mankind,  by  the  first  operation  of  the  Fishery  Bill." 
{Annual Register. )  This  was  believed  to  be  a  judgment ;  and  so  were 
the  calamities  which  fell  on  the  British  fishery,  in  a  dreadful  storm, 
whose  worst  fury  was  spent  on  the  coasts  of  Newfoundland.  The 
sea  is  said  to  have  "  risen  thirty  feet  almost  instantaneously." 
More  than  700  boats  perished  with  their  crews,  and  the  fishing-nets 
were  hauled  up  laden  with  drowned  men. 

The  expense  of  victualling  Boston  was  appalling.  Want  of  fresh 
provisions  had  caused  great  sickness  there;  so  5000  oxen  and 
14,000  "of  the  largest  and  fattest  sheep,"  with  " a  vast  number  of 
hogs,"  were  sent  out  alive.  "  Incredible  quantities  "  of  vegetables 
were  "cured"  in  new  ways.  Five  thousand  chauldrons  of  coal 
were  shipped  in  the  Thames.  Even  faggots  were  sent  out.  The 
vegetables,  casks,  and  vinegar  came  to  near  ^22,000;  and  oats, 
hay  and  beans  for  the  single  cavalry  regiment  in  Boston  to  nearly 
as  much.  Then  there  were  corn,  flour,  and  salted  provisions. 
"The  expense  swelled  in  everything" — tonnage  went  up  one- 
fourth.2  But  contractors  flourished,  and  were  patriotically  zealous 
for  this  profitable  war.  Misfortune  completed  what  extravagance 
had  begun — the  transports  were  so  late  in  starting  that  the  bad 
weather  set  in ;  they  were  detained  by  contrary  winds — some  even 
put  back.  The  others  were  overtaken  by  tempests,  till  the  greater 
part  of  the  unhappy  beasts  perished  uselessly,  and  the  Channel 
was  strewn  with  their  carcasses.  Most  of  the  vegetables 
"fermented."  When  at  last  the  transports  neared  the  American 
coasts,  the  periodical  winds  drove  them  back — some  to  the  West 
Indies — some,  "  entangled  with  the  American  coasts,"  were  taken. 
The  few  that  ever  reached  Boston  had  "  beat  the  seas  "  for  between 
three  and   four   months.     Very  little  of  that   vast  provision  ever 

1  No  one  seems  to  have  remembered  Defoe's  indignant  complaints  of  the 
practice. 

2  The  Government  were  paying  us.  6d.  a  ton  for  transport  of  troops  and 
stores  to  America. 


IN  ENGLAND  409 

arrived  in  Boston,  and  very  little  that  did  arrive  was  fit  to  use. 
Subscriptions  were  got  up  in  England  for  the  relief  of  the  soldiers 
in  Boston,  and  for  the  widows  and  children.  Ships  came  back 
with  wretched  cargoes  of  maimed  and  wounded  soldiers.  Even 
before  the  war  could  fairly  be  said  to  have  begun  the  suffering  and 
waste  were  terrible. 

Revolutions  and  rebellions  are  always  represented  by  the 
Governments  which  provoke  them  as  the  work  of  a  few  incen- 
diaries— it  is  always  "a  few."  Never  was  this  stock  assertion 
made  with  more  persistence  than  by  the  British  Government  in 
the  American  quarrel.  But  if  it  had  been  so — if  Samuel  Adams, 
Hancock,  and  the  other  early  leaders  of  the  agitation,  had  indeed 
been  nothing  more  than  ambitious  demagogues,  who  sought  to 
raise  themselves  to  power  by  persuading  the  Americans  that  they 
were  oppressed  when  they  were  not — how  could  Government  have 
played  into  their  hands  more  effectually  than  it  did  ?  In  order  to 
prove  that  Adams  lied  when  he  called  Parliament  an  oppressor, 
Parliament  became  an  oppressor — piling  up  one  savage  measure 
on  another,  as  though  determined  to  let  the  colonists  know  what 
sort  of  a  "mother-country"  they  had.  So  now,  when  this  last 
"  Olive  Branch  "  was  sent,  and  those  who,  like  Adams,  saw  that 
Independence  was  the  only  way,  and  those  who,  like  Washington, 
still  hoped  for  a  reconciliation  which  should  retain  America  within 
the  British  Empire,  were  alike  eagerly  waiting  to  know  the  result, 
they  heard  that  the  King  had  refused  to  see  Penn,  that  Dartmouth 
had  said  there  would  be  no  answer  to  the  Petition,  and  that 
Parliament,  by  an  enormous  majority,  had  declined  to  look  at  it. 
Dartmouth  had  said  there  would  be  no  answer — but  there  was  an 
answer — the  answer  was  the  Proclamation  which  was  a  declaration 
of  war,  and  the  Prohibitory  Bill,  which  struck  madly  at  friend  and 
foe — at  rebellious  Massachusetts  and  South  Carolina,  and  at 
unoffending  Barbadoes  and  Bermuda. 

The  fact  is,  as  many  an  indiscreet  speech  in  both  Houses 
proves,  the  British  Government  knew  full  well  that  they  had  to 
deal  with  a  people,  not  with  a  few  demagogues.  As  soon  as 
America  made  a  show  of  armed  resistance,  the  fiction  of  the  "few 
incendiaries  "  was  abandoned,  and  now  it  was  a  rebellious  people 
— always  rebellious,  "since  the  times  of  Charles  the  First" — a 
people  always  secretly  republican,  though  they  showed  themselves 
also  rebellious  to  "  the  Commonwealth  and  Protectorate  Parliaments." 
One  statement  was  as  false  as  the  other.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  a 
few  demagogues  to  persuade  a  nation  to  rebel,  unless  that  nation 
is  itself  galled  by  the  yoke  it  is  invited  to  throw  off.     And,  strange 


410  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

as  it  may  appear  to  those  who  study  the  Statute  Books,  and  read 
the  abominable  restrictions  on  the  trade  and  development  of  the 
inhabitants  of  a  vast  continent,  up  to  the  last  moment  the  colonists 
had  the  strongest  attachment  to  the  British  Crown,  and  were  proud 
to  feel  themselves  a  part  of  the  British  Empire.  Only  when  they 
found  that  that  Empire  meant  to  make  them  its  helots  did  they 
resist,  and  even  then  it  was  some  time  before  they  were  sufficiently 
disenchanted  to  face  separation. 

The  London  Gazette  of  May  3,  1776,  gravely  informed  the 
public  that  General  Howe,  "having  taken  a  resolution,  on  the  7th 
of  March,  to  remove  from  Boston  to  Halifax  .  .  .  the  embarkation 
was  effected  on  the  17th  of  that  month,  with  the  greatest  order  and 
regularity,  and  without  the  least  interruption  from  the  rebels."  It 
at  once  excited  surprise  that  the  General  should  resolve  to  move 
so  early  in  the  season,  "from  a  tolerable  climate  to  one  much 
worse."  It  also  seemed  odd  that  the  Provincials  "could  all  of  a 
sudden  be  rendered  motionless."  After  which  people  outside 
Parliament  seem  to  have  almost  forgotten  Boston  altogether. 

But  on  May  10  the  Duke  of  Manchester  moved  in  the  Lords 
for  General  Howe's  Instructions.  He  commented  severely  on  the 
manner  in  which  the  abandonment  of  Boston  was  mentioned  in  the 
Gazette — as  indifferently  as  the  march  of  a  regiment  from  one 
country  town  to  another.  It  was  an  insult  to  the  public — instead 
of  conveying  information,  it  only  served  to  mislead.  Was  Boston 
evacuated  voluntarily  by  General  Howe,  or  was  he  forced  by  the 
batteries  of  the  Provincials  to  make  a  precipitate  retreat  ?  Letters 
have  been  received  very  different  from  the  Gazette — it  is  even  said 
that  General  Howe  had  to  make  a  convention  with  General 
Washington,  to  save  the  troops  by  abandoning  the  town  !  The 
Earl  of  Suffolk  said  that  the  letters  in  question  contained  such  a 
mixture  of  matter,  that  it  would  be  highly  improper  to  make  them 
public.1  The  fact  was,  Howe  had  been  told  long  ago  to  get  the 
troops  out  of  Boston  as  soon  as  he  could — he  had  done  it  on  the 
17th  of  March,  as  the  Gazette  mentioned — and  quite  safely — and 
as  Opposition  had  always  said  the  possession  of  Boston  was  so 
disgraceful,  he  wondered  they  thought  it  a  disgrace  to  give  it  up. 
Weymouth  said  it  was  greatly  to  Howe's  credit  if  the  embarkation 
was,  as  a  noble  lord  had  said,  as  easy  as  the  removal  of  a  regiment 
from  a  country  town.  Sandwich  explained  the  loss  of  the  brigantine, 
with  the  mortar  which  had  been  so  useful  to  the  rebels — she  was 
parted  from  her  convoy  in  a  storm.  He  begged  that  Admiral 
Shuldam  might  be  remembered  for  his  share  in  embarking  the 
1  See  comments  in  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1776,  p.  232. 


IN  ENGLAND  411 

troops  safely.  The  House  then  rejected  the  motion  for  Howe's 
Instructions.  In  the  Commons,  Opposition  asked  for  Lord  Howe's 
Instructions.  He  was  to  be  sent  out  as  one  of  a  Commission  of 
Peace — what  was  he  to  offer  the  rebels?  Lord  Hillsborough  by 
his  letter  made  us  promise  to  give  up  taxation.  Were  we  going 
to  keep  our  word  ?  Lord  North  said  we  did  not  promise — taxation 
was  to  be  enforced,  but  whether  now  or  hereafter  was  a  point  of 
policy  left  to  the  Commissioners.  The  motion  for  Howe's  Instruc- 
tions was  lost  by  171  to  85,  and  Hartley's  motion,  to  address  the 
King  not  to  prorogue,  was  not  even  divided  upon. 

NOTE. 

"  Declaration  by  the  Representatives  of  the  United  Colonies  of  North 
America,  now  met  in  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  setting 
forth  the  Causes  and  Necessity  of  their  taking  up  Arms.  (Signed  by  all  the 
Delegates,  July  6,  1775.) 

"We  for  ten  years  incessantly  and  ineffectually  besieged  the  Throne  as 
supplicants. 

"We  have  pursued  every  temperate,  every  respectful  measure ;  we  have  even 
proceeded  to  break  off  our  commercial  intercourse  with  our  fellow-subjects,  as 
the  last  peaceable  admonition,  that  our  attachment  to  no  nation  upon  earth 
should  supplant  our  attachment  to  liberty.  .  .  .  Fruitless  were  all  the  entreaties, 
arguments  and  eloquence  of  an  illustrious  band  of  the  most  distinguished  Peers 
and  Commoners.  .  .  .  Equally  fruitless  was  the  interference  of  the  City  of 
London,  of  Bristol,  and  many  other  respectable  towns,  in  our  favour.  .  .  .  We 
have  received  certain  intelligence  that  General  Carleton,  the  Governor  of 
Canada,  is  instigating  the  people  of  that  province  and  the  Indians  to  fall  upon 
us.  .  .  .  We  are  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  chusing  an  unconditional  sub- 
mission to  the  tyranny  of  irritated  Ministers,  or  resistance  by  force.  .  .  .  We 
have  counted  the  cost  of  this  contest,  and  find  nothing  so  dreadful  as  voluntary 
slavery." 


CHAPTER   XLVIII 
INDEPENDENCE 

"When  in  the  course  of  human  events  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people  to 
dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to 
assume  among  the  powers  of  the  earth  the  separate  and  equal  station  to  which 
the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the 
opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel 
them  to  the  separation. 

"  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident ;  that  all  men  are  created  equal ;  that 
they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights ;  that  among 
these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  ...  to  secure  these  rights, 
governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed ;  and,  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes 
destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  abolish  it,  and 
to  institute  a  new  government.  .  .  . 

"We,  therefore,  the  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in 
General  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for 
the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  good 
people  of  these  Colonies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare,  that  these  United 
Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  Free  and  Independent  States, 
and  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown." — The 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

"He  who  talks  thus  either  never  knew  himself,  or  now  wishes  to  deceive 
others.  He  sets  up  the  name  of  Englishman  against  the  principles  of  right ;  he 
justifies  the  measures  which  he  had  long  opposed,  and  adopts  those  reasons  and 
that  detestable  policy,  which  he  had  stigmatised  as  infamous  and  destructive.  .  .  . 
If  a  man  will  act  consistently,  he  must  pursue  his  principles  in  all  their  conse- 
quences. .  .  .  jFiat/ustitia,  ruat  calttm,  is  the  motto  of  integrity." — Observations 
on  the  change  of  Political  Opinion  in  England,  on  the  Declaration  of  American 
Independency.     (Almon,  1776,  p.  197.) 

Early  in  March,  1776,  Congress  received  the  "Capture  Bill." 
Their  reply  was  to  commission  privateers  to  cruise  against  ships 
belonging  to  Great  Britain — but  not  to  Ireland  or  the  West  Indies. 
And  on  one  day  in  this  month  it  was  resolved  "  that  no  slaves  be 
imported  into  any  of  the  thirteen  united  colonies."  It  was  then 
hoped,  especially  in  Virginia,  that  emancipation  would  soon  follow.1 

1  Bancroft,  iv.  328.  "The  Virginians  could  plead,  and  did  plead,  that 
'their  assemblies  had   repeatedly  attempted  to  prevent  the  horrid   traffic   in 

412 


INDEPENDENCE  413 

And  on  the  6th  of  April  the  Thirteen  Colonies  threw  open  their 
commerce  to  all  the  world,  "not  subject  to  the  king  of  Great 
Britain." 

It  was  known  that  Commissioners  were  coming  from  England 
with  offers  of  some  kind.  But  every  day  made  separation  more 
inevitable.  Samuel  Adams  had  said  in  April,  "Is  not  America 
already  independent?  Then  why  not  declare  it?"  But  still 
Congress  hesitated,  although  they  were  every  day  passing  Acts 
which  implied  that  the  Colonies  were  already  sovereign  States.  It 
was  resolved  that  each  colony  where  no  sufficient  government  was 
established  should  adopt  such  government  as  the  representatives  of 
the  people  thought  most  conducive  to  their  happiness  and  safety. 
This  was  the  proposal  of  John  Adams.  While  they  were  discussing 
it,  he  said,  "There  is  no  good  government,  but  what  is  republican ; 
for  a  republic  is  an  empire  of laws ;  not  of  men" 

Yet  it  was  neither  the  litigious  province  of  Massachusetts,  nor 
the  mixed  race  of  New  Yorkers,  nor  the  proud  Virginians,  that  first 
declared  for  Independence.  It  was  the  wild,  unsettled  border 
colony  of  North  Carolina,  whose  Provincial  Congress  on  the  12th 
of  April,  1776,  unanimously  desired  its  delegates  to  Philadelphia  to 
concur  with  the  other  Colonial  delegates  in  declaring  Independency. 
Georgia,  the  last  to  join,  had  even  before  this  ordered  her  delegates 
to  concur  "in  all  measures  calculated  for  the  common  good."  On 
the  26th  of  March,  five  days  after  it  received  the  Capture  Act,  the 
South  Carolina  Convention  had  established  a  Constitution ;  and  on 
April  23,  the  Chief  Justice,  in  opening  the  Court  at  Charlestown, 
charged  the  Grand  Jury  thus :  "  The  law  of  the  land  authorises  me 
to  declare  that  George  in,  King  of  Great  Britain,  has  abdicated  the 
government,  he  has  no  authority  over  us,  and  we  owe  no  obedience 
to  him."  The  new  Government  at  once  began  to  fortify  Charles- 
town,  ready  to  resist  the  fleet  and  army  coming  with  Clinton  and 
Cornwallis ;  and  General  Lee  was  on  his  way  to  take  command  of 
the  Continental  Army  in  the  South.  On  May  6  the  Burgesses  of 
Virginia  dissolved  their  House,  "as  the  ancient  institution  had 
been  subverted  by  the  King  and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain." 
The  same  day  the  Convention  of  Virginia  met,  and  on  the  15th 
a  resolution  was  adopted  to  instruct  delegates  to  the  General 
Congress  to  declare  the  United  Colonies  "Free  and  Independent 
States."  The  bells  were  rung,  cannon  were  fired,  and  the  British 
flag  was  pulled  down  from  Williamsburg  State  House. 

slaves,  and  had  been  frustrated  by  the  cruelty  and  covetousness  of  Eng- 
lish merchants,  who  prevailed  on  the  king  to  repeal  their  merciful 
acts.'" 


414  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Then  George  Mason  prepared  a  Declaration  of  Rights.  One 
clause  enjoined  the  fullest  religious  toleration.  But  young  James 
Madison,  a  Presbyterian  (Mason  was  "a  devoted  member  of  the 
Church  of  England  ")  said  toleration  was  not  the  word — it  endured 
Dissent  as  a  condescension — it  must  be  "the  free  exercise  of 
religion";  and  the  amendment  passed. 

Washington  himself  was  now  convinced  that  "nothing  but 
independence  will  save  us."  Maryland  shrank  from  the  final 
resolve,  but  she  had  driven  out  her  last  Royal  Governor  and  set 
up  a  Convention.  A  town-meeting  of  4000  men,  in  the  yard  of 
the  State  House  at  Philadelphia,  appealed  from  the  Provincial 
Assembly  to  the  General  Congress,  and  refused  oaths  of  allegiance 
to  the  Crown.  All  the  forces  were  converging  towards  Inde- 
pendence. On  June  13  a  Board  of  War  was  appointed,  with 
John  Adams  at  its  head — Washington  had  long  been  entreat- 
ing for  such  a  Board.  On  the  24th  Congress  resolved  that 
it  was  treason  to  give  aid  and  comfort  to  the  King  of  Great 
Britain. 

Colony  after  colony  sent  in  its  adherence  to  "independency," 
and  its  conviction  that  there  could  be  no  abiding  union  without  it. 
New  York  had  the  most  to  lose  by  war,  and  the  strongest  body 
of  loyalists;  so  to  make  sure  what  was  the  general  trend  of 
opinion,  the  electors  of  the  colony  were  called  on  to  confer  full 
powers  on  their  deputies.  Committees  had  long  been  at  work 
preparing  a  Declaration  of  Independence,  but  it  was  not  till  the 
1  st  of  July  that  Congress  formally  considered  it.  There  were  about 
fifty  members  present.  It  has  been  remarked,  as  a  proof  of  their 
calm  and  temperate  characters,  that  a  very  large  number  of  them 
survived  to  great  ages.1  Every  colony  was  represented,  and  the 
delegates  of  all  but  one  had  received  full  powers. 

Before  the  great  business  began  a  letter  from  Washington  was 
read.  He  returned  his  whole  number  at  7754 — nearly  1400  had 
bad  firelocks,  800  had  none  at  all,  more  than  half  had  no  bayonets. 
Only  1000  of  the  militia  called  for  had  joined.  With  this  force  he 
was  to  defend  New  York  against  30,000  veteran  troops.  A  letter 
from  Lee  informed  Congress  that  Clinton,  with  fifty-three  ships,  had 
arrived  before  Charlestown. 

Of  the  great  speech  of  John  Adams  this  day  no  record  is 
preserved.  It  is  only  remembered  that  in  passionate  words  he  set 
forth  the  necessity  of  separation,  the  King's  refusal  to  receive  their 
petitions,  and  his  turning  German  troops  upon  them. 

Dickinson  was  for  waiting — at  least  till  they  had  gained  a  battle. 
1  Sabine. 


INDEPENDENCE  415 

There  was   no  precedent  for  a   people,  before   they  had   fought, 
breaking  their  connection  with  a  warlike  empire. 

During  the  debate  of  this  day  another  letter  came  from 
Washington — Lord  Howe  with  forty-five  ships  had  arrived  off 
Sandy  Hook. 

Next  day  Twelve  Colonies  voted  "  That  these  united  colonies 
are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  states,  and  are 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown." 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  chosen  to  draft  the  Declaration.  It  was 
signed  on  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July,  by  the  Twelve  States, 
New  York  still  abstaining.1  In  the  long  list  of  indictments  against 
the  King,  which  this  document  contained,  was  one  which 
reproached  him  with  keeping  up  the  slave  trade.  "  He  has  waged 
cruel  war  against  human  nature  itself.  .  .  .  Determined  to  keep  open 
a  market  where  men  should  be  bought  and  sold,  he  has  prostituted 
his  negative  for  suppressing  every  legislative  attempt  to  prohibit 
or  to  restrain  this  execrable  commerce  .  .  .  and  he  is  now  exciting 
those  very  people  to  rise  in  arms  among  us,  and  to  purchase  that 
liberty  of  which  he  has  deprived  them,  by  murdering  the  people 
on  whom  he  also  obtruded  them  .  .  .  thus  paying  off  the  crimes 
against  the  liberties  of  one  people  with  crimes  against  the  lives  of 
another." 

But  the  Colonies  had  not  always  been  blameless  as  to  that 
commerce,  and  "some  southern  gentlemen  .  .  .  were  not  yet 
matured  to  the  full  abhorrence  of  that  traffic  " ;  and  so  the  clause 
was  struck  out. 

On  the  8th  the  Declaration  was  read  at  the  State  House  to  the 
battalions  of  volunteers  and  the  inhabitants.  Then  the  emblems 
of  royalty  were  burnt  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  crowd.2 

On  the  9th  it  was  read  at  the  head  of  each  brigade  of  the 
Continental  Army.3 

1  New  York  could  not  vote  till  her  delegates  had  received  their  powers. 

2  The  Declaration  was  signed  on  August  2,  and  then  New  York  signed  with 
the  rest. 

3  "  All  who  called  themselves  Whigs  were  not  necessarily  and  on  that  account 
disinterested  and  virtuous  .  .  .  and  the  Tories  were  not,  to  a  man,  selfish  and 
violent.  .  .  .  Virtuous  men,  whatever  their  errors  and  mistakes,  are  to  be  respected  ; 
and  with  regard  to  others,  it  is  well  to  remember  the  beautiful  sentiment  of  Gold- 
smith, that  '  we  should  never  strike  an  unnecessary  blow  at  a  victim  over  whom 
Providence  holds  the  scourge  of  its  resentment.'  ...  I  may  be  permitted  to  say, 
in  conclusion  .  .  .  that,  of  all  men  of  whom  I  have  obtained  any  knowledge,  the 
Whigs  of  the  American  Revolution  have  impressed  me  with  the  greatest  respect 
and  reverence,  both  on  account  of  their  personal  virtues,  and  the  objects  which 
they  sought  to  accomplish  for  themselves,  their  posterity,  and  mankind." — Sabine, 
The  American  Loyalists. 


416  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

The  Pennsylvania  Journal had  a  "Memento  to  the  Americans." 
"Remember"  the  Stamp  Act,  the  Declaratory  Act,  the  promise 
made  by  Lord  Hillsborough  never  to  tax  you  again ;  "  remember  " 
how  they  made  you  pay  treble  duties  if  you  traded  with  the 
countries  you  "  helped  them  to  conquer  " ;  "  remember  "  their  old 
restrictions  on  your  woollen  manufactures,  your  hat-making,  your 
iron  and  steel  forges  and  furnaces ;  "  remember  the  long,  habitual, 
base  venality  of  British  Parliaments  " ;  "  remember  "  the  rejection  of 
all  your  numerous  humble  petitions,  and  the  contempt  with  which 
they  spoke  of  you  in  both  Houses ;  the  treatment  of  Franklin  and 
Temple,  the  rejecting  of  Chatham's,  Hartley's,  and  Burke's  plans  of 
conciliation,  the  broken  Charters,  the  hiring  of  foreign  troops  and 
savages,  the  bribing  negro  slaves  to  murder  you ;  lastly,  remember 
that  an  honourable  death  is  better  than  an  ignominious  life. 


CHAPTER   XLIX 
THE  BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND 

"The  unprincipled,  and  unfeeling  and  unnatural  inhabitants  of  Staten  Island 
are  cordially  receiving  the  enemy."— John  Adams  to  his  Wife,  Philadelphia,  July 
II,  1776. 

"  Upon  the  whole,  it  did  not  appear  to  your  Committee,  that  his  Lordship's 
commission  contained  any  other  authority  of  importance  than  what  is  expressed 
in  the  Act  of  Parliament,  viz.,  that  of  granting  pardons  with  such  exceptions  as 
the  commissioners  shall  think  proper  to  make,  and  of  declaring  America,  or  any 
part  of  it,  to  be  in  the  King's  peace,  upon  submission. 

"  We  gave  it  as  our  opinion  to  his  Lordship,  that  a  return  to  the  domination 
of  Great  Britain  was  not  now  to  be  expected.  We  mentioned  the  repeated 
humble  petitions  of  the  colonies  to  the  King  and  Parliament,  which  had  been 
treated  with  contempt,  and  answered  only  by  additional  injuries  .  .  .  and  that 
it  was  not  until  the  last  Act  of  Parliament  which  denounced  war  against  us,  and 
put  us  out  of  the  King's  protection,  that  we  declared  our  independence  .  .  . 
that  all  (the  colonies)  now  considered  themselves  as  independent  states,  and  were 
settling  or  had  settled  their  governments  accordingly,  and  that  it  was  not  now  in 
the  power  of  Congress  to  agree  for  them  that  they  should  return  to  their  former 
dependent  state. " — Report  of  the  Committee  appointed  by  Congress  to  wait  upon 
Lord  Howe,  Sept.  6,  1776. 

It  was  no  longer  the  Thirteen  rebellious  Colonies,  but  the  Thirteen 
United  States,  with  whom  Great  Britain  had  now  to  deal.  It 
seemed  at  first  that  the  reckoning  would  be  short. 

As  soon  as  Washington  found  that  General  Howe  was  not 
going  to  New  York,  he  had  sent  five  more  regiments  there — on 
which  the  British  men-of-war  had  dropped  down  the  bay.  It  was 
an  extraordinary  situation — a  Roval  Governor  skulking  on  board  a 
man-of-war  and  issuing  proclamations  against  the  rebels  on  shore. 
It  was  admitted  that  the  New  England  soldiers  behaved  well  in 
New  York.  "  I  do  believe  there  are  very  few  instances  of  so  great 
a  number  of  men  together,  with  so  little  mischief  done  by  them," 
writes  someone  in  the  city.  "  They  have  all  the  simplicity  of 
ploughmen  in  their  manners,  and  seem  quite  strangers  to  the  vices 
of  older  soldiers." 

Washington  did  not  come  to  New  York  till  April.  Then  he 
gave  the  command  at  Brooklyn  to  Nathaniel  Greene  of  Connecticut 
vol.  1. — 27 


4i 8  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

— one  of  the  best  officers  the  Americans  ever  had.  Washington 
had  no  more  than  10,000  men  distributed  in  New  York  city, 
Long  and  Staten  Islands,  and  on  the  Jersey  shore ;  and  of  these 
only  about  8000  fit  for  duty.  And  the  Provincial  forces  in 
Canada  were  in  crying  need  of  reinforcements,  and  Congress  was 
asking  Washington  if  he  could  not  spare  some.  A  few  days  after 
this  the  news  came  that  the  King  was  sending  out  Hessians 
and  Hanoverians,  and  Congress  ordered  Washington  to  come  and 
confer  with  it.  He  told  it  plainly  that  no  accommodation  was 
possible — for  the  news  of  Lord  Howe's  Commission  had  also 
come — Ministers  were  resolved  to  have  complete  submission,  and 
the  bringing  over  of  these  troops  proved  it.  A  protracted  war  was 
inevitable,  and  to  carry  it  on  there  must  be  longer  terms  of  enlist- 
ment. So  at  last  Congress  (always  haunted  by  the  memory  of 
Cromwell)  permitted  three  years'  engagements ;  gondolas  and  fire- 
rafts  were  to  be  made,  and  a  Flying  Camp  of  10,000  militia 
was  to  be  furnished  by  Pennsylvania.  There  is  something  pathetic 
in  the  way  in  which  these  essentially  civilian  legislators  advance 
tremblingly  step  by  step  to  face  the  grim  necessities  of  war.  Their 
forte  was  constitutional  resistance,  remonstrances  and  declarations 
— these  they  drew  up  admirably,  but  they  failed  miserably  when 
they  meddled  with  arms. 

On  Washington's  return  to  New  York,  a  terrible  discovery  was 
made — nothing  less  than  a  loyalist  plot  to  seize,  perhaps  murder 
him,  and  to  take  possession  of  the  city  for  Howe,  now  hourly 
expected.  Two  or  three  of  Washington's  own  bodyguard  were  in 
this  plot.  It  is  certain  that  if  it  had  succeeded  Washington  and  his 
principal  officers  would  have  been  delivered  up  to  the  British,  and 
it  is  almost  certain  that,  in  that  case,  they  would  have  been  hanged. 
The  plot  was  traced  up  through  "  several  publicans  of  the  city,"  to 
David  Mathews  the  Mayor,  and  from  him  to  Governor  Tryon,  who 
was  still  issuing  his  proclamations  about  "  doors  of  mercy  "  for  the 
penitent,  and  "  rods  "  for  the  disobedient.1  The  wonder  is  that  it 
did  not  succeed.  Only  one  man  was  hanged  for  this  attempt  to 
betray  the  defenders  of  a  people's  liberties — one  Hickey,  a  trooper 
in  the  bodyguard.  The  rest  were  handed  over  to  the  civil  power. 
The  fact  is,  the  old  Government  of  New  York  was  a  "feudal 
aristocracy,"  rather  than  a  pure  democracy  like  that  of  Massachusetts. 

1  It  is  even  said  that  Washington's  housekeeper  was  in  the  plot.  A  woman 
warned  Washington,  who  told  a  few  friends.  A  watch  was  kept  night  and  day, 
until  one  night  forty  Tories  were  seized,  and  put  in  the  City  Hall — among  them 
the  Mayor,  who  admitted  that  attempts  had  been  made  to  corrupt  Washington's 
guard. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND  419 

"  The  soil  was  held  by  a  few.  The  masses  were  mere  retainers  or 
tenants,  as  in  the  monarchies  of  Europe."  Such  a  system  does  not 
produce  men  like  those  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Connecticut. 

This  happened  in  the  last  ten  days  of  June.  On  the  29th  the 
look-out  on  Staten  Island  reported  forty  sail  in  sight.  It  was  the 
fleet  from  Halifax,  with  General  Howe  and  nine  or  ten  thousand 
of  the  troops  withdrawn  from  Boston  in  March,  and  six  transports 
full  of  Highlanders,  which  had  joined  Howe  at  sea. 

It  had  been  discovered  that  the  late  conspiracy  extended  up  to 
Hudson,  and  it  was  thought  at  first  that  the  British  would  go  up 
that  river.  But  Howe  anchored  off  Staten  Island,  and  soon  the 
hills  were  white  with  his  tents.  Washington  perceived  that  his  aim 
was  New  York.  He  wrote  to  Congress  for  the  Massachusetts 
contingent,  and  issued  a  general  order  to  his  troops  to  prepare 
for  the  great  struggle  now  imminent — with  a  word  of  advice  to 
cowards  to  go  home  and  stay  there. 

On  July  9  the  New  York  Convention  met  at  White  Plains, 
when  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  read  with  beat  of  drum. 
That  evening  a  New  York  mob  pulled  down  the  King's  leaden 
statue  on  the  Bowling  Green. 

On  July  12  Lord  Howe  arrived  at  Staten  Island.  He  was 
reported  to  have  said  that  peace  would  be  made  ten  days  after 
he  came — his  honest  sailor's  mind  did  not  yet  realise  the  futile 
nature  of  his  "powers."  They  allowed  him  to  grant  pardons  to 
persons  and  communities,  on  their  laying  down  their  arms,  and 
dissolving  their  new  governments,  and  returning  to  their  allegiance. 
They  also  permitted  him  to  talk  matters  over  with  "private 
persons."  But  he  could  make  no  promises  of  redress,  nor  must 
he  recognise  Congress  nor  any  of  its  ofKicers.  It  was  uncon- 
ditional submission,  with  the  certainty  of  more  and  not  less 
interference  by  Parliament  hereafter. 

He  opened  negotiations  by  writing  a  letter  to  "George 
Washington,  Esquire,"  and  sending  it  in  with  a  flag.  Colonel  Reed, 
the  American  Adjutant-General,  told  the  lieutenant  who  brought  it 
that  it  could  not  be  received  with  that  address.  The  lieutenant  was 
much  distressed  at  this,  and  explained  that  the  letter  was  more  of 
a  civil  than  a  military  nature — Lord  Howe  wished  he  had  come 
sooner — he  had  great  powers — it  was  a  great  pity  the  letter  could 
not  be  received.  Reed  politely  repeated  that  his  duty  did  not  allow 
him  to  receive  it.  The  lieutenant  sorrowfully  departed — putting 
back  to  ask  how  General — Mr. — Washington  would  choose  to  be 
addressed.    Reed   replied   that  the  General's  station  in  the  army 


420  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

was  well  known  —  this  matter  had  already  been  discussed  last 
summer. 

On  the  19th  more  ceremony  was  observed.  An  aide-de-camp 
came  to  ask  whether  Colonel  Paterson,  the  British  Adjutant-General, 
could  be  admitted  to  an  interview  with — General — Washington. 
Paterson  came,  and  was  politely  received.  He  returned  the  civility 
by  addressing  Washington  as  "  your  Excellency,"  produced  a  letter 
addressed  "George  Washington,  Esquire,  etc.,  etc.,"  and  expressed 
a  hope  that  the  "etceteras,  which  implied  everything,"  would  make 
things  all  right.  Washington  replied  that  the  etceteras  implied 
everything — or  anything.  He  had  had  such  a  letter  the  previous 
summer.  A  letter  to  a  person  acting  in  a  public  character  must 
have  an  inscription  to  show  it  is  not  a  mere  private  letter.  Paterson 
was  obliged  to  evade  the  difficulty  by  giving  "his  Excellency" 
a  verbal  account  of  the  contents.  It  appeared  that  Paterson's 
ostensible  errand  was  to  reply  to  a  letter  written  by  Congress  to 
General  Howe,  on  the  affair  of  the  Cedars  —  where  American 
prisoners  who  had  capitulated  had  been  murdered  in  cold  blood — 
one  of  them,  it  was  alleged,  roasted  while  half-alive — by  the  Indian 
allies  of  his  Majesty.  Only  after  this  had  been  discussed,  and 
Paterson  had  assured  his  Excellency  that  cruelty  was  not  the  British 
characteristic,  and  had  given  Howe's  pledge  that  the  laws  of  war 
should  be  observed,  did  he  come  to  the  peace  proposals.  Paterson 
said  Lord  Howe  and  his  brother  had  been  chosen  as  a  mark  of 
favour  to  America — they  had  great  powers,  and-  most  sincerely 
wished  to  effect  an  accommodation.  Washington  replied  that, 
judging  from  the  circular  just  issued  by  Lord  Howe,  the  powers 
seemed  no  more  than  a  granting  of  pardons.  Those  who  had  com- 
mitted no  fault  required  no  pardon.  Paterson  said  this  opened  a 
very  wide  field,  and  so  the  interview  ended.  His  Excellency  pressed 
the  Colonel  to  partake  of  "  a  small  collation  "  which  had  been  pro- 
vided, but  Paterson  declined,  as  he  had  made  a  late  breakfast.  And 
he  very  handsomely  acknowledged  the  courtesy  shown  him  in  not 
blindfolding  him  as  usual. 

While  Lord  Howe  was  waiting  to  forgive  the  Americans,  two 
British  cruisers  had  gone  up  the  Hudson,  and  anchored  at  Tarry- 
town,  and  the  New  York  Convention  was  calling  out  the  militia  and 
yeomanry  to  guard  the  entrance  to  the  Highlands.  And  two  days 
after,  Washington  heard  from  Lee  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  been 
repulsed  with  loss  at  Charlestown,  and  that  the  British  fleet  had  put 
to  sea.     It  was  the  last  good  news  for  many  a  long  day. 

Finding  that  Lord  Howe  could  not  treat  with  Congress,  Congress 
ordered  Washington  to  defend  New  York. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND  421 

It  was  a  great  mistake,  and  it  cost  them  dear.  The  situation  of 
the  city  between  two  islands  rendered  it  tenable  only  by  a  superior 
force.  Washington  had  but  10,000  men,  none  of  whom  had  seen 
more  than  a  year's  service.  The  7000  hastily-raised  militia,1  fresh 
from  the  plough,  were  badly  armed,  and  so  deplorably  undisciplined 
that  a  silly  squabble  between  the  Marylanders  and  the  Connecticut 
light-horse,  ended  in  the  Horse  going  off  in  a  huff,  and  leaving 
Washington  without  videttes.  His  artillery  was  mostly  "old  and 
honey-combed."  He  had  to  distribute  his  forces  over  posts  divided 
by  water,  and  sometimes  fifteen  miles  apart.  He  wanted  doctors, 
medicines,  hospitals,  tents.  His  men  were  sleeping  in  the  open, 
exposed  to  the  heavy  dews,  and  a  fourth  of  his  army  was  sick.  At 
the  beginning  of  August  he  had  only  10,500  fit  for  duty. 

On  the  1  st  Sir  Peter  Parker's  squadron  arrived  in  the  bay  from 
the  South,  with  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  3000 
troops  on  board.  The  Admiral  had  picked  up  three  fugitive 
Governors  on  his  way — Martin  and  Lord  William  Campbell,  of 
North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Dunmore  of  Virginia — and  now 
Tryon  of  New  York  joined  his  colleagues. 

Washington  sent  for  2000  men  from  the  Flying  Camp  at  Paulus 
Hook  2 — commanded  by  Brigadier-General  Mercer,  once  surgeon  to 
Prince  Charlie,  and  afterwards  with  Braddock  at  the  Monongahela. 
On  the  12th,  2500  fresh  British  troops  and  8500  Hessians  arrived. 
But  Congress  would  not  hear  of  retreat — its  one  military  idea  was 
never  to  give  up  a  foot  of  territory. 

So  desperate  seemed  the  prospect,  that  John  Jay  was  for  laying 
Long  Island  waste,  burning  New  York  city,  and  retiring  into  the 
Highlands. 

Brooklyn  is  immediately  opposite  New  York — the  East  River, 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  lies  between.  The  village  was  on  a 
kind  of  peninsula,  formed  by  the  inlets  of  Wallabout  Bay  and 
Gowanus  Creek.  Two  miles  and  a  half  farther  away  the  wooded 
range  of  the  Bedford  Hills  stretches  across  Long  Island.  Three 
roads  crossed  this  range — the  road  to  Bedford,  to  Jamaica,  and  to 
Flatbush.  Lines  of  entrenchment  had  been  drawn  across  the 
peninsula  of  Brooklyn ;  but  Greene,  who  had  planned  these  defences, 
fell  ill  of  a  fever  at  the  last  moment,  and  Washington  had  to  give 
his  command  to  Putnam,  who  knew  nothing  about  them — especi- 
ally did  not  understand   the    importance   of  the   Bedford   Hills, 

1  "The  men  turn  out  of  their  harvest  fields  to  defend  their  country  with 
surprising  alacrity  .  .  .  their  harvests  are  perishing  for  want  of  the  sickle." — 
Letter  of  General  George  Clinton  to  Washington,  July  14,  1776. 

a  On  the  Jersey  shore. 


422  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

which   were   held   by   Lord   Stirling1   with   the   Marylanders  and 
Delawares. 

On  the  2 1  st  Washington  received  information  that  the  British 
were  crossing  from  Staten  to  Long  Island — 20,000  men  had 
embarked.  Next  morning  cannon  was  heard — Howe  was  marching 
towards  Flatbush,  and  the  farmers  were  flocking  in,  wearing  badges 
of  loyalty,  "  eager  to  show  him  the  roads." 

Washington  was  in  a  cruel  dilemma — if  he  did  not  send 
reinforcements,  the  lines  of  Brooklyn  must  be  forced,  and  then 
New  York  was  lost;  if  he  did  send  them,  he  left  New  York 
defenceless  against  Sir  Peter  Parker  and  the  fleet.  On  the  24th  he 
crossed  over  to  Brooklyn.  There  were  skirmishes  that  day  and  the 
next,  and  the  Americans  gained  some  slight  advantages.  The  foes 
were  sometimes  so  near  that  on  one  of  these  days  the  Americans 
saw  with  their  glasses  the  Hessians  slay  and  devour  an  escaped 
horse.2 

On  the  night  of  Monday,  the  26th,  Howe  formed  his  army  in 
three  divisions — he  had  now  more  than  24,000  men — to  march  on 
Brooklyn  by  the  three  roads.  Clinton,  with  the  vanguard,  was  to 
go  by  Jamaica  to  Bedford,  and  seize  the  pass  in  the  hills — so  turning 
the  American  left.  Grant  (the  same  who  once  told  the  House  of 
Commons  that  all  Americans  were  cowards)  was  to  take  them  on 
the  right.  The  Hessians,  under  their  own  General  de  Heister,  were 
to  attack  the  centre,  as  soon  as  they  heard  Clinton's  guns.  Howe 
himself  went  with  Clinton's  column,  with  Percy  leading  the 
grenadiers,  and  Cornwallis  bringing  up  the  rear  with  the  heavy 
artillery.  A  Long  Island  Tory  showed  them  the  way  through  the 
pass  in  the  Bedford  Hills — "  a  route  we  never  dreamed  of,"  said 
one  of  Stirling's  men,  who  almost  ran  into  their  arms  before  he  saw 
who  they  were.  Stirling  had  been  attacked  at  sunrise,  and  had 
fought  on  till  about  8  o'clock,  when  he  suddenly  found  himself  sur- 
rounded by  Howe's  column.  He  formed  on  the  side  of  the  hill, 
and  held  out  till  Cornwallis  came  up — then  he  retreated  in  good 

1  William  Alexander  was  descended  from  a  member  of  the  Stirling  family, 
who  settled  in  America.  He  came  to  England,  and  claimed  the  earldom.  An 
Edinburgh  Jury  decided  in  his  favour,  and  he  was  proclaimed  Earl  of  Stirling  at 
the  Market  Cross,  but  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords  set  the  judgment 
aside.  In  person  Lord  Stirling  was  considered  very  like  the  Marquess  of  Granby 
— a  likeness  which  helped  to  recommend  him  to  the  Americans. 

2  "  The  Jacobites  used  to  complain  that  a  species  of  rat  never  before  seen  in 
England  came  over  with  the  Hanoverian  dynasty.  In  like  manner  the 
American  loyalists  speak  of  a  new  fly  that  first  made  its  appearance  on 
the  introduction  of  German  troops  into  their  country." — Albemarle,  Life  of 
Rockingham,  ii.  330. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND  423 

order  towards  the  Creek.  Washington  saw  that  his  flank  was 
turned — but  Parker  with  five  ships  of  the  line  was  trying  to  fetch 
up  to  the  city.  The  wind  shifted — New  York  was  safe  for  the 
moment — Washington  crossed  to  Long  Island,  to  find  Sullivan  in  the 
redoubt  caught  between  the  British  and  Hessians.  Nearer  Gowanus 
Bay,  Stirling  with  half  the  Maryland  regiment  was  holding  Cornwallis 
in  check,  while  the  rest  and  the  Delawares  waded  the  ford.  All 
but  nine  of  these  gallant  defenders  were  taken  or  slain.  Stirling 
gave  up  his  sword  to  General  Heister.  Washington,  who  saw  it  all 
from  the  lines  of  Brooklyn,  wrung  his  hands,  crying,  "  My  God ! 
what  brave  men  must  I  lose  this  day  ! " 

All  that  stormy  night,  and  next  day,  Washington  rode  round  his 
lines  and  considered  his  position.  All  Long  Island,  except  those 
lines,  was  in  the  possession  of  the  British.  He  was  surrounded  by 
an  army  double  his  number,  and  supported  by  a  fleet.  He  had  lost 
1000  of  his  best  men ; l  the  rest  were  worn  out  with  two  battles,  and 
forty-eight  hours'  watching,  were  ill-fed,  and  many  were  sick.  Two 
days  and  nights  of  rain  had  spoiled  much  ammunition.  At  any 
moment  the  wind  might  change,  and  the  British  Fleet  run  up  and  cut 
off  his  retreat.  He  did  not  even  confide  his  intention  to  his  General 
officers.  With  the  utmost  secrecy  he  made  his  preparations.  He 
ordered  down  from  King's  Bridge  every  kind  of  water-craft,  with 
either  sails  or  oars — all  to  be  in  the  East  River  by  dark.  It  was 
evening  before  he  held  his  Council  of  War,  at  Philip  Livingston's 
house  on  Brooklyn  Heights.  He  laid  the  situation  before  them. 
Orders  were  issued  to  prepare  to  attack  the  enemy.  The  embarka- 
tion began  at  eight  o'clock.2  The  rawest  troops  went  first. 
Washington,  at  the  ferry,  watched  every  man  embark.  When  the 
tide  turned  at  nine,  the  rain  came  down,  and  a  chill  north-easter 
beat  them  back.  For  three  hours  the  sailing  boats  could  make  no 
headway.  By  an  aide-de-camp's  blunder  Mifflin's  Pennsylvanians 
moved  too  soon — he  came  down  with  his  covering  party,  leaving  his 
lines  empty  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  Thanks  to  the  thick  fog, 
which  came  on  as  the  wind  fell,  he  got  back  unperceived.  In  the 
stillness  of  the  night  a  cannon  went  off  in  the  American  camp — no 
one  ever  knew  how.  Regiment  after  regiment  withdrew  silently 
from  its  station,  and  moved  silently  towards  the  water.  The  wind 
dropped  so  completely  that  the  boats  could  be  loaded  to  the  gun- 

1  Three-fourths  of  these  were  prisoners.  Stirling  was  immediately  exchanged, 
and  Sullivan  released  on  parole.  The  British  lost  5  officers  killed  and  56 
wounded,  and  about  260  rank  and  file  were  wounded. 

2  The  retreating  Americans  could  hear  the  British  busy  "  with  pickaxe 
and  shovel." 


424  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

wales ;  and  the  fog,  so  thick  over  Long  Island,  left  the  New  York 
side  clear.  The  last  to  go  were  the  Pennsylvanians,  the  Marylanders, 
and  the  Delawares.    Last  of  all  Washington  stepped  into  the  last  boat. 

By  daybreak  they  were  all  safe  in  New  York — troops,  artillery, 
stores,  cattle,  horses,  and  carts.  But  the  situation  was  desperate. 
The  troops,  dispirited  by  the  defeat  of  the  27th,  were  full  of  "appre- 
hension and  despair."  Great  numbers  of  them  went  off — some  by 
whole  companies,  some  by  whole  regiments.  Washington  was  com- 
pelled to  admit  to  Congress  his  "  want  of  confidence  in  the  generality 
of  my  troops.  With  such  troops,  it  is  impossible  to  hold  New  York." 
And  if  we  go,  shall  we  burn  the  town,  that  it  may  not  be  winter 
quarters  for  the  enemy?  There  were  strange  rumours  in  the 
British  camp  of  affrays  between  New  Englanders  and  New  Yorkers 
on  this  question.  On  September  2  a  ship-of-war  got  up  to  Turtle 
Bay — others  followed,  and  Washington  saw  that  he  must  go  at  once. 
In  a  few  days  the  militia  had  dwindled  from  six  to  two  thousand. 
"  The  impulse  for  going  home  was  so  irresistible,  that  it  answered 
no  purpose  to  oppose  it."  Washington  understood  and  forgave, 
and  prepared  to  evacuate  the  town. 

Meanwhile  Lord  Howe,  who  did  in  truth  most  earnestly  wish 
for  a  pacification,  made  another  attempt,  and  sent  Sullivan  on 
parole  to  Congress.  He  offered  to  compromise — he  would  treat 
with  a  few  members  of  Congress,  and  when  the  accommodation  was 
agreed  on  would  acknowledge  the  authority  of  Congress  to  make 
the  compact.  After  much  debate  Congress  agreed  to  send  a 
Committee  to  hear  what  terms  he  had  to  offer.  Franklin,  John 
Adams,  and  Edward  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina,  conferred  with 
the  Admiral  on  September  11,  at  a  house  on  Staten  Island.  When 
they  reached  Amboy,  they  found  an  English  officer  in  the  boat  sent 
for  them,  with  an  intimation  that  he  might  be  retained  as  a  hostage 
for  their  return.  After  a  moment's  conference  the  Commissioners 
desired  the  officer  to  return  with  them.  Lord  Howe  came  down 
to  the  water's  edge  to  meet  them,  and  seeing  the  officer,  said, 
"  Gentlemen,  you  make  me  a  very  high  compliment,  and  you  may 
depend  upon  it  I  will  consider  it  as  the  most  sacred  of  things." 
So  they  walked  to  the  house  between  files  of  grenadiers.  Howe 
still  said  he  could  treat  with  them  only  "  as  private  gentlemen  of 
influence  in  the  colonies."  They  replied  that  as  their  business  was 
only  to  hear,  this  did  not  matter.  Lord  Howe's  earnest  desire  to 
make  peace  was  visible  enough,  but  there  was  little  to  hear — 
there  were  really  no  terms.  Howe  could  make  no  promises,  except 
on  condition  that  the  Colonies  returned  to  their  old  allegiance. 
They  said   this   could   no   longer   be   expected — all  their  humble 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND  425 

petitions  had  been  thrown  aside  with  contempt,  fresh  injuries  had 
been  heaped  upon  them,  war  had  been  declared  against  them.1 
It  was  not  in  the  power  of  Congress  to  promise  that  the  Colonies 
should  return  to  their  former  dependent  state.  The  tears  came 
into  the  stern  eyes  of  "  Black  Dick  "  (who  never  smiled  but  before  a 
sea-fight)  when  his  old  friend  Dr.  Franklin  made  him  understand 
that  it  was  now  too  late.  The  terms  went  no  farther  than  the 
granting  of  pardons — and  even  this  with  such  exceptions  as  the 
Peace  Commission  might  choose  to  make,  and,  with  some  excep- 
tions, which  it  must  make.  John  Adams  was  one.  It  was,  in  fact, 
"unconditional  submission." 

Meanwhile  the  situation  in  New  York  was  becoming  more 
critical  every  hour.  More  ships  were  coming  up  the  East  River, 
and  a  shot  from  one  of  them  struck  within  six  feet  of  Washington 
as  he  rode  into  the  fort.  At  sunset  of  the  14th  of  September  it 
seemed  as  though  the  British  were  about  to  land  at  Harlem — if 
they  did,  Washington's  army  would  be  enclosed.  Next  morning 
the  bombardment  began  on  the  breastworks  between  Turtle 
Island  and  the  city ;  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  with  Donop  and  the 
Hessians  were  landing  at  Kip's  Bay.  The  Massachusetts  Militia 
stationed  there  fled,  and  the  Connecticut  men  followed  their 
example.  It  was  a  panic.  Washington  galloped  up,  trying  in 
vain  to  stop  them.  It  was  one  of  the  rare  occasions  on  which  he 
lost  his  self-control.  He  rushed  forward,  dashed  his  hat  on  the 
ground,  and  cried,  "  Are  these  the  men  with  whom  I  am  to  defend 
America?"  He  snapped  his  pistols  at  some,  threatened  others 
with  his  sword.  He  would  have  been  taken — the  British  were  by 
this  time  not  eighty  yards  off — but  an  aide-de-camp  seized  his 
bridle  and  forced  him  away.  He  was  soon  himself  again,  and  while 
the  British  and  Hessians  rested  on  their  arms,  Putnam  retreated 
along  the  Bloomingdale  Road — "  a  forced  march,  on  a  sultry  day, 
under  a  burning  sun,  and  amid  clouds  of  dust,  his  army  encumbered 
with  women,  children,  and  all  kinds  of  baggage.  Yet  all  the  loss 
was  about  15  killed,  and  300  prisoners."2 

1  "  Long  did  I  endeavor,  with  unfeigned  and  unwearied  zeal,  to  preserve  from 
breaking  that  fine  and  noble  china  vase,  the  British  empire." — Franklin  to  Lord 
Howe,  Philadelphia,  July  20,  1776. 

2  It  was  said  that  Mrs.  Lindley  Murray,  the  wife  of  Murray  of  the  Grammar, 
saved  Putnam's  division.  The  British  generals  passed  her  house  and  halted  for 
refreshment.  Mrs.  Murray  set  cake  and  wine  before  them,  and  they  lingered, 
talking  and  jesting  and  laughing,  and  bantering  their  hostess  on  the  discomfiture 
of  her  countrymen.  Meanwhile  Putnam  in  his  retreat  passed  within  a  mile  of 
the  house.  The  Murrays,  though  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  were 
"patriots." 


426  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

New  York  was  evacuated  on  the  14th  of  September.  On  the 
1 6th  Connecticut  retrieved  her  character  in  the  fierce  skirmish  near 
Manhattanville,  in  which  Knowlton  fell.  It  was  at  the  beginning 
of  this  action  that  Leslie's  men,  full  of  contempt  for  their  enemy, 
sounded  the  view-halloo  as  in  a  fox-chase.  But  the  rebels  did  not 
run  this  time.  General  Howe  never  owned  his  full  loss  on  this 
occasion. 

On  the  night  of  the  20th  Washington's  army  saw  a  great  light 
in  the  direction  of  New  York.  It  was  a  fire — there  was  a  strong 
wind  blowing,  and  that  night  four  hundred  houses  were  destroyed. 
Several  persons  said  to  have  been  detected  in  firing  houses  were 
killed  on  the  spot  by  the  enraged  British  troops.1  The  Americans 
always  denied  all  knowledge  of  this  fire — Congress  had  expressly 
forbidden  the  burning  of  the  city. 

Washington  fortified  himself  in  a  camp  on  the  long  and  narrow 
neck  of  land  which  forms  the  northern  end  of  Manhattan  or  New 
York  Island.  It  is  a  chain  of  rocky  heights,  a  long,  craggy  ridge 
between  the  Hudson  and  the  Harlem.  On  the  crest  of  one  of 
these — the  highest,  overlooking  the  Hudson — was  Fort  Washing- 
ton. Two  miles  to  the  north  was  King's  Bridge,  the  only  pass 
from  Manhattan  to  the  mainland.  A  mile  and  a  half  south  of  the 
fort  a  double  line  of  fortification  extended  across  the  neck  to 
Harlem  River.  Alexander  Hamilton,  a  young  captain  of  artillery, 
a  West-Indian  by  birth,  scarcely  out  of  his  boyhood,  had  super- 
intended the  construction  of  these  works.  It  was  a  strong  position, 
and  it  kept  Washington's  communications  open  with  Connecticut. 
Howe  determined  that  he  must  be  dislodged. 

Washington,  meanwhile,  was  imploring  Congress  to  put  the  army 
on  a  permanent  footing — these  short  enlistments  were  fatal.  On  the 
1 6th  of  September  Congress  made  an  order  for  eighty-eight  bat- 
talions to  be  enlisted  for  three  years  or  till  the  end  of  the  war — to  be 
furnished  by  each  State  in  proportion  to  its  ability.  The  men  who 
enlisted  for  the  whole  war  to  receive  100  acres  of  land — all  to  have 
a  bounty  of  20  dollars,  and  a  yearly  suit  of  clothes.  Then  Congress 
thought  it  had  created  an  army. 

It  was  time  something  was  done.  The  loyalists  were  enlisting 
wholesale — already  there  were  1500  of  them  in  arms.  .Oliver  de 
Lancey  was  raising  a  brigade  at  Jamaica — to  receive  British  pay.2 
All  Long  Island  had  submitted.  In  the  Jerseys  Tory  enlistments 
were  brisk;  and  many  of  the  loyalists  were  highly  respectable 
persons,   who   conscientiously   believed   that  the   true  interests  of 

1  Probably  only  one  man — a  violent  loyalist,  who  had  taken  to  drink. 

2  Sabine's  American  Loyalists. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND 


427 


their  countrymen  lay  in  maintaining  the  British  connection.  Others 
were  like  Robert  Rodgers — called  "  Rodgers  the  Renegade."  His 
career  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  old  Colonial  history.  He  was  a  good 
soldier  in  the  French  Wars;  later,  was  suspected  of  a  plot  to 
plunder  his  own  fort,1  and  join  the  French.  When  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  began,  he  acted  as  spy  for  Carleton  in  Canada. 
Washington  had  had  him  arrested,  but  he  had  managed  to  persuade 
Congress  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  offer  it  his  secret  services. 
He  was  released  on  giving  a  written  promise,  "  on  the  honour  of  a 
gentleman,"  not  to  bear  arms  against  the  United  Colonies.  He 
was  hardly  liberated  when  he  offered  his  services  to  the  British, 
received  a  colonel's  commission,  and  raised  a  Tory  corps  of 
light-horse,  the  famous  Queen's  Rangers.  They  were  promised 
confiscated  lands,  and  privileges  equal  to  those  of  the  regular 
army. 

1  Michilimackinac. 


NOTE. 


The  eighty-eight  battalions — 
New  Hampshire 
Massachusetts  Bay 
Rhode  Island 
Connecticut 
New  York 
New  Jersey 
Pennsylvania 
Delaware 
Maryland 
Virginia 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Georgia 


3  battal 
15 


88  battalions 


(Sept.  16,  1776) 

The  list  of  Ships  and  Vessels  taken  by  American  Privateers,  is  given  in 
Almon  as  342  taken,  44  retaken,  18  released,  5  burnt. 

The  whole  number  of  regulars  enlisted  for  the  Continental  Army  from  begin- 
ning to  end  was  231,950,  from  all  colonies.  Of  these  67,907  were  from 
Massachusetts.  All  the  States  south  of  Pennsylvania,  taken  together,  provided 
only  59,493 — more  than  8000  fewer  than  the  single  State  of  Massachusetts. 
New  England  equipped  and  maintained  above  half  of  the  whole  number  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  Congress  throughout  the  war.  When  the  Middle  and  South 
States  became  the  seat  of  war,  their  men  had  to  be  kept  at  home  to  defend  them- 
selves. 


428 


ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 


1  Table  of  the  Number  of  Troops. 


(From  the  Report  of  General  Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  to  Congress,  1790.] 


States. 

Quotas  fixed 

Troops  Furnished. 

oy  Congress. 

Continentals. 

Militia. 

New  Hampshire 

10,194 

12,496 

2,093 

Massachusetts    . 

52,698         . 

67,907 

I5,H5 

Rhode  Island     . 

5,694 

5,908 

4,284 

Connecticut 

28,336        . 

32,039 

7,238 

New  York 

15,734 

I7,78i         . 

3,866 

New  Jersey 

11,396 

10,727 

6,055 

Pennsylvania      . 

40,416 

25,608 

7,357 

Delaware  . 

3.974 

2,387         • 

376 

Maryland  . 

26,608 

13,832         . 

3,929 

Virginia     . 

.     48,522 

26,672 

4,429 

North  Carolina  . 

23,994 

7,263 

3,975 

South  Carolina  . 

16,932 

6,660 

none 

Georgia     . 

3,974 
288,472 

2,679 
231,959 

none 

58,747 

1  These  details  and  the  Table  are  given  in  Sabine's  American  Loyalists. 


CHAPTER   L 

THE  FALL  OF  FORT  WASHINGTON  AND  THE 
RETREAT  THROUGH  THE  JERSEYS 

"The  Switzers  fought  60  battles  in  defending  their  liberties,  and  finally  drove 
all  the  murdering  tyrants  out  of  their  country." — To  the  Independent  Sons  in 
Massachusetts  State,  Boston,  Nov.  14,  1776. 

"  This  retreat  was  censured  by  some  as  pusillanimous  and  disgraceful ;  but,  did 
they  know  that  our  army  was  at  one  time  less  than  a  thousand  effective  men, 
and  never  more  than  4000 — that  the  number  of  the  enemy  was  at  least  8000, 
exclusive  of  their  artillery  and  light  horse — that  this  handful  of  Americans 
retreated  slowly  above  80  miles  without  losing  a  dozen  men — and  that  suffering 
themselves  to  be  forced  to  an  action  would  have  been  their  entire  destruction — 
did  they  know  this,  they  would  never  have  censured  it  at  all — they  would  have 
called  it  prudent — posterity  will  call  it  glorious — and  the  names  of  Washington 
and  Fabius  will  run  parallel  to  eternity." — Thomas  Paine,  Journal  of  the 
American  Army.  Published  in  the  Pennsylvania  Journal.  (Given  in  Almon, 
1777,  p.  28.) 

For  nearly  a  month  Washington  maintained  himself  on  Harlem 
Heights.  Howe  speaks  of  the  "  incredible  labour  "  with  which  the 
Americans  fortified  themselves  here.  He  resolved  to  get  upon 
their  principal  line  of  communication  to  the  north — towards 
Connecticut.  In  accordance  with  reiterated  orders  from  Congress, 
great  efforts  had  been  made  to  block  the  Hudson  near  this  spot, 
but  on  October  n,  the  Roebuck,  Phoenix  and  Tartar,  men-of-war, 
easily  broke  through  all  the  obstructions,  and  got  up  to  Tarrytown. 
Washington  saw  at  once  that  his  position  was  no  longer  tenable, 
and  prepared  to  retire.  Next  day  Howe  embarked  Donop's 
brigade  of  Hessians,  the  guards,  and  the  light  infantry,  passed 
through  Hell  Gate  in  a  very  thick  fog,  and  landed  on  the  mainland 
at  Throg's  Neck,  near  West  Chester.  The  same  day  General  Lee 
arrived  in  Washington's  camp — flushed  with  his  success  at  Charles- 
town,1  and  more  sure  than  ever  that  he  ought  to  command  the 
Provincial  armies.  In  matters  political  he  was  not  so  bold — he 
had  come  by  way  of  Philadelphia,  and  there  had  recommended 

1  Colonel  Moultrie  must,  however,  have  the  greater  part  of  the  honour  of 

repulsing  the  British  at  Charlestown. 

429 


430  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Congress  to  listen  to  Lord  Howe's  "offers."  He  was  eagerly 
welcomed  in  camp — these  untried  levies,  dispirited  by  defeat,  had 
an  unmeasured  belief  in  Lee's  military  genius.  Lee  agreed  with 
them,  and  soon  began  to  find  fault  with  everything,  particularly 
with  Washington's  obedience  to  Congress — he  was  always  taking 
the  Commander-in-Chief  to  task  for  not  threatening  to  resign  as 
often  as  he  did  not  approve  of  its  instructions. 

The  British  at  Throg's  Neck  were  reinforced  by  the  second 
brigade  of  Hessians,  and  Washington  broke  up  his  camp.  Before 
he  did  so  he  formed  his  army  into  four  divisions,  under  Lee, 
Sullivan,  Heath,  and  Lincoln — these  divisions  were  to  hold  a  chain 
of  fortified  posts  along  a  ridge  of  hills,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Bronx  River,  from  King's  Bridge  to  White  Plains. 

Now  began  three  months  of  retreat  and  skirmish,  skirmish  and 
retreat,  all  on  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson — the  fighting  done  for 
the  most  part  "with  spade  and  mattock."  At  White  Plains,  on 
the  28th  of  October,  there  was  a  sharp  engagement  between 
Washington's  right  flank — posted  on  Chatterton's  Hill — and  Rahl's 
brigade  of  Hessians.  The  action  was  stubborn,  although  some  of 
the  militia  broke  and  ran  from  the  British  cavalry  (which  seems  to 
have  been  much  dreaded  at  the  beginning  of  the  war).  After  it 
the  armies  lay  looking  at  each  other,  "at  long  cannon-shot." 
Howe  intended  to  renew  the  attack  next  morning;  but  in  the 
night  Washington  so  strengthened  his  already  strong  position — 
entrenching  himself  behind  "maize-stalks  and  clods  of  earth" — 
that  Howe  sent  for  Lord  Percy  from  Harlem  before  attempting 
to  storm. 

It  was  while  the  armies  lay  thus  that  a  British  officer  wrote 
to  his  friend  in  London :  "  The  rebel  army  are  in  so  wretched  a 
condition  as  to  clothing  and  accoutrements,  that  I  believe  no 
nation  ever  saw  such  a  set  of  tatterdemalions.  There  are  few 
coats  among  them  but  what  are  out  at  elbow,  and  in  a  whole 
regiment  there  is  scarce  a  pair  of  breeches.  Judge,  then,  how  they 
must  be  pinched  by  a  winter's  campaign.  We,  who  are  warmly 
clothed  and  well-equipped,  already  feel  it  severely ;  for  it  is  even 
now  much  colder  than  I  ever  felt  it  in  England." 

Before  Howe  could  make  up  his  mind  to  storm,  Washington 
had  moved  his  whole  position  to  one  five  miles  off,  in  the  high 
rocky  hills  by  Northcastle.  On  this  position  Howe  had  actually 
ordered  an  assault  when  a  heavy  rain  came  on.  At  last,  on 
November  4,  the  British  camp  was  seen  to  be  breaking  up, 
and  in  three  days  their  whole  force  had  disappeared.  Whither? 
Washington  thought  their  aim  was  Fort  Washington,  and  after  that 


THE  FALL  OF  FORT  WASHINGTON   431 

the  Jerseys — and  Philadelphia.     And  presently  he  heard  that  they 
were  investing  Fort  Washington. 

He  would  have  withdrawn  the  garrison  as  soon  as  it  was 
proved  that  the  British  could  get  up  the  Hudson,  but  Congress 
wished  it  to  be  held,  and  Greene  believed  it  to  be  impregnable, 
and  urged  that  it  would  keep  a  considerable  body  of  British 
employed  in  investing  it.  A  "  grudging  discretion  "  had  been  given 
to  Washington,  but  he  hesitated  to  avail  himself  of  it — for  he  feared 
a  feint  to  cover  an  advance  on  the  Delaware ;  and  accordingly, 
on  the  7th,  he  heard  that  the  British  were  about  to  enter  Jersey, 
and  at  once  began  to  move  his  army.  He  left  Lee  at  Northcastle, 
with  one  division ;  Heath,  with  another,  was  to  guard  the  posts  on 
both  sides  of  Hudson. 

Washington  crossed  the  river  on  the  12th  of  November.  His 
anxiety  for  Fort  Washington  was  intense.  Scarcely  had  he  reached 
Hackensack  when  he  heard  that  Howe  was  pressing  the  siege. 
He  instantly  returned  to  Peekskill.  It  was  still  possible  to 
communicate  with  the  garrison — they  might  have  been  withdrawn 
at  this  eleventh  hour;  but  they,  with  Greene  and  Putnam,  were 
confident  of  making  a  good  defence.  They  did  not  know  that 
Captain  William  Demont,  who  lately  deserted  from  the  fort  to 
the  British,  had  given  Howe  the  plans  of  the  fort  and  its 
approaches. 

The  assault  was  made  next  morning  (November  16)  from  four 
sides  at  once,  by  Percy  and  Cornwallis,  Rahl  and  Knyphausen. 
Washington,  from  the  opposite  side  of  Hudson,  could  hear  the 
cannonade,  and  see  the  smoke  ascending  from  the  trees.  With 
a  telescope  he  could  even  see  Cadwallader  and  the  Pennsylvanians 
taken  in  flank  by  Rahl,  cut  down  and  bayoneted.  It  is  said  that 
he  wept  like  a  child.  Even  then  he  sent  a  message  to  tell  the 
Commandant  that  if  he  could  but  hold  out  till  nightfall  he  would 
try  to  bring  him  ofT.  The  messenger  got  in — but  it  was  too  late — 
the  British  were  already  in  the  redoubts.  Washington  saw  the 
American  flag  go  down,  and  the  British  hoisted  in  its  stead.  Two 
thousand  seven  hundred  Americans  were  prisoners  of  war.1 

It  was  a  terrible  blow;  and  it  happened  just  before  the 
enlistments  expired.  Washington  wrote  to  his  brother:  "This 
post,  after  the  last  ships  went  by,  was  held  contrary  to  my  wishes 
and  opinion.  ...  In  ten  days  from  this  date,  there  will  not  be 
above  two  thousand  men,  if  that  number,  of  the  fixed  established 
regiments  on  this  side  of  Hudson  River,  to  oppose  Howe's  whole 
army.  ...  I  solemnly  protest  that  a  pecuniary  reward  of  twenty 
1  This  is  the  number  given  by  Sir  W.  Howe,  "including  officers." 


432  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

thousand  pounds  a  year  would  not  induce  me  to  undergo  what  I 
do,  and  after  all,  perhaps  to  lose  my  character." 

Now  came  the  retreat  through  the  Jerseys ;  Washington,  with 
a  dispirited  and  ever-diminishing  army,  pursued  by  Cornwallis  with 
5000  men — two  battalions  of  Hessians,  a  company  of  "  yagers,"  and 
the  eight  battalions  of  the  reserve.  His  chance  was  in  delay. 
Until  he  was  reinforced  he  could  not  fight.  He  had  now  but 
3000  men,  and  the  time  of  many  of  these  would  expire  on  the  30th 
of  November.  Already  on  the  17th  he  had  sent  orders  to  Lee  to 
join  him  at  once.  Lee  sent  word  that  his  men  had  no  shoes,  that 
he  had  no  boats  for  crossing  at  Dobbs'  Ferry,  and  to  go  round  by 
King's  would  be  to  arrive  too  late.  Finally,  that  he  had  heard 
that  Rodgers  the  Ranger  was  near,  with  his  Rangers,  and  wanted 
to  catch  them.  This  though  an  order  had  come  for  him  to  move 
at  once,  as  Philadelphia  was  in  danger.  Order  after  order  came, 
but  he  did  not  stir.  Washington  sent  to  Congress  for  reinforce- 
ments— but  he  dared  not  tell  them  how  weak  his  army  was,  and 
why  he  did  not  fight.  Again  he  wrote  to  Lee.  And  now  Lee 
had  no  carriages,  and  his  men  had  no  stockings  (Washington's  men 
had  none  either),  and  there  was  still  Rodgers  to  be  caught,  but  he 
had  ordered  Heath  to  detach  2000  men.  (This  was  contrary  to 
Washington's  express  orders,  and  might  endanger  the  posts  on  the 
Hudson,  and  Heath  declined  to  obey.)  Washington  replied  that 
it  was  not  Heath  he  wanted,  but  Lee — Heath  must  remain ;  and 
he  implored  Lee  to  come  by  a  safe  route — he  had  heard  the  enemy 
meant  to  intercept  him.  Delay  might  mean  the  loss  of  Philadelphia. 
Lee  replied  that  he  did  not  believe  there  were  as  many  Tories  in 
West  Chester  County  as  Washington  supposed — he  himself  had 
been  clearing  it  of  them.  Nor  did  he  think  Philadelphia  was 
threatened. 

There  was  a  strong  party  which  for  various  reasons  wished  to 
see  Lee  in  Washington's  place.  There  were  also  many  simple  persons 
who  took  Lee  at  his  own  valuation,  and  did  not  consider  how  much 
of  the  success  at  Charlestown  was  really  due  to  Colonel  Moultrie. 
Lee's  slashing  criticisms  and  boasts  of  what  he  would  do  impressed 
them  more  than  Washington's  quiet  steadfastness,  and  Lee  spared 
no  pains  to  keep  up  this  impression.  He  had  long  been  writing 
to  Bowdoin  in  Boston,  to  Gates  in  Canada,  even  to  Joseph  Reed, 
the  Adjutant- General,  Washington's  trusted  friend  and  secretary, 
about  the  dreadful  consequences  of  "  an  undecided  mind,"  as 
shown  by  "  the  cursed  job  of  Fort  Washington."  To  Bowdoin  he 
wrote  that  the  eastern  and  western  armies  ought  to  stand  each  on 
its  own  bottom,  and  that  the  orders  of  Congress   should  not  be 


THE  FALL  OF  FORT  WASHINGTON   433 

"too  nicely"  weighed  at  so  important  a  crisis.  "We  must  save 
the  community  in  spite  of  the  ordinances  of  the  legislature.  There 
are  times  when  we  must  commit  treason  against  the  State  for  the 
salvation  of  the  State.  The  present  crisis  demands  this  brave,  this 
virtuous  kind  of  treason." 

On  the  28th  of  November  Washington  marched  out  of  Newark 
at  one  end,  as  Cornwallis'  vanguard  marched  in  at  the  other.  He 
hoped  to  make  a  stand  at  New  Brunswick,  and  he  sent  Mifflin  to 
Congress,  and  Reed  to  the  Jersey  legislature,  for  help.  But  the 
legislature  was  shifting — not  to  say  fleeing — from  place  to  place, 
and  on  the  eve  of  dissolution.  On  the  30th  the  enlistments  fell 
in ;  the  Marylanders  and  New  Jersey  men  went  home,  and  the 
Pennsylvanians  deserted  in  such  numbers  that  sentinels  were 
posted  at  the  ferries  to  stop  them.  The  same  day  Howe  issued 
his  Proclamation,  offering  a  free  pardon  to  all  who  should  come 
in  within  sixty  days. 

At  once  many  hastened  to  make  their  peace.  New  Jersey  was 
unused  to  war — there,  the  Indian  did  not  trouble,  and  the  loyalists 
were  strong.  Two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  three  Jerseymen, 
85 1  Rhode  Islanders,  and  1282  New  Yorkers  subscribed  a  Declaration 
of  Loyalty,  and  were  worrying  Lord  Howe  to  let  them  fit  out  privateers. 
But  that  honest  sea-dog  did  not  encourage  them — he  was  disgusted 
at  their  readiness  to  set  off  to  kill  their  old  neighbours.  Besides 
these,  there  were  many  sober  respectable  men  who  looked  on  the 
war  as  rebellion,  and  many  more  who  looked  on  it  as  insanity. 

Still  Washington  did  not  despair..  He  had  been  promised  a 
reinforcement  from  Schuyler's  northern  army — and  there  was  Lee. 
It  would  be  a  great  thing  to  prevent  the  British  from  advancing  on 
Philadelphia  before  spring.  In  such  a  war  as  this  delay  was  every- 
thing. As  Cornwallis  approached,  Washington  ordered  the  Pro- 
vincial Governor  of  New  Jersey  to  remove  to  the  western  bank  all 
boats  and  river-craft  of  every  kind,  for  seventy  miles  up  and  down 
the  Delaware. 

It  was  at  New  Brunswick  that  he  received  a  new  blow — worse 
than  those  the  British  dealt  him.  As  was  the  rule  in  Reed's 
absence,  he  opened  the  despatches.  There  was  one  from  Lee  to 
the  Secretary.  It  began  :  "I  received  your  most  obliging,  flattering 
letter ;  lament  with  you  that  fatal  indecision  of  mind,  which  in  war 
is  a  much  greater  disqualification  than  stupidity,  or  even  want  of 
personal  courage."  Lee  added  that  the  General's  "  pressing  orders  " 
to  bring  over  the  troops  under  his  command  "threw  him  into  the 
greatest  dilemma  " — an  odd  expression  in  one  who  had  just  been  so 
severe  on  indecision.  There  was  Rodgers,  lying  in  so  exposed  a 
vol.  1. — 28 


434  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

situation  that  his  capture  would  be  easy — would  have  been 
attempted  last  night  but  for  the  rain.  Only  waited  to  finish  this 
business  of  Rodgers  and  company — "  I  shall  then  fly  to  you ;  for  to 
confess  a  truth,  I  really  think  our  chief  will  do  better  with  me  than 
without  me." 

Washington  sent  this  letter  on  to  Reed,  merely  explaining  how 
he  came  to  open  it. 

He  had  hoped  to  make  a  stand  here,  at  the  river  Raritan — he 
counted  on  the  Jersey  Militia  turning  out  to  support  him,  but  they 
did  not.  He  must  continue  that  disheartening  retreat.  He  waited 
till  Cornwallis'  vanguard  appeared  in  sight  beyond  the  Raritan; 
then  he  broke  down  the  bridge  and  fell  back  on  Trenton,  reaching 
it  on  the  2nd  of  December,  and  at  once  began  to  move  his  stores 
and  baggage  across  the  Delaware.  Cornwallis  came  marching 
down,  "with  all  the  pomp  of  war,"  thinking  to  find  boats  and 
pursue — Washington's  last  boats  were  still  in  sight.  But  Washington 
had  been  beforehand  with  him — there  were  no  boats.  He  returned 
to  Brunswick,  to  wait  till  he  could  cross  on  the  ice,  and  Howe 
marched  into  Princeton.1 

At  this  time  a  field-officer  in  New  York  wrote,  "The  rebels 
continue  flying  before  our  army.  .  .  .  Mr.  Washington  had  orders 
from  the  Congress  to  rally  and  defend  Brunswick,  but  he  sent  them 
word  he  could  not.  He  was  seen  retreating  with  two  brigades  to 
Trenton,  where  they  talk  of  resisting ;  but  such  a  panic  has  seized 
the  rebels,  that  no  part  of  Jersey  will  hold  them.  .  .  .  The  Congress 
have  lost  their  authority.  .  .  .  They  are  in  such  consternation  that 
they  know  not  what  to  do."2 

On  one  of  these  dark  days,  Washington,  talking  with  Mercer, 
asked    him    whether,    if    they   retreated    to    the    back    parts   of 

1  When  Howe  took  possession  of  Princeton,  on  December  7,  the  soldiers  gutted 
the  Library  of  the  College,  Museum,  and  Lecture  Rooms,  and  broke  up  the 
philosophical  instruments  for  the  brass  fittings.  A  famous  orrery,  by  Ritten- 
house,  said  to  be  the  finest  in  the  world,  perished  here.  The  house  of 
Dr.  Witherspoon,  the  President,  called  "  Tusculum,"  and  full  of  the 
Doctor's  collections  in  Germany  and  Italy,  was  pillaged.  Every  volume  of 
the  library  was  carried  off  (to  be  sold  in  New  York  for  the  price  of  a 
drink)  or  destroyed.  (See  Annual  Register  for  1777,  and  Judge  Jones'  History 
of  New   York. ) 

2  American  Archives,  5th  Series,  iii.  The  writer  continues:  "The  two 
Adamses  are  in  New  England ;  Franklin  gone  to  France  ;  Lynch  has  lost  his 
senses ;  Rutledge  has  gone  home  disgusted  ;  Dana  is  persecuting  at  Albany,  and 
Jay's  in  the  country  playing  as  bad  a  part ;  so  that  the  fools  have  lost  the  assist- 
ance of  the  knaves.  However,  should  they  embrace  the  enclosed  proclamation, 
they  may  yet  escape  the  halter.  .  .  .  Honest  David  Matthew,  the  mayor,  has 
made  his  escape  from  them,  and  arrived  here  this  day." 


THE  FALL  OF  FORT  WASHINGTON   435 

Pennsylvania,  the  Pennsylvanians  would  support  them  ?  Mercer 
said  if  the  lower  counties  gave  up  the  back  counties  would  do 
the  same.  "  Then  we  must  retire  to  Augusta  County  in  Virginia," 
replied  Washington,  "and  try  a  predatory  war.  If  overpowered, 
we  must  cross  the  Alleghanies." 


CHAPTER   LI 
THE  HOUSE  OF  RODRIQUE  HORTALEZ 

"  En  France,  la  partie  eclairee  de  la  nation  s'enflamma  a  l'idee  de  la  liberte, 
et  le  gouvernement  suivit  1'  elan  universel.  II  n'allait  point  a  l'aveugle  ;  car  il 
prevoyait  avec  une  remarquable  nettete  le  resultat  d'une  intervention  victorieuse. 
.  .  .  M.  de  Vergennes  .  .  .  disait  a  l'ambassadeur  anglais :  '  Bien  loin  de  nous 
rejouir  des  evenements,  nous  les  voyons  avec  quelque  peine.  Ce  que  vous 
arrive  en  Amerique  n'est  a  la  convenance  de  personne.  Je  vois  la  suite  de  cette 
independance  a  laquelle  aspirent  vos  colonies  ;  elles  voudront  avoir  des  flottes 
.  .  .  elles  seront  en  etat  de  conquerir  nos  iles  .  .  .  elles  ne  laisseront  pas  les 
puissances  europeennes  occuper  unepouce  de  terre  en  Amerique.' " — J.  de  Crozals, 
Histoire  de  la  Civilisation, 

They  say  the  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword.  A  mighty  pen  had 
come  to  the  aid  of  America.  One  Thomas  Paine,  son  of  a  very 
small  farmer  at  Thetford,  in  Norfolk,  brought  up  a  Quaker,  ex- 
staymaker,  ex-exciseman,  wrote  a  pamphlet  setting  forth  the 
wrongs  of  excisemen.  He  went  to  London  about  this,  and  so 
became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Franklin,  who  advised  him  to  try  his 
fortune  in  America,  where  clever  men  were  welcomed.  So  Paine 
made  over  all  he  had  to  his  creditors,  renounced  all  rights  in  the 
little  property  his  wife  had  brought  him,1  and  arrived  in  America 
in  November,  1774.  He  began  to  write  at  once — at  first  against 
slavery.  Soon  he  was  editing  the  Pe?insylvania  Magazine.  This 
magazine  avoided  politics  and  religion ;  which  did  not  prevent 
Paine  from  writing  Reflections  on  the  death  of  Lord  Clive,  and 
defending  the  Rights  of  Woman.  Little  by  little  the  Pennsylvania 
Magazine  began  to  comment  on  more  burning  questions — as  in  a 
dialogue  which  made  the  shade  of  Wolfe  meet  with  Gage  "in  a 
wood  near  Boston,"  and  conjure  him  to  resign  his  commission, 
rather  than  go  down  to  posterity  with  Jeffries  and  the  other  "royal 
executioners."  Then  came  Lexington.  In  the  autumn  of  the  year 
Paine  wrote  a  pamphlet  called  Common  Sense,  in  which  he  tried  to 
show  the  Americans  that  Independence  was  the  only  way  out.  He 
told  them  it  was  idle  to  talk  of  going  back  to  1763.  It  was  not  in 
1  They  had  agreed  to  separate — neither  of  them  ever  told  the  reason. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  RODRIQUE  HORTALEZ     437 

the  power  of  Great  Britain  to  do  their  continent  justice,  even  if  she 
wished  it.  They  had  it  in  their  power  to  begin  the  world  again. 
You  are  surely  not  enduring  all  this  misery  merely  for  the  removal 
of  Lord  North  ?  "  The  object  contended  for  ought  always  to  bear 
some  just  proportion  to  the  expense."  One  hundred  thousand  copies 
of  Common  Sense  were  sold  in  less  than  three  months,  but  Paine  made 
nothing  by  it — he  had  given  away  the  copyright  to  the  State.  His 
reward  was  to  have  made  a  nation.  His  words  went  straight  home 
when,  on  New  Year's  Day,  1776,  Lord  Dunmore  wrote  his  arguments 
for  him  in  letters  of  fire,  in  the  flames  of  Norfolk. 

Independence  was  a  great  plunge — few  were  prepared  for  it. 
But  the  British  Government  did  its  best  to  prove  that  Paine  was 
right  when  he  said  the  day  of  reconciliation  was  past.  It  persisted 
in  refusing  to  acknowledge  Congress,  or  even  to  treat  with  the 
Colonies  separately  until  they  had  laid  down  their  arms.  And  the 
whole  experience  of  the  past  ten  years  showed  that  as  soon  as  they 
laid  down  their  arms,  Britain  would  begin  again  with  her  anti-com- 
mercial laws.  "Unconditional  submission"  had  been  the  policy 
put  forward  by  Ministers  in  the  Debates  of  the  last  winter.  And 
now  a  new  factor  was  to  be  introduced  into  the  calculation. 

Already  in  July,  1774,  Rochford,  then  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Southern  Department,  had  had  the  incredible  folly  to  tell  de  Guines, 
the  French  Ambassador,  that  many  in  England  thought  a  war  with 
France  the  surest  way  to  end  the  American  business — for  then 
America,  afraid  lest  France  should  recover  Canada,  would  make  up 
her  quarrel  with  the  Mother  Country.  De  Guines  told  de  Vergennes, 
and  advised  him  to  find  out  how  things  were  in  America.  Means 
were  found  of  assuring  the  Americans  that  France  considered  her- 
self well  rid  of  Canada,  and  sympathised  with  the  Americans  in 
their  struggle ;  and  next  spring  Silas  Deane  was  sent  to  Paris  as 
Commercial  Commissioner  and  Agent  from  the  Thirteen  United 
Colonies.  He  was  to  tell  the  French  Government  that  if  it  did 
come  to  separation,  France  would  be  the  first  Power  whose  friend- 
ship America  would  seek.  Thus  the  British  Government,  not 
satisfied  with  the  old  grudge  France  and  Spain  might  be  supposed 
to  have  against  England  for  the  Seven  Years'  War,  supplied  them 
with  the  new  motive  of  fear  of  a  new  war  ! 

Almost  immediately  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
Congress  had  named  Franklin,  Silas  Deane,  and  Arthur  Lee  as 
Commissioners  to  Europe.  Deane  was  a  Connecticut  merchant. 
Lee  was  a  Virginian  of  good  family — an  M.D.  of  Edinburgh. 
When  hostilities  broke  out  he  was  Agent  for  Massachusetts. 

All  the  intellectual  forces   of  France  were   for  America.     The 


438  ENGLAND   AND   AMERICA 

Encyclopaedists  had  brought  liberty  into  fashion;  and  along  with 
a  not  unnatural  willingness  to  pay  off  the  old  Canadian  score,  there 
mingled  a  nobler  feeling,  which  politicians  of  the  North  school 
have  never  been  able  to  understand — a  genuine  sympathy  for  a 
people  struggling  to  be  free.  De  Vergennes,  who  was  a  far-seeing 
statesman,  perceived  that  the  gain  to  France  from  American 
independence  was  doubtful.  He  even  foresaw  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 
"We  are  far  from  rejoicing  at  what  is  happening  to  you,"  he  said 
to  Lord  Stormont.  "It  will  do  us  no  good.  The  end  of  the 
independence  of  your  colonies  will  be  that  they  will  not  permit 
any  European  power  to  occupy  an  inch  of  ground  in  America." 
For  all  this  he  was  ready  to  help  them ;  and  probably  only  three 
persons  in  France  were  really  averse  to  war  with  England — the 
King,  the  Queen,  and  Turgot. 

Congress  wanted  money  and  arms — had  also  proposed  a 
Commercial  Treaty,  but  a  Treaty  would  necessarily  imply  the 
recognition  of  the  United  States;  and  Louis  xvi  shrank  from 
this  admission  of  the  principle  of  rebellion,  as  much  as  from  the 
war  which  England  would  certainly  declare  next  day. 

At  last  he  was  prevailed  on  for  a  loan — but  the  Government 
must  not  appear — it  must  be  a  private  transaction.  So  de 
Vergennes  sent  for  Caron  de  Beaumarchais,  once  a  watchmaker, 
now  author  of  the  Marriage  of  Figaro,  man  of  letters,  courtier, 
and  secret  agent.  Beaumarchais  had  gone  to  London  in  1775, 
"on  business  for  the  King  of  France" — the  business  being  to 
ferret  out  the  truth  as  to  the  dispute  with  the  Colonies ;  and  had 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Arthur  Lee.1  De  Vergennes  told 
Beaumarchais  that  the  King  would  give  Congress  a  million  livres, 
and  would  try  to  persuade  Spain  to  give  another  million — but — 
but  it  must  appear  as  an  individual  speculation.  Beaumarchais 
must  open  a  great  commercial  establishment,  and  at  his  own  risk 
furnish  arms  to  America.  The  arsenals  would  deliver  him  arms 
and  munitions — but  he  must  pay  for  them,  and  America,  though 
she  could  not  repay  him  in  money,  could  do  so  in  tobacco — to 
be  handed  over  at  Cape  Frangais  in  Hayti.  So  Beaumarchais 
set  up  the  House  of  Rodrique  Hortalez  et  Cie.,  in  the  Rue  du 
Temple,  with  himself  as  managing  partner.  This  was  in  the  spring 
and  early  summer  of  1776.  Then  Deane  arrived,  accredited  from 
Congress  for  this  special  purpose  of  the  French  Loan  and  a 
treaty  of  Commerce.  Beaumarchais  broke  off  negotiations  with 
Arthur  Lee,    and  addressed   himself  to   Deane;   and   Lee  never 

1  Long  before  this  Beaumarchais  had  been  mixed  up  with  that  mysterious 
personage  the  Chevalier  d'Eon,  in  the  matter  of  the  Peace  of  1763. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  RODRIQUE  HORTALEZ    439 

forgave  him.  Lee  is  described  as  an  honest  man,  but  almost 
miraculously  little  and  mean.  His  petty  jealousies  sometimes 
made  him  act  like  a  madman,  and  Franklin  thought  he  was  not 
always  responsible  for  his  actions.  The  worst  of  it  was  that  Lee 
had  supposed  the  money  was  a  free  gift,  and  had  told  Congress 
so,  and  that  the  tobacco  was  only  asked  for  as  a  blind.  He 
knew  that  the  House  of  Rodrique  Hortalez  was  a  blind  to  Lord 
Stormont,  "set  up  without  an  idea  of  doing  its  work  on  business 
principles."  Lee  accused  Deane  of  having  negotiated  a  gift  into 
a  loan,  in  collusion  with  Beaumarchais,  to  enrich  themselves  at 
the  expense  of  Congress.  As  Franklin  wrote  afterwards  to 
Congress  :  "  At  present,  all  in  that  transaction  is  in  darkness ;  and 
we  know  not  whether  the  whole,  or  a  part,  or  no  part  of  the 
supplies  were  at  the  expense  of  Government,  nor  if  we  are  in 
debt,  whether  to  the  King  or  M.  de  Beaumarchais."  The  affair 
had  painful  results,  and  implicated  the  good  faith  both  of  Silas 
Deane1  and  Beaumarchais. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  1776,  Beaumarchais  received 
de  Vergennes'  order  for  one  million  livres  on  the  French 
Treasury;  two  months  afterwards  he  received  another  million 
from  the  Court  of  Spain,  and  some  time  after  that  a  second 
million  from  France.  First  and  last,  he  collected  about  two 
millions  more  from  his  friends,  so  that  Rodrique  Hortalez  et  Cie. 
had  a  capital  of  about  five  millions  in  all.  As  soon  as  Deane 
arrived,  he  saw  de  Vergennes,  and  proposed  a  commercial  treaty, 
at  the  same  time  asking  for  200  pieces  of  cannon,2  and  arms, 
munitions,  clothing,  etc.,  for  25,000  men.  De  Vergennes  told 
him  he  must  go  to  Beaumarchais — "he  is  a  merchant."  Deane 
agreed  to  pay  in  tobacco,  and  after  a  good  deal  of  difficulty  the 
stores  were  got  off — and  with  them  a  great  number  of  French 
officers,  eager  to  teach  the  Americans  how  to  use  them.  Of 
course  Stormont  heard  of  it,  and  complained,  and  talked  of 
treaties.  Stormont  was  angry,  de  Vergennes  very  polite.  He 
always  protested  that  France  was  most  anxious  to  conform  to 
the  treaties,  if  Lord  Stormont  would  only  mention  which  treaties 
were  to  be  considered  still  in  force.  This,  for  various  reasons, 
it  was  not  convenient  to  do  just  then,  so  the  British  Government 

1  As  Deane  became  later  a  secret  agent  of  King  George  in  (see  the  King's 
Correspondence  with  Lord  North),  his  word  ought  not  to  be  taken  as  evidence. 
This  treachery  was  not  known  for  many  years. 

2  Cannon  were  cast  in  the  royal  foundries  which  had  not  the  arms  o. 
France  impressed  upon  them,  so  the  workmen  knew  they  were  intended  for 
America. 


440  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

had  to  put  up  with  a  great  deal— till  it  should  have  subdued 
America.  To  quiet  the  British  Ambassador,  every  now  and  then 
a  ship  for  America  would  be  stopped  and  searched,  and  if 
warlike  stores  were  found,  would  be  ordered  to  unload  them. 
But  a  cargo  can  be  reloaded — at  any  rate,  the  ship  always  sailed, 
and  from  this  time  there  was  a  constant  stream  of  supplies  from 
France.  Ministers  made  up  for  having  to  be  civil  to  France 
by  bullying  Holland,  and  searching  Dutch  ships,  until  Holland 
began  to  get  her  own  fleet  ready. 

In  December  Franklin  arrived,1  and  received  an  enthusiastic 
welcome,  which  again  excited  the  jealousy  of  Arthur  Lee — his 
own  attempts  at  negotiation  had  been  very  unsuccessful. 
Franklin  informed  Congress  of  the  true  nature  of  the  loan,  but 
it  is  doubtful  whether  he  ever  knew  anything  about  the  affair. 
It  was  begun  long  before  he  arrived,  and  he  left  it  to  Deane. 

Franklin  brought  over  with  him  a  plan  for  peace — England 
to  renounce  all  claim  to  govern  any  of  the  United  States,  and  to 
cede  her  North  American  possessions,  Bermuda,  etc.,  and  in  return 
the  United  States  to  pay  the  British  Government  ;£  100,000  for 
one  hundred  years.  It  would  have  been  worth  our  while  to  accept 
this  proposal.  But  a  nation  whose  judgment  was  calm  enough  to 
see  this  would  never  have  got  itself  into  the  situation  which  produced 
the  offer. 

It  was  given  out  in  England  that  Franklin  had  run  away  from 
America ;  but  there  was  a  terrible  secret  fear  that  he  was  gone  to 
persuade  Louis  xvi  to  acknowledge  the  United  States.  Lord 
Stormont  had  remonstrated  on  "  the  chief  of  the  American  rebels  " 
being  allowed  to  land  in  France.  De  Vergennes  sent  a  messenger 
to  forbid  him  to  come  to  Paris,  but  it  happened  that  the  messenger 
took  one  road  and  Dr.  Franklin  another ;  and  once  arrived  in  Paris, 
de  Vergennes  said  it  would  have  been  a  violation  of  hospitality  to 
turn  him  out.  "The  old  man,  with  gray  hair  appearing  under  a 
martin  fur  cap,"  greatly  impressed  Parisian  society.     It  was  said  by 

1  When  Franklin  went  from  America  to  France,  Rockingham  wrote :  "In 
regard  to  this  event,  I  cannot  refrain  from  paying  my  tribute  of  admiration 
to  the  vigour,  magnanimity,  and  determined  resolution  of  the  Old  Man.  The 
horrid  scene  at  a  Privy  Council  is  in  my  memory,  though  perhaps  not  in 
his.  It  may  not  excite  his  conduct.  It  certainly  deters  him  not.  He  boldly 
ventures  to  cross  the  Atlantic  in  an  American  little  frigate,  and  risks  the  dangers 
of  being  taken,  and  being  once  more  brought  before  an  implacable  tribunal. 
The  sight  of  Banquo's  ghost  could  not  more  offend  the  eyes  of  Macbeth,  than 
the  knowledge  of  this  old  man  being  at  Versailles,  should  affect  the  minds  of 
those  who  were  principals  in  that  horrid  scene." — The  Marquis  of  Rockingham 
to ,  December,  1776. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  RODRIQUE  HORTALEZ     441 

ministerialists  that  he  appeared  at  Versailles,  and  ran  against 
Stormont  in  the  ante-chamber — but  this  was  not  the  case.  De 
Vergennes  and  Franklin  were  very  cautious,  and  Franklin  was 
given  plainly  to  understand  that  France  could  not  recognise  the 
States  until  some  signal  military  advantage  had  been  gained  over  the 
British.     Of  this  there  seemed  little  chance  at  present. 

Franklin  came  over  in  the  Reprisal,  Captain  Wickes.  Wickes 
took  several  prizes  on  his  way,  among  them  two  brigantines. 
Perhaps  the  taking  of  the  brigantines  put  the  idea  into  Frank- 
lin's head,  perhaps  Beaumarchais  suggested  it  —  but  very  soon 
afterwards  the  American  Envoys  bought  "  a  trim-built  cutter,"  at 
an  English  port,  sent  her  over  to  Dunkirk  to  be  fitted  out  as  a 
privateer,  christened  her  the  Surprise,  and  appointed  Captain 
Conyngham  to  command  her.  And  presently  she  began  to  surprise 
with  such  effect  that  one  fine  morning  the  Captain  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange  mail-packet  from  England  to  Holland  was  waited  on  by 
Captain  Conyngham  as  he  sat  at  breakfast  in  his  cabin.  That  day 
the  English  mail-bags  were  forwarded  to  Paris  instead  of  to  the 
Hague.  Lord  Stormont  thereupon  asked  for  his  passports ;  so 
Conyngham  and  his  crew  were  locked  up  in  Dunkirk  gaol,  the 
Prince  of  Orange  was  restored,  the  Surprise  confiscated,  and  two 
French  men-of-war  went  to  Dunkirk  to  try  Conyngham  as  a  pirate. 
But  unfortunately  there  were  not  good  locks  to  the  prison,  and  so 
the  pirates  escaped — as  de  Vergennes  explained  to  Lord  Stormont 
with  deep  regret. 


CHAPTER  LI1 
GENERAL  LEE 

"  Give  me  leave  to  say  your  affairs  are  in  a  more  unpromising  way  than 
you  seem  to  apprehend  ;  your  army  is  on  the  eve  of  dissolution  .  .  .  there  is  a 
material  difference  between  voting  battalions,  and  raising  men." — Washington 
to  Congress,  Sept.  or  Oct.,  1776. 

Howe's  first  idea  had  been  merely  to  take  possession  of  New 
Jersey,  but  Cornwallis'  successes  suggested  the  possibility  of  taking 
Philadelphia  at  once,  by  a  coup-de-main. 

Of  his  retreat  Washington  wrote  to  Congress:  "Nothing  but 
necessity  obliged  me  to  retire  before  the  enemy.  ...  If  the 
militia  of  this  State  had  stepped  forth  in  season,  and  timely  notice 
they  had,  we  might  have  prevented  the  enemy's  crossing  the 
Hackensack.  We  might,  with  equal  possibility  of  success,  have 
made  a  stand  at  Brunswick,  on  the  Raritan.  But,  as  both  these 
rivers  were  fordable  in  a  variety  of  places — being  only  knee-deep — 
it  required  many  men  to  guard  the  passes,  and  these  we  had  not." 

When  Cornwallis  was  stopped  at  the  Delaware,  he  was  only 
sixty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  Congress  had  thought  it  advisable 
to  adjourn  to  Baltimore. 

The  weather  was  becoming  severe — Howe  ordered  the  army 
into  winter  quarters,  and  returned  to  New  York.  He  had  just 
committed  a  great  mistake.  Believing  that  further  resistance  was 
impossible — for  he  was  aware  that  all  the  American  enlistments 
would  expire  at  the  end  of  the  year — he  had  divided  his  forces, 
sending  Parker's  squadron,  with  Clinton  and  Percy's  divisions, 
and  two  English  and  two  Hessian  brigades,  to  Rhode  Island. 
Clinton  took  possession  without  resistance,  but  for  the  next  three 
years  this  considerable  body  of  troops  was  uselessly  employed  in 
occupying  the  smallest  State  in  the  Union.1 

Cornwallis  had  asked  for  leave— his  wife  was  dying  of  grief 
and  anxiety  at  his  absence.  Howe  appointed  Grant  in  his  place, 
and  left  Donop  with  two  Hessian  brigades,  the  "yagers"  and 
42nd  Highlanders,  to  hold  the  line  from  Trenton  to  Burlington. 

1  Clinton  sailed  on  the  1st  of  December. 
442 


GENERAL  LEE  443 

Three  Hessian  regiments  were  at  Trenton.  The  chain  of  British 
posts  extended  from  Fort  Lee,  on  the  Jersey  shore,  to  Trenton — 
from  the  Hackensack  to  the  Delaware.  Howe  was  aware  it  was 
too  long  a  line,  but  gives  as  his  reason  the  wish  to  cover  the 
County  of  Monmouth,  where  there  were  many  loyalists.  Donop 
had  orders  to  hang  on  the  nearest  tree  any  inhabitants  who,  in 
bands  or  separately,  fired  on  any  of  the  army.  All  provisions 
exceeding  the  wants  of  an  ordinary  family  were  to  be  seized — from 
Whig  and  Tory  alike.  It  was  impossible  to  prevent  the  Hessians 
from  plundering — they  came  to  America  to  do  it,  and  they  did 
not  desert  only  as  long  as  they  were  allowed  to  plunder.1 

In  this  division  of  force,  and  long-extended  line,  Washington 
saw  an  opportunity  for  "a  stroke"  which  should  restore  the 
confidence  of  the  people.  He  only  waited  for  the  Canadian 
reinforcements,  and  for  Lee — when  on  December  13  he  learned 
that  Lee  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  British ! 

Lee  did  not  cross  the  Hudson  till  the  2nd  of  December.  His 
plan  for  catching  Rodgers  had  failed.  But  he  wrote  to  Washington 
that  the  delay  had  done  good  service — it  had  augmented  his  army. 
He  expected  to  enter  Jersey  with  4000  men,  who  would  "make 
a  very  important  diversion."  He  hoped  Washington  would  "  bind 
him  as  little  as  possible — detached  generals  cannot  have  too  great 
latitude,  unless  they  are  very  incompetent  indeed."  He  made 
another  attempt  to  make  Heath  part  with  2000  of  his  men. 
Heath,  who  had  written  to  the  Commander-in-Chief  on  occasion 
of  Lee's  former  demand,  produced  the  reply,  ordering  him  to 
remove  no  men  from  his  post.  Lee  said  he  knew  best  what  was 
necessary — Washington  was  at  a  distance.  Heath,  a  plain,  simple 
soldier,  refused  unless  Lee  chose  to  give  his  written  order,  as 
commanding  at  that  post.  Lee  did  so — but  even  his  effrontery 
seems  to  have  quailed  on  reflection,  for  next  morning  he  said  he 
would  not  take  the  regiments.  He  was  receiving  message  after 
message  to  come,  for  Philadelphia  was  in  danger;  but  his  march 
was  most  dilatory.  At  Chatham,  on  the  9th,  he  heard  from  Heath 
that  three  of  the  four  regiments  sent  to  Washington's  aid  from 
Schuyler's  army  had  arrived  at  Peekskill.  He  immediately  ordered 
Heath  to  send  them  on.  "I  am  in  hopes  to  reconquer  the 
Jerseys."  From  Morristown  he  wrote  to  the  Committee  of 
Congress  that  he  did  not  intend  "to  join  the  army  with 
Washington."     On  the  12th  he  marched  eight  miles  to  Vealtown. 

1  "They  were  led  to  believe,  before  they  left  Hesse-Cassel,  that  they  were  to 
come  to  America  to  establish  their  private  fortunes,  and  they  have  acted  on  that 
principle." — Evidence  of Major-General  Robertson,  June  8,  1779. 


444  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

He  had  now  about  4000  men  with  him.  The  British  were  only 
eighteen  miles  off,  but  Lee  left  General  Sullivan  with  the  troops, 
and  went  to  Baskingridge,  three  miles  off,  to  pass  the  night  at  a 
tavern.  He  took  only  a  small  guard  with  him.  About  four  next 
morning  he  was  aroused  by  Major  Wilkinson,  sent  by  Gates  to 
ask  what  should  be  done  with  the  other  four  regiments  from 
Canada.  Lee  told  Wilkinson  to  take  some  sleep.  At  eight,  he 
appeared  "in  slippers  and  blanket-coat."  Even  then  he  frittered 
away  several  hours,  talking  to  Wilkinson,  and  bullying  the  Con- 
necticut light-horse,  who  came  with  complaints.1  Sullivan  sent 
for  orders,  and  Lee  told  him  the  route  to  take — he  would  soon 
follow.  Wilkinson  thought  it  showed  he  meant  to  attack  the 
British  at  Princeton.  They  did  not  breakfast  till  ten,  and  after 
breakfast  Lee  sat  down  to  write  to  Gates.  "  This  ingenious 
manoeuvre  of  Fort  Washington"  had  unhinged  the  goodly  fabric 

"  we  "  had  been  building.     "  There  never  was  so  d d  a  stroke ; 

entre  nous,  a  certain  great  man  is  most  damnably  deficient."  Lee 
had  just  signed  this  letter,  when  Wilkinson,  who  was  looking  out 
of  the  window,  saw  a  party  of  British  dragoons  running  up  the 
lane  which  led  to  the  house — they  were  led  by  a  young  cornet — 
Banastre  Tartleton — who  was  to  play  a  very  considerable  part  in 
the  later  years  of  the  war.  By  a  singular  coincidence  the  dragoons 
belonged  to  the  identical  regiment  which  Lee  led  into  Villa  Velha, 
when  he  surprised  it  in  1 762.2 

Resistance  was  impossible — Lee's  guard  had  stacked  their  arms, 
and  were  warming  themselves  in  the  sun  on  the  side  of  a  house 
opposite.  All  that  can  be  said  for  Lee  is  that  he  refused  to  hide 
under  a  bed.  It  would  not  have  saved  him — a  Tory  who  had 
recognised  him  at  the  tavern  the  night  before  had  ridden  hard  to 
Pennington  and  given  information.  The  British  threatened  to 
fire  the  house.  Lee  surrendered.  No  time  was  lost,  for  fear 
of  a  rescue.  The  "  heaven-born  general "  was  put  on  Wilkinson's 
horse — which  was  standing  saddled  at  the  door — and  hurried  away, 
still  in  the  blanket-coat  and  slippers.  A  feu-de-joie  was  fired  when 
he  arrived  in  the  British  camp — for  they  too  believed  that  Lee  was 
the  "  most  scientific  and  experienced  "  of  the  rebel  generals. 

1  Some  of  them  must  have  been  odd  figures  —  they  wore  full-bottomed 
perukes,  in  the  fashion  of  George  the  First.  "One  wanted  forage,  another 
his  horse  shod,  another  his  pay,  a  fourth  provisions,"  etc.,  to  which  the  General 
replied,  "Your  wants  are  numerous;  but  you  have  not  mentioned  the  last, — 

you  want  to  go  home,  and  shall  be  indulged ;  for  d you,  you  do  no  good 

here."     (Memoirs  of  General  Wilkinson.)    The  pious  and  decorous  Connecticut 
men  were  not  used  to  such  language,  and  retired  offended. 

2  Fonblanque's  Life  of  General  Btirgoyne. 


CHAPTER   LIII 
TRENTON 

"Your  imagination  can  scarce  extend  to  a  situation  more  distressing  than 
mine.  Our  only  dependence  now  is  upon  the  speedy  enlistment  of  a  new 
army.  If  this  fails,  I  think  the  game  will  be  pretty  well  up,  as  from 
disaffection  and  want  of  spirit  and  fortitude,  the  inhabitants,  instead  of 
resistance,  are  offering  submission  and  taking  protection  from  Gen.  Howe  in 
Jersey." — Washington  to  Ltind  Washington,  December  17,  1776. 

"These  are  the  times  that  try  men's  souls." — Thomas  Paine,  The  American 
Crisis,  December,  1776. 

"Paine  wrote  by  the  camp-fires;  the  winter  storms,  the  Delaware's  waves, 
were  mingled  with  his  ink  ;  the  half-naked  soldiers  in  their  troubled  sleep  dream- 
ing of  their  distant  homes,  the  skulking  deserter  creeping  off  in  the  dusk,  the 
pallid  face  of  the  heavy-hearted  commander,  made  the  awful  shadows  beneath 
which  was  written  that  leaflet  which  went  to  the  Philadelphia  printer  along  with 
Washington's  last  foreboding  letters  to  his  relatives  in  Virginia." — Moncure  D. 
Conway,  Life  of  Thomas  Paine. 

Washington  had  now  been  reinforced  by  1500  volunteers  from 
Philadelphia.  He  was  entreating  Congress  to  raise  and  officer  some 
battalions  for  the  United  States,  without  the  intervention  of  each 
several  State.  Its  first  act  on  arriving  at  Baltimore  was  to  give 
him  full  powers  to  direct  all  the  operations  of  the  war.  He  at  once 
ordered  three  battalions  of  artillery  to  be  recruited.  "Ten  days 
more,"  he  wrote,  "  will  put  an  end  to  the  existence  of  this  army."  1 
On  the  20th  Sullivan  brought  up  Lee's  men — they  were  in  a 
miserable  plight,  destitute  of  everything,  and  many  only  fit  for 
the  hospital.  The  same  day  Gates  arrived  with  500  effectives — 
all  that  remained  of  four  New  England  regiments.  Washington's 
army  was  now  somewhere  about  5000,  but  on  January  1  he  would 
have  only  about  1400 — all  miserably  provided.  None  the  less  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  attack  Rahl  at  Trenton.  His  camp  at 
Trenton   Falls   was   nearly   opposite   to   Trenton.      The   outrages 

1  "  I  saw  him  in  that  gloomy  period  ;  dined  with  him,  and  attentively  marked 
his  aspect ;  always  grave  and  thoughtful,  he  appeared  at  that  time  pensive  and 
solemn  in  the  extreme." — Wilkinson. 

445 


446  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

committed  by  these  German  hirelings  had  turned  terror  into 
hatred — moreover,  the  Hessians  had  grown  careless,  intent  only 
on  plunder.  The  three  regiments  were  commanded  by  Rahl, 
Knyphausen,  and  Lossberg.  Rahl  had  asked,  and  obtained,  the 
chief  command  for  his  services  at  Chatterton  Hill  and  Fort 
Washington.  Some  of  his  men  kept  diaries,  from  which  we  learn 
that  the  Colonel  was  a  martinet  when  sober,  but  was  frequently 
drunk.  He  harassed  his  men  with  purposeless  duty.  He  had 
the  cannon  dragged  about  the  town  every  day;  and  he  was 
distractingly  fond  of  music.  He  did  not  mind  what  his  men  did 
when  off  duty  if  only  he  had  enough  of  the  hautboys.  He  made 
the  guard  march  round  and  round  the  churchyard  palings  to 
music;  he  would  make  merry  till  late  at  night,  and  rise  late 
of  a  morning,  and  was  not  ready  when  the  officers  came  to 
parade.  On  parade  he  thought  of  little  but  how  the  music  went. 
When  it  was  suggested  to  him  that  a  few  outworks  might  as  well 
be  thrown  up,  he  scorned  the  idea — if  the  rebels  came,  at  them 
with  the  bayonet !  When  Major  von  Dechow  urged  that  works 
would  cost  nothing,  the  Colonel  only  laughed,  and  made  unseemly 
jests.  But  he  was  a  good-natured,  rollicking  man,  of  great  personal 
bravery,  and  in  spite  of  his  fancy  for  dragging  cannon  about,  his 
men  liked  him. 

Once  more,  at  this  terrible  juncture,  the  pen  came  to  the  help 
of  the  sword. 

Thomas  Paine  had  given  up  writing  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Magazine,  and  had  enlisted  instead  in  the  Pennsylvania  division 
of  the  Flying  Camp — ten  thousand  men,  engaged  to  go  wherever 
they  were  needed.  Paine  did  not  go  home  when  his  time  was 
up — he  re-enlisted.  He  was  in  the  retreat  from  Fort  Lee,  when 
the  Provincials  had  to  leave  their  dinners  behind  in  the  camp 
ovens.  When  Washington  tried  to  make  a  stand  at  Newark, 
Paine  began  to  write  the  first  number  of  the  American  Crisis; 
but  half  Washington's  army  left  him  at  Newark,  and  the  Crisis 
was  not  printed  till  December  19,  when  it  appeared  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Journal.  Copies  came  into  the  camp  above  Trenton 
Falls,  and  men  who  knew  that  the  General  was  planning  an 
attack  on  the  enemy,  gathered  round  the  camp-fires  of  nights 
to  hear  a  comrade  read  it.  It  began,  "These  are  the  times 
that  try  men's  souls."  The  words  rang  in  their  ears  as  they 
tossed  among  the  icefloes  of  the  Delaware,  that  "Christmas  day 
at  night,"  when  Washington  set  off  to  surprise  the  Hessians  at 
Trenton. 

By  this  time  there  was  more  reason  than  even  the  raising  the 


TRENTON  447 

spirits  of  his  army ;  by  an  intercepted  letter x  Washington  had 
definitely  learned  that  Howe  was  only  waiting  till  the  Delaware 
should  be  completely  frozen  over  to  advance  on  Philadelphia.  At 
all  hazards  something  must  be  attempted  before  that.  "  Our 
numbers,"  wrote  Washington,  "  are  less  than  I  had  any  conception 
of;  but  necessity,  dire  necessity,  will,  nay,  must,  justify  an  attack." 
There  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  In  a  few  days  the  Delaware  would 
be  so  blocked  with  ice  that  boats  could  not  cross;  a  few  more 
days  still,  and  an  army  could.  And  on  New  Year's  Day  most  of 
his  own  army  would  go  home.  He  chose  the  night  of  Christmas 
Day,  rather  because  it  was  the  first  moment  at  which  he  could 
move  than  because  he  hoped  that  the  season's  carousal  would 
relax  vigilance.  He  intended  to  cross  at  McKonkey's  Ferry, 
nine  miles  above  Trenton,  and  march  down.  Ewing,  with  the 
Pennsylvanians,  was  to  cross  a  mile  below  Trenton,  and  march 
up ;  and  Putnam  was  to  bring  down  the  troops  from  Philadelphia, 
cross  below  Burlington,  and  attack  the  lower  posts  under  Donop. 
Washington  wished  Gates  to  lead  a  party,  but  Gates  shuffled  out 
of  it — he  too  loved  a  separate  command,  and  was  intriguing 
to  get  Schuyler's.  He  wanted  Washington  to  retire  behind  the 
Susquehannah,  and  told  Wilkinson  he  was  going  to  Congress  to 
propose  it ! 

At  the  instant  of  starting,  Washington  received  a  letter  from 
Reed  to  tell  him  that  a  loyalist  insurrection  seemed  to  threaten 
in  Philadelphia,  and  Putnam  could  not  leave.  The  600  men  he 
sent  instead  tried  to  cross  at  Dunk's  Ferry,  but  the  rising  tide 
threw  back  the  ice  on  the  Jersey  shore  in  such  heaps  that  neither 
horse  nor  artillery  could  cross.  Ewing,  opposite  Trenton,  did  not 
even  try  to  get  over,  convinced  that  Washington  would  not  make 
the  attempt  in  such  a  storm.  It  was  one  of  the  worst  nights  of 
December. 

As  soon  as  it  was  dark  Washington  marched  to  McKonkey's 

1  Washington  had  plenty  of  spies  in  Jersey,  and  always  kept  a  little  "  hard 
money  "  for  them,  doling  it  out  to  his  officers  by  20  or  25  guineas  at  a  time.  He 
also  sent  them  phials  of  invisible  ink,  and  instructions  how  to  use  it.  John 
Honeyman,  one  of  his  spies,  was  in  Wolfe's  Body-guard  at  Quebec.  He  was 
now  a  butcher  and  cattle-dealer,  and  it  was  natural  for  him  to  be  often  in  and 
near  Trenton,  buying  beasts.  When  he  had  something  to  tell,  he  got  himself 
captured  by  some  American  scouts,  who  strapped  him  to  his  horse,  and  took  him 
to  head-quarters  at  Newtown.  The  Commander-in-Chief  examined  him  in  private 
for  half  an  hour,  and  ordered  him  to  be  court-martialled  next  day.  But  next  day 
Honeyman  was  not  to  be  found.  This  conversation  decided  Washington  to  risk 
the  attempt  on  Trenton. — See  Stryker,  and  Washington's  Letters  to  the  President  of 
Congress •,  of  August  and  September,  1778. 


448  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Ferry  with  his  2400 — all  he  had  fit  for  such  a  service.  He  knew 
by  this  time  that  Ewing  could  not  join  him.  At  the  Ferry 
Wilkinson  overtook  him  with  a  letter  from  Gates,  to  say  he  was  on 
his  way  to  Congress — Wilkinson  had  traced  the  march  by  the 
blood  on  the  snow;  most  of  Washington's  men,  like  Lee's,  had 
broken  shoes.  He  left  Washington  to  make  the  great  attempt 
without  him,  and  hurried  back  to  overtake  Gates,  whose  fortunes 
he  thought  were  bound  up  with  his  own. 

The  troops  began  to  cross  about  sunset.  "The  weather  was 
intensely  cold,  the  wind  was  high,  the  current  strong,  and  the  river 
full  of  floating  ice."  The  Marblehead  fishermen  went  first — they 
were  nearly  as  amphibious  as  seals.  Washington  crossed  early, 
and  waited  on  the  Jersey  bank.  These  are  the  times  that  try 
men's  souls.  It  was  terrible  work  getting  the  artillery  over,  but 
Knox's  "  stentorian  lungs  "  enabled  his  voice  to  be  heard  above  the 
storm.  It  was  three  in  the  morning  before  the  last  gun  was 
landed — four,  before  the  line  of  march  could  be  formed,  and  they 
set  out  in  the  teeth  of  the  north-easter  that  blew  the  snow  and 
sleet  in  their  faces.  Nine  miles  they  went,  the  ground  slipping 
from  under  their  ill-shod  feet — now  climbing  a  steep  hill,  now 
marching  through  wooded  defiles  and  forests  of  oak  and  hickory. 
At  Birmingham  Washington  divided  his  force  —  Sullivan  was  to 
march  by  the  river,  he  himself  by  the  Pennington  road.  Just 
before  they  got  to  Trenton  Sullivan  sent  to  say  the  men's  muskets 
were  wet.  "Then  tell  your  general  to  use  the  bayonet,"  said 
Washington  ;  "  the  town  must  be  taken." 

Rahl  had  been  warned.  Washington's  camp  was  surrounded 
by  loyalist  spies,  and  word  had  been  carried  to  General  Grant 
(in  command  at  Princeton,  after  Cornwallis  got  leave  of  absence) 
that  Lord  Stirling  meant  to  attack  the  posts.  Grant  did 
not  believe  the  rebels  could  do  so  in  any  force.  "Washington's 
men,"  he  wrote,  "have  neither  shoes  nor  stockings  nor  blankets, 
are  almost  naked,  and  dying  of  cold  and  want  of  food."  But  he 
warned  Donop,  who  laughed,  but  sent  on  the  warning  to  Rahl. 
That  brave  though  drunken  commander  also  laughed.  And,  most 
fortunately  for  Washington,  it  happened  that  on  Christmas  night — 
the  very  hour  of  the  attack  had  been  named  by  the  spy — an 
American  patrol  came  out  of  the  woods  at  the  Trenton  outpost 
and  fired  upon  the  picket.  The  alarm  was  given.  Rahl  himself 
turned  out,  and  marched  with  a  field-piece  through  the  woods, 
but  found  nothing,  and  returned  to  quarters  believing  this  was 
the  attack  foretold.  He  laughed  again.  And  in  the  morning 
Washington  came. 


TRENTON  449 

But  at  daybreak  he  was  still  two  miles  from  Trenton,  and  it 
was  8  o'clock  before  he  reached  the  village.  The  weather  was 
so  bad  that  everyone  was  indoors ;  the  snow  deadened  the  rumble 
of  the  artillery.  At  the  entrance  to  the  village  a  man  was 
chopping  wood.  "Which  way  to  the  Hessian  picket?"  said 
Washington.  "  Don't  know,"  said  the  man.  "  You  may  tell," 
said  a  captain  of  artillery ;  "  that's  General  Washington."  "  God 
prosper  you ! "  cried  the  man.  "  The  picket  is  in  that  house, 
and  the  sentry  is  by  that  tree." 

In  the  guard-house  was  the  lieutenant  who  kept  the  diary — 
he  was  just  quick  enough  to  make  a  stand — thinking  this  was 
only  a  marauding-party;  but  he  fell  back  on  seeing  the 
artillery.  At  the  same  moment  the  sound  of  firing  from  the 
river  told  that  Sullivan  had  fallen  upon  the  river  outpost. 
The  surprise  was  complete.  The  Hessians  beat  to  arms — 
some  of  them  fired  from  windows,  others  rushed  out  and  tried 
to  form  in  the  main  street.  But  the  artillery  had  already 
been  unlimbered,  and  a  battery  of  six  guns  was  opened 
down  the  street;  Washington  advancing  with  the  guns,  and 
directing  the  fire.  The  Hessians  were  trying  to  get  out  a 
couple  of  cannon,  but  the  pieces  were  taken  before  they  could 
be  fired.  Meanwhile  Sullivan  was  approaching  from  the  west, 
with  the  British  Light- Horse  and  five  hundred  Hessians  in 
headlong  flight  before  him.  Poor  Rahl  completely  lost  his 
head.  He  got  on  horseback,  and  tried  to  rally  his  men,  and 
did  get  them  out  of  the  town  and  into  an  orchard — he  might 
perhaps  have  got  them  off  by  the  Princeton  road;  but  he 
could  not  bear  to  run  away,  nor  could  his  men  bear  to  leave 
the  twenty-two  waggons  full  of  plunder  which  they  had  collected 
at  Trenton.  So  he  went  back  "like  a  storm  on  the  town,"  says 
one  of  his  corporals.  The  lieutenant  of  the  diary  saw  that  it 
was  madness — "A  town  of  no  use  to  us — full  of  five  or  six 
thousand  enemies,  and  a  battery  of  six  guns  on  the  main  street. 
And  he  to  think  of  retaking  it  with  his  six  or  seven  thousand 
men  with  their  bayonets  ! " 

There  was  one  furious  charge  —  and  Rahl  fell,  mortally 
wounded.  In  thirty-five  minutes  after  the  first  shot  was  fired 
over  900  men  had  surrendered,  and  Rahl,  supported  by  two 
corporals,  was  delivering  up  his  sword.  He  was  carried  to  his 
quarters — the  house  of  a  Quaker  family.  Here  Washington  went 
to  see  him.  Rahl  begged  that  nothing  should  be  taken  from  his 
grenadiers  but  their  arms,  and  Washington  promised.  The 
unlucky  Commander  died  that  evening — his  lieutenant  pays  him 
vol.  1. — 29 


450  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the   tribute   of   saying   that    if   he   had    not   been   wounded   the 
Hessians  would  never  have  surrendered.1 

Panic  had  given  Washington  the  victory — panic,  which  magni- 
fied his  2400  men  to  6000 — even  to  15,000.  But  he  dared 
not  stay.  He  had  nearly  1000  prisoners.  If  Ewing  had  been 
there,  he  could  have  fallen  upon  Donop ;  even  as  it  was  he  had 
turned  the  tide  of  fortune.  The  terrible  Hessians,  the  man-eating 
Hessians,  who  breakfasted  on  babies,  had  surrendered  to  a  Pro- 
vincial army ! 

The  effect  of  Trenton  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  actual 
loss,  though  that  was  heavy.  The  British  army  had  made  sure 
that  America  was  conquered.  Canada  was  recovered.  All  that 
remained  was  to  take  quiet  possession  of  Philadelphia  as  soon 
as  the  weather  allowed.  Howe  had  just  gone  into  winter 
quarters  in  New  York — where,  report  said,  he  was  playing  faro 
every  night  with  the  younger  officers,  while  his  mistress  spent 
his  money  for  him,  and  his  officers  got  up  theatrical  entertain- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers'  widows  and  orphans — and 
to  celebrate  the  General's  being  made  a  K.C.B.  for  Long  Island. 
Cornwallis  was  at  Amboy,  his  luggage  already  embarked  for 
England,  when  he  was  called  back  to  dislodge  Washington  from 
Trenton. 

Washington  formed  his  plan  the  day  after  Trenton — he 
meant  to  recover  the  Jerseys.  Nearly  half  his  army  was  ineffec- 
tive from  fatigue,  but  on  December  29  he  recrossed  the  Delaware, 
and  was  once  more  at  Trenton  by  the  night  of  the  30th,  writing 
urgent  letters  to  Gouverneur  Morris  in  Philadelphia,  to  send  him 
money — on  the  personal  security  of  himself  and  his  officers. 
Washington  had  about  ^5000  a  year — a  good  fortune  for  those 
days,  but  not  enough  to  pay  an  army  with.  Morris  had  sent 
him  five  hundred  dollars,  "in  hard  money,"  a  little  before,  but 
it  had  all  gone  in  obtaining  intelligence.  On  December  31  the 
time  of  the  Pennsylvanians  expired,  but  Washington  succeeded 
in  persuading  them  to  serve  six  weeks  longer.  And  on  New 
Year's  Day,  1777,  Morris  rose  betimes,  and  went  from  house 
to  house  in  Philadelphia  to  borrow  money  of  people  before 
they  were  out  of  their  beds ;  so  he  scraped  together  some  50,000 
dollars  to  send  off  that  day,  with  promise  of  more.  And  volun- 
teers were  coming  in  fast,  and  Washington  had  nearly  5000  men 
with  whom  to  meet  Cornwallis. 

On  the  27th  of  December  Congress  had  invested  Washington 
with   full  military   powers.     Ministerialists   represented   this  as   a 
1  Journal  of  Lieutenant  Piel. 


TRENTON  451 

"Military  Dictatorship,'''  but  Washington  did  not  so  understand 
it.  He  wrote  back  to  Congress,  "Instead  of  thinking  myself 
freed  from  all  civil  obligations  by  this  mark  of  your  confidence, 
I  shall  constantly  bear  in  mind  that,  as  the  sword  was  the  last 
resort  for  the  preservation  of  our  liberties,  so  it  ought  to  be  the 
first  thing  laid  aside  when  those  liberties  are  firmly  established." 

Cornwallis  reached  Trenton  on  January  2.  That  night  the 
armies  were  in  sight  of  each  other,  on  either  side  the  Assanpink 
River.  Some  of  the  British  officers  were  for  forcing  the  passage 
that  night,  but  the  Americans  had  cannon ;  Cornwallis  said  he 
would  wait  and  bag  the  fox  in  the  morning.  The  American 
camp-fires  burned  on  steadily  all  night,  and  the  Americans 
could  be  heard  working  at  their  entrenchment ;  but  when  morning 
broke,  behold  the  fox  was  "  gone  away  " ;  and  before  Cornwallis 
could  get  over  his  astonishment  he  heard  the  booming  of  cannon 
at  Princeton,  and  knew  that  Washington  was  trying  for  Brunswick. 

Washington,  after  he  "  stole  away," 1  marched  by  the  new 
Quaker  Road — a  loop  which  enabled  the  Americans  to  avoid 
Leslie  and  the  British  rear-guard  on  the  mainroad.  The  new 
road  was  rough,  the  stumps  of  the  trees  broke  the  waggon-wheels, 
and  it  was  near  sunrise  on  a  frosty  morning  before  he  reached 
Stony  Brook  bridge,  three  miles  from  Princeton.  He  crossed, 
and  led  his  main  body  to  the  edge  of  a  wood,  where  a  short 
cut  led  to  Princeton,  leaving  Mercer's  brigade  to  continue  along 
the  brook,  and  destroy  a  bridge.  Early  that  morning  Colonel 
Mawhood,  with  three  regiments,  had  started  from  Princeton  to 
join  Cornwallis  at  Trenton.  Mawhood  had  crossed  Stony  Brook, 
and  gained  a  hill,  before  he  saw  the  glitter  of  arms,  as  Mercer's 
men  filed  along  the  Quaker  Road  towards  the  other  bridge. 
There  was  a  short,  sharp  action,  but  the  British  had  bayonets 
and  the  American  riflemen  had  none.  They  were  beaten  back, 
and  thrown  into  confusion,  and  Mercer  fell  covered  with  wounds. 
Mawhood  was  pursuing,  when  the  Pennsylvania  Militia,  detached 
by  Washington,  who  had  heard  the  firing,  came  up,  and  at  the 
same  moment  Washington  himself  arrived.  Sword  in  hand,  he  led 
the  Pennsylvanians,  and  rallied  Mercer's  men.  The  7th  Virginians 
emerged  from  the  wood,  and  the  American  artillery  opened  fire. 
Mawhood  now  found  himself  in  a  critical  position.     "  For  a  short 

1  "A  Council  of  War  was  held  that  night  at  Mercer's  quarters,  before  the 
army  moved.  The  chief  objection  to  the  plan  was  the  state  of  the  roads — 
almost  impassable  from  the  thaw.  But  that  evening  the  wind  changed  to 
north,  and  in  two  hours  the  roads  were  frozen  hard." — Irving's  Life  of 
Washington. 


452  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

time,  the  action  was  desperate."  Washington  adventured  himself 
so  far  forward  that  he  was  in  equal  danger  from  friends  and  foes, 
and  a  young  Irishman,  his  aide-de-camp,  gave  him  up  for  lost, 
and  drew  his  hat  over  his  eyes  that  he  might  not  see  his  Com- 
mander's fall. 

Mawhood  was  now  in  retreat  towards  Trenton,  but  his  advance- 
guard  (the  55th)  fell  in  with  St.  Clair  and  the  American  advance- 
guard.  There  was  another  brief  action,  in  which  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  British  were  killed,  and  nearly  three  hundred  taken  prisoner. 
The  Americans'  loss  was  twenty-five  or  thirty  men  and  several 
officers.  The  great  loss  was  Mercer.1  Cornwallis  claimed  the 
engagement  as  a  victory — acknowledging  that  it  was  bought  very 
dear — because  Washington  drew  off  into  the  higher  ground  by 
Somerset  Courthouse.  Cornwallis  came  up  just  in  time  to  see 
the  Americans  march  away  in  good  order,  with  their  three  hundred 
prisoners. 

The  tables  were  turned — the  hunted  became  the  hunter. 
Washington  swept  the  Jerseys,  and  by  January  18 — on  which 
day  Sir  William  Howe  was  formally  invested  with  the  Order  of 
the  Bath — only  Amboy,  Brunswick,  and  Paulus  Hook  were  held 
by  the  King's  troops,  in  all  Jersey. 

1  Mercer  lingered  till  January  12. 


Note. — The  exact  number  of  Hessians  who  surrendered  at  Trenton  was 
946.  They  were  taken  into  Pennsylvania,  thence  into  Virginia.  Wherever  they 
came,  the  people  thronged  to  look  at  them,  and  were  astonished  to  find  them 
so  much  like  other  men.  At  first  they  were  hooted  and  reviled  for  hiring 
themselves  out  to  kill  people  who  had  never  injured  them — the  old  women 
being  particularly  uncivil.  But  Washington  had  notices  put  up,  to  say  that 
the  Hessians  had  not  come  of  their  free-will,  but  by  compulsion,  and  ought 
therefore  to  be  treated  as  friends,  and  from  that  day,  says  a  corporal  of 
Hessians,  "things  went  better  with  us.  Every  day  many  came  out  of  the 
towns,  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  and  brought  us  provisions,  and  treated 
us  with  kindness  and  humanity." 


CHAPTER   LIV 

THE  KING'S  DEBTS:  THE  EXPENSES  OF 
THE  WAR 

"  The  debts  of  the  civil  list  are  to  be  paid.  Seven  hundred  thousand  pounds 
are  to  be  granted  for  this  purpose,  and  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  per  annum 
to  be  added  to  the  civil  list,  in  order  to  make  it  a  permanent  yearly  income  of 
One  Million,  clear  of  all  deduction.  The  King  desires  it.  Lord  North  was 
to  have  done  it  when  he  had  his  riband.  That  was  understood  to  be  the 
bargain  ;  but  his  Lordship,  having  got  the  riband,  shuffled  about  the  civil  list. 
However,  his  Lordship  is  obliged  to  do  it  now,  or  the  Bedfords  will  supersede 
him.  The  Bedford  faction  and  the  Buckingham-house  faction  are  the  violent 
parties  against  America.  If  these  blood-thirsty  men  were  removed,  peace  would 
be  restored.  .  .  .  The  addresses  set  on  foot  by  the  Bedford  and  Buckingham 
House  factions,  from  Jacobite  towns,  venal  traders,  hungry  contractors,  and 
ignorant  Justices,  to  flatter  the  King,  and  keep  them  in  office,  do  not  contain  the 
voice  of  the  nation,  but  may  be  very  proper  to  accelerate  the  ruin  of  the  kingdom. 
.  .  .  The  empire  is  dismembered.  Great  Britain  is  not  half  herself.  Her 
colonies  are  lost  for  ever !  A  diminished  trade  ;  an  increased  taxation.  .  .  . 
This  war  of  infamy  will,  on  our  side,  miscarry  in  every  part." — Part  of  a 
Genuine  Letter  from  a  Gentleman  in  Town  to  his  Friend  in  the  Country, 
dated  Oct.  10,  1775. 

"  I  never  said  that  I  had  nearly  subdued  America.  What  I  said,  and  what 
I  again  repeat,  was,  that  under  God  his  Majesty's  arms  had  met  with  many 
signal  successes,  and  that  I  thought  we  were  in  a  fair  way  of  subduing  America, 
not  that  we  had  nearly  subdued  it." — Lord  North  on  the  Bill  for  Suspending 
Habeas  Corpus,  Feb.  10,  1777. 

In   England  we   had   made   equally  sure  that   the  war  was  over. 

Howe's  last  despatches   had   been   full  of  Cornwallis'  triumphant 

progress,   and   the    "confusion"   of    Washington's    retreat.      The 

rebellion   was   breaking   up  everywhere — whole   bodies  of  people 

tendering   submission ;    Congress   run   away,    its   authority  gone  ; 

Cornwallis  coming  home.     The  next  despatch  (dated  December  29) 

gave  the  news  that  Rahl's  and  Knyphausen's  divisions  had  been 

taken  prisoners  by  the  defeated  General !     And  on  the  heels  of  this 

came  news  of  several  other  actions,  all  with  considerable  loss  to 

ourselves.     And  now  the  American   army  was  called  "a  superior 

force  "  !     The  anger  at  home  was  so  great  that  Ministers  thought 

453 


454  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

it  prudent  to  divert  some  of  it  to  the  heads  of  Opposition — who 
brought  all  this  upon  us,  by  their  encouragement  of  the  Americans 
— even  if  (as  was  hinted)  they  had  not  actually  sent  them  money. 
But  for  the  vigorous  resistance  to  the  Bill  for  Suspending  Habeas 
Corpus,  Rockingham — and  perhaps  Chatham — might  have  been 
sent  to  the  Tower,  in  spite  of  the  ridicule  Administration  had  just 
incurred  by  sending  Mr.  Sayre  there. 

For,  of  course,  as  soon  as  anything  went  wrong  a  Bill  was 
brought  in  to  suspend  Habeas  Corpus  (February  6).  It  was 
drawn  in  a  very  odd  and  suspicious  manner — the  preamble 
said  one  thing,  and  the  body  of  the  Bill  another.  The  preamble 
seemed  to  be  directed  only  against  treasons  committed  in 
America,  or  on  the  high  seas;  but  the  body  of  the  Bill  could 
easily  have  been  construed  to  allow  the  detention  without  trial  of 
any  persons  "suspected"  of  high  treason — of,  for  instance,  any 
too  officious  member  of  Opposition,  especially  if  it  could  be  shown 
that  he  had  lately  received  letters  from  America.  For  several  years 
it  had  been  openly  avowed  that  all  letters  to  or  from  America  were 
liable  to  be  opened.  After  a  hard  fight  Opposition  succeeded  in 
inserting  a  clause  limiting  the  Bill  to  the  terms  of  the  preamble. 
The  treason  must  have  been  committed  in  America,  and  the 
person  "  suspected  "  must  have  been  in  America  at  the  time. 

Wilkes,  in  a  long  and  very  able  speech,  had  given  the  case 
of  Ebenezer  Piatt,  an  American  merchant,  who  had  been  tried 
at  Kingston,  Jamaica,  on  a  charge  of  treason  committed  at 
Savannah,  and  acquitted.  In  spite  of  his  acquittal  he  was 
confined  on  board  the  Antelope  for  three  months,  then  removed  to 
the  Boreas  for  four  weeks,  then  carried  to  the  Pallas,  and  brought 
in  irons  to,  England.  Arrived  at  Portsmouth,  he  had  been  kept 
on  board  the  Centaur  for  three  weeks,  and  then  taken  to  the 
Barfleur.  A  Habeas  Corpus  was  obtained,  directed  to  the 
captain  of  the  Barfleur ;  but  before  it  could  be  served,  an  express 
arrived  from  the  Treasury,  and  Piatt  was  taken  back  to  the  Centaur. 
Thus  the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  was  eluded.  Piatt's  friends 
showing  they  meant  to  take  out  another  writ,  he  was  brought  to 
London,  and  committed  to  Newgate  by  Justice  Addington,  and  not 
allowed  to  see  any  of  the  witnesses  against  him,  or  even  to  hear 
their  affidavits  read.  He  was  charged  generally  with  high  treason 
— whereas  Blackstone  and  every  other  authority  are  agreed  that  some 
specific  act  of  treason  must  be  mentioned — such  as  compassing 
the  King's  death,  or  levying  war  against  him.  The  Bill  would 
have  legalised  all  these  illegal  proceedings.1  Rigby,  in  his  usual 
1  See  Note  at  end  of  Chapter. 


THE  KING'S  DEBTS  455 

brutal  way,  said  he  wished  Habeas  Corpus  could  be  entirely 
suspended — it  was  as  necessary  to  do  this  now  as  in  1 745.  Then 
the  rebels  avowed  their  principles — now  they  skulk  behind  legal 
quibbles,  and  aid  the  Americans  covertly.  It  was  in  this  debate 
that  Fox  first  warned  Ministers  of  a  projected  treaty  between  France 
and  America. 

And  now  the  burden  of  the  war  became  patent  to  all.  We 
learn  what  the  country  was  paying  for  its  whistle.  The  Debate  of 
February  21,  on  the  Army  Extraordinaries,  gave  Opposition  the 
opportunity  of  asking  a  number  of  very  inconvenient  questions  about 
"  the  extraordinary  services,  incurred  and  paid  by  Mr.  Rigby ;  also 
an  account  of  the  distribution  of  ,£970,000,  and  likewise  the  in- 
vestment of  ;£799>973>  18s.  5&  in  the  purchase  of  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  coin,  for  the  use  of  his  Majesty's  forces  in  America." 
Lord  Newhaven  wanted  to  know  about  the  purchase  of  baggage- 
horses;  Barre  asked  what  was  the  £44,000  "issued  to  Colonel 
Fawcit,  unaccompanied  by  any  explanation."  And  how  about  the 
unwholesome  provisions  sent  to  America  from  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  and  the  sickness  and  mortality  they  had  occasioned  among 
the  troops — the  bad  flour,  first  imported  from  America,  then 
exported  thither  at  a  most  exorbitant  price — flour  that  would  not 
bear  a  second  voyage,  but  got  heated,  and  spoiled  ?  So  that  the 
contractors  were  paid  the  very  best  price  for  the  very  worst  stores 
— in  fact,  they  worked  off  on  the  Army  their  unsaleable  flour ! 
Then  the  meat — Barre"  himself,  being  in  Ireland  last  summer,  in 
the  very  heat  of  the  dog  days,  saw  great  droves  of  hogs  going  to 
slaughter,  killed,  immediately  salted,  and  packed  for  the  army  in 
America.  He  had  the  curiosity  to  ask  the  coopers  whether  this 
meat  would  keep — they  said  it  mighty  for  the  voyage ;  but  must  be 
opened  and  consumed  at  once  on  arrival — and  even  then  would  be 
barely  eatable.1 

1  "The  peculation  in  every  profitable  branch  of  the  service  is  represented  to  be 
enormous  ;  and,  as  is  usual,  it  is  attended  with  a  shocking  neglect  of  every  com- 
fort to  the  troops.  The  hospitals  are  pest-houses,  and  the  provisions  served  out 
are  poison  ;  those  that  are  to  be  bought,  are  sold  at  the  highest  prices  of  a 
monopoly." — Letter  of  Solicitor- General  Wedderburn  to  William  Eden,  1777. 

There  is  a  letter  from  Gordon,  a  specially  notorious  contractor,  to  John 
Robinson.  It  was  written  from  Cork,  August  20,  1776,  and  was  sent  by  Robinson 
to  General  Howe.  Gordon  says  he  is  "  shocked  to  death  almost  at  the  thoughts 
of  the  bread  in  the  Howe,  Minerva,  Lonsdale  and  Lord  Lewiskam  being  bad, 
unfit  for  use,  mouldy  and  shipped  in  bags  short  of  weight,  and  I  am  obliged  to 
you,  Sir,  for  the  very  early  information,  but  if  my  life  was  at  stake  and  could  be 
saved  with  more  care  I  could  not  take  it  in  everything  I  have  to  do  relative  to 
the  provisions.  Never  less  than  three  people  besides  himself  examine  every- 
thing.    It  leaves  me  in  good  order,  and  except  it  be  made  of  bad  materials, 


456  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

North  explained  that  the  ^44,000  was  levy-money  for  the 
Landgrave  of  Hesse — to  say  the  truth,  Administration  had  not 
expected  to  pay  it,  as  it  was  not  in  the  treaty.  As  for  the  provisions, 
some  were  as  good  as  could  be  wished — some  indifferent,  as  was 
always  the  case.  They  were  sent  out  in  haste — we  shall  do  better 
next  time — we  have  now  arranged  that  if  provisions  are  "  damaged 
or  unmerchantable,"  the  loss  shall  fall  on  the  contractor.  Contracts 
were  not  given  by  preference  to  such  as  had  a  seat  in  Parliament. 
Some  of  the  bread  he  allowed  was  bad — but  these  were  accidents. 

And  now  at  last  the  dreaded  question  of  the  Arrears  of  the 
Civil  List,  staved  off  for  eight  years,  could  be  staved  off  no  longer. 
North,  scarcely  recovered  from  his  severe  illness,  was  really  to  be 
pitied  the  day  he  had  to  deliver  the  King's  gracious  Message  (April 
9),  that  his  debts  were  more  than  ^600,000,  and  that  he  relied  on 
his  Faithful  Commons  to  pay  them. 

The  balance-sheet  was  appalling ;  the  accounts  were  glaringly 
defective — Lord  John  Cavendish  said,  because  the  items  would 
not  bear  the  light.  Where  had  the  money  gone  ?  The  King  and 
Queen  are  frugal ;  the  King  has  no  vices ;  the  death  of  the 
Princess  Dowager,  five  years  ago,  augmented  the  royal  income  very 
considerably.  He  compared  the  sixteen  years  of  his  present  Majesty 
with  sixteen  years  of  the  late  reign — making  every  allowance,  the 
present  outlay  ought  to  be  somewhat  less — indeed,  since  the  death 
of  the  Princess  there  ought  to  have  been  a  saving  instead  of  a 
deficiency.  Many  of  the  tradesmen  have  not  been  paid  for  years, 
and  are  reduced  to  great  straits  for  want  of  their  money.     ^"6000 

what  will  not  keep,  which  I  cannot  discover  by  my  taste  or  smell,  or  by 
soaking  in  water,  it  should  keep  twelve  months  ...  all  my  assistants  are  perfect 
judges  of  bread,  and  I  have  eat  a  great  deal  of  bread  myself  in  the  service  and 
know  very  well  what  it  should  be.  ...  If  I  mistake  not  the  Minerva's  bread 
came  from  the  same  person  as  that  in  the  Tartar  which  I  condemned,  and  which 
is  yet  in  store.  I  have  condemned  this  day  573  barrels  of  flour  ...  I  have  also 
condemned  some  town  bread  here  at  the  baker's  and  prevented  the  delivery  of 
it  in  Cork  to  the  agents  who  complained  to  me  of  it."  In  his  own  letter, 
Robinson  complains  of  Mr.  Apthorpe,  who  had  had  what  North  called  "the 
enormous  sum"  of  ^"840,776,  6s.  for  supplying  the  Army.  Robinson  says  that 
Apthorpe  "seems  to  wish  to  confound  the  business  by  his  observations  about 
the  exchange."  Robinson  finds  his  observations  far  from  satisfactory.  A  later 
letter  of  Robinson's  says  that  Apthorpe  continues  to  draw  bills  without  explain- 
ing whether  for  subsistence  or  extraordinaries,  though  repeatedly  directed  to  make 
such  distinction.  {Hist.  MSS.  Report  /,  pp.  54  and  83.)  The  blame  seems  to 
have  been  laid  upon  the  flour — perhaps  justly,  for  there  is  no  trace  of  denial. 
The  only  defence  set  up  is  that  the  provisions  were  left  exposed  to  the  weather 
on  arrival.  This,  however,  does  not  explain  complaints  made  before  the  provisions 
left  Great  Britain. 


THE  KING'S  DEBTS  457 

is  owing  to  the  coal-merchant.  There  is  ;£i  0,000  a  year  for  wax- 
candles.  The  menial  servants  are  six  quarters  in  arrears  !  There 
are  no  vouchers,  and  beyond  certain  fixed  salaries  to  public  func- 
tionaries, Parliament  has  no  knowledge  of  where  the  money  has 
gone,  or  how  the  grant  we  are  asked  to  make  will  go  !  It  was  boldly 
said  that  neither  waste  in  the  Household — twenty-three  separate  tables 
— nor  needless  and  frivolous  places  at  Court,  nor  alms  to  American 
Tories  could  account  for  the  expenditure.  Secret  Service  was  the 
key  to  the  enigma — or,  to  put  it  more  plainly,  Bribes.1  Nearly 
^600,000  had  been  expended  in  Secret  Service  since  1769 — of  this 
sum  ^2  8  5,000  had  been  expended  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  Pension  List  had  increased  enormously. 
Now  we  are  asked  to  grant  more — not  only  to  discharge  the 
debts,  but  to  grant  more  !  The  Crown  is  already  much  too  power- 
ful, and  we  are  depraved  enough  already !  When  the  Minister 
applied  for  a  grant  in  aid,  in  1769,  he  promised  never  to  come 
again  ! 

The  unhappy  Minister  replied  that  he  did  not  want  to  come — 
the  task  was  a  disagreeable  one — he  little  thought  he  should  ever 
have  to  come  again — he  thought  he  should  be  out  of  Administration. 
But  now,  so  stable  is  government,  an  Administration  can  live  eight 
years !  And  he  never  promised  to  prevent  any  future  excess. 
Then  there  are  new  expenses — the  loyalists  have  been  stripped 
of  their  property,  and  driven  here,  without  means  of  subsistence. 
We  must  relieve  them — and  they  have  been  relieved  to  the  amount 
°f  ;£27>°°°-  And  if  the  power  of  the  Crown  has  increased  (which 
he  denied)  it  was  because  of  the  wisdom  and  rectitude  of  his 
Majesty's  councils. 

Wilkes  went  into  an  exhaustive  examination  of  the  Civil  List 
Act,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  stretched.  He 
compared  the  expenses  of  George  11  with  those  of  George  ill.  We 
are  trustees  for  the  people,  and  we  ought  to  prevent  money  being 
squandered  like  this — we  are  being  fleeced  just  at  the  moment 
of  a  most  expensive  war!  "Are  the  people  really  nothing  in 
the    scale   of    Government?"      The    principal    of    the    National 

1  "It  came  out  that  ,£300,000  had  been  privately  issued  at  the  Treasury  for 
secret  services  in  ...  1772.  A  large  part  of  this  large  sum  had  probably  been 
employed  for  the  safety  and  maintenance  of  the  Queen  of  Denmark  ;  but  there 
could  be  no  doubt  neither  but  a  large  portion  had  been  expended  to  carry  the 
Royal  Marriage  Act — a  bill  so  unpopular  that  almost  all  the  ministers  had 
expressed  dislike  and  repugnance  to  it.  Lord  North  had  been  the  most  averse 
of  all ;  but  it  was  now  whispered  that  his  assent  and  support  had  been  purchased 
at  a  very  dear  rate  indeed — that  is,  by  a  grant  of  the  Savoy,  or  part  of  it,  for 
the  sale  of  which  a  bill  had  passed." — Horace  Walpole,  Last  Journals ;  i.  280. 


458  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Debt  was  stated  at  Midsummer,  1775,  to  amount  to  the  astonishing 
sum  of  ^"135,943,051,  and  the  interest  to  ^4,440,000.  Is  this 
a  time  to  ask  for  more,  when  the  greatest  sources  of  our  commerce 
are  destroyed  by  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  Administration ;  when 
we  have  already  spent  above  ;£i  9,000,000  in  this  unjust  war, 
and  above  half  our  empire  is  lost?  Queen  Anne  never  asked 
for  another  ;£  100, 000 — she  gave  the  Civil  List  unasked  ;£  100,000 
yearly  towards  the  expenses  of  the  French  War !  George  1  and 
George  11  had  each  the  great  expenses  of  a  rebellion — the  cost 
of  the  '45  was  enormous.  Then  Wilkes  showed  how  the  King's 
revenue  had  been  increasing  —  partly  by  the  increase  in  the 
Post  Office,  "  since  the  death  of  Mr.  Allen "  threw  the  "  cross 
posts  "  into  the  hands  of  Government. 

Next  he  came  to  the  accounts.  The  Deputy  Auditor  of  the 
Exchequer,  the  Treasurer  of  the  Chamber,  and  the  Master  of  the 
Horse  said  they  had  no  materials  for  accounts !  This,  said 
Wilkes,  is  an  insult  to  the  House,  and  such  accounts  as  have  been 
sent  in  are  so  "  loose,  perplexed  and  unintelligible,"  they  are  "  a 
solemn  mockery."  Many  gentlemen  said  last  week  they  could 
make  nothing  of  them.  It  was  not  intended  they  should.  There 
is  ^41,000  to  Samuel  Martin,  "for  secret  and  special  service," 
between  October  1762  and  October  1763.  Here  is  "a  single  line 
of  ,£171,000  Secret  and  Special  Service,"  issued  to  Sir  Grey 
Cooper.  Under  the  same  article,  ;£i  14,000  to  John  Robinson.1 
;£ioo  a  week  to  Lord  Howe  and  Sir  William,  as  Commissioners 
for  restoring  peace  in  America.  Is  this  to  go  on  for  ten  years, 
like  the  siege  of  Troy  ? 

Again  and  again  he  asked  for  what  these  debts  were  contracted. 
There  is  no  trace  of  any  debts  of  the  King's  Brothers,  and  yet 
their  incomes  are  so  scanty  that  the  Duke  of  Gloster  can't  afford 
to  live  in  England.  There  is  no  outward  magnificence — "we 
have  scarcely  the  appearance  of  a  Court."  His  Majesty  has  not 
had  a  Scottish  rebellion  to  quell — the  revenues  have  been  spent 
on  the  Scots,  not  against  them  !  So  Wilkes  lashed  himself  up, 
until  he  declared  roundly  that  the  money  had  been  spent  in  buying 
"the  regular  ministerial  majorities  in  parliament."  "The  Crown 
has  made  a  purchase  of  this  House  with  the  money  of  the  people."  2 

1  Secretaries  of  the  Treasury. 

2  "  The  extraordinary  revenues  of  the  Crown  are,  the  revenue  of  Ireland,  the 
duchy  of  Cornwall,  the  land  revenue  within  the  principality  of  Wales,  the 
revenue  of  Gibraltar,  American  quit-rents,  'now  generally  lost,' the  plantation 
duties  of  4£  per  cent.,  from  the  Leeward  Islands,  fines,  forfeitures,  and  many 
other  particulars,  which  certainly  carry  the  royal  income  to  much  above  one 
million  a  year." 


THE  KING'S  DEBTS  459 

Hence  the  "ready,  tame  and  servile  compliance  with  every  royal 
edict  issued  by  the  Minister.  Inward  corruption  is  the  canker." 
This  House  is  allowed  to  be  the  most  corrupt  assembly  in  Europe. 
In  1769  it  granted  .£513,511  to  pay  the  King's  debts — were  the 
tradesmen's  bills  then  paid,  or  was  the  money  diverted  another 
way  ?  How  about  Hine's  patent  place  in  the  Customs  at  Exeter, 
publicly  sold,  and  the  money  given  to  General  Burgoyne  to  reim- 
burse him  for  the  expense  of  the  Preston  Election  ?  Wilkes  moved 
to  consider  the  causes  of  the  Debt.1 

North's  reply  was  feebleness  itself.  He  talked  about  the  increased 
cost  of  the  necessaries  of  life — £900,000  now  not  equal  to  £800,000 
in  1742.  He  was  sure  Mr.  Wilkes  did  not  mean  that  each 
individual  of  the  majority  was  bribed.  Could  not  one  have  "a 
temporary  pension"  and  yet  "act  upon  principle"?  As  for  the 
vouchers  not  being  laid  before  the  House,  his  "predecessors  in 
office"  had  taken  away  all  the  papers — so  "the  charge  of  the 
accounts  being  defective,  mutilated,  or  imperfect,  must  fall  to  the 
ground."  They  had  looked  everywhere  for  every  document  that 
seemed  to  be  necessary  to  explain  the  account — if  any  were  want- 
ing, no  blame  lay  on  the  Treasury  Board — they  had  given  the 
best  account  they  could. 

So  the  unhappy  Minister  fumbled  on,  having  in  truth  nothing 
to  say. 

The  gentlemen  with  the  temporary  pensions  and  the 
consciences  voted  against  Lord  John  Cavendish's  motion  to 
refuse  to  pay,  and  the  House  went  into  Committee  of  Supply  to 
consider  payment  of  the  King's  debts  and  the  extra  £100,000  a 
year  which  the  King  had  asked  for.  Barre  made  a  savage  attack  on 
"  a  certain  race  of  animals,  daily  increasing  in  this  country,  called 
Contractors."  He  said  that  North  encouraged  the  propagation  of 
this  species  of  the  "canine  and  carnivorous" — he  not  only  tamed 
and  domesticated  them — he  hunted  and  sought  them.  If  the 
contractors  for  supplying  his  Majesty's  Household  did  it  in  the  way 
the  American  contracts  were  executed,  he  wondered  the  debt  was 
not  treble  what  it  was;  he  was  assured  that  in  every  single 
contract  since  the  American  war,  the  public  had  paid  40  per  cent, 
above  the  market  price.  There  was  great  confusion  when 
Sawbridge  said  the  debt  had  been  contracted  in  corrupting  both 
Houses,  some  crying  to  take  down  his  words,  others,  "Hear 
him ! "  Sawbridge  repeated  his  words,  and  turning  upon  North 
charged  him  with  having  hired  a  ruffian  (Dignam)  to  impeach  him. 

1  Wilkes  referred  to  Johnson  and  Shebbeare  as  "pensioned  advocates  of 
despotism." 


460  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

North's  reply  was  very  lame — no  money  had  been  paid  to 
Dignam — they  were  bound  to  listen  to  him — his  narrative  was 
plausible — he  was  soon  found  to  be  a  liar,  villain,  and  im- 
postor. "He  assured  the  worthy  alderman  that  Dignam  had  no 
money." 

Fox  said  Walpole  was  called  the  Father  of  Corruption — North 
was  his  equal,  if  not  in  abilities,  in  the  art  of  managing  parliaments. 
Rigby's  speech  was  a  phenomenon  of  indecency.  He  said  no 
accounts  ever  were  given,  or  ought  to  be  given.  He  wondered 
the  noble  lord  wasted  his  time  answering  trifling  questions — were 
he  Minister  he  would  never  answer  a  private  member.  Then  he 
turned  on  Johnstone,  who  had  asked  for  explanations — that  might 
be  the  way  in  the  parliament  in  Leadenhall  Street.  The  conduct 
of  the  Company  did  not  encourage  imitation  of  their  example — the 
Company  would  have  been  ruined  long  ago  but  for  the  interference 
of  Parliament;  it  was  bankrupt,  and  on  the  verge  of  destruction, 
till  the  legislature  saved  it.  Now  it  had  got  a  little  the  better  of 
its  difficulties,  it  was  relapsing,  and  would  be  calling  for  aid.  He 
hoped  Parliament  would  not  be  imposed  on  any  longer,  to  trust 
the  affairs  of  the  East  to  a  set  of  men  who  had  neither  ability 
nor  honesty. 

To  this  outrageous  attack  Johnstone  replied  warmly  that  the 
Company's  affairs  were  managed  at  least  as  well  before  Government 
interfered — not  Parliament ;  Parliament  being  only  an  engine  used 
by  Ministers  to  create  a  new  source  of  patronage  and  increase 
the  influence  of  the  Crown.  The  Company,  before  it  was  meddled 
with,  got  a  great  empire — it  would  be  well  if  the  new  policy  did 
not  lose  it.  Then  he  twitted  Rigby  for  talking  about  the  parlia- 
ment in  Leadenhall  Street — he  should  be  the  last  to  mention  it. 
Johnstone  had  seen  him  attending  regularly  at  all  the  Courts,  with 
his  long  train  of  dependants,  clerks,  and  partisans — so  if  the  Com- 
pany mismanaged  their  business,  the  honourable  gentleman  should 
have  remembered  he  was  one  of  the  prime  instruments  ! 1 

In  the  Lords,  Rockingham,  in  a  careful  speech,  showed  that 
the  idea  of  an  hereditary  revenue  was  entirely  ill-founded.  The 
King  had  lost  nothing  by  taking  a  specific  sum — it  was  more 
convenient,  that  was  all.     The  pretended  claim  set  up  by  Ministers 

1  Wraxall  says  of  Johnstone :  "  Nature  had  cast  his  person  in  a  coarse  but 
vigorous  mould,  and  had  endowed  him  with  corresponding  or  analogous 
faculties  of  mind.  He  possessed  a  species  of  ardent,  impetuous,  half-savage 
eloquence,  restrained  by  no  delicacy  of  language,  yet  capable  of  powerfully 
affecting  his  hearers  by  the  display  of  information,  by  his  energetic  appeals  to  their 
passions,  and  even  by  his  gesticulations,  which  came  in  aid  of  his  oratory." 


THE  KING'S  DEBTS  461 

had  no  foundation  in  truth.  He,  too,  asked  where  the  money  had 
gone,  and  showed  how  great  were  the  revenues  enjoyed  by  the  King. 
Then  Suffolk  rose  in  a  fury  to  charge  Opposition  with  "detest- 
able, dangerous  and  unconstitutional  conduct."  Never  had 
economy  been  more  constantly  practised.  Rockingham  asked 
if  it  was  unconstitutional  to  differ  .from  Administration  —  and 
brought  up  Dignam.  Spies  and  informers  were  paid  to  forge 
plots.  Suffolk  denied  he  had  said  "  detestable,"  though  in  his  con- 
science and  soul  he  believed  the  conduct  of  Opposition  was 
detestable;  and  though  .Dignam  was  an  impostor,  he  had  other 
proofs  that  Opposition  deserved  the  public  detestation  they  were 
notoriously  known  to  be  held  in. 

North  had  another  bad  quarter  of  an  hour  on  May  8,  when  he 
was  obliged  to  ask  for  more  money  for  the  insatiate  Landgrave  of 
Hesse.  That  rapacious  Prince,  not  content  with  the  extortionate 
bargain  he  had  lately  made,  now  had  the  effrontery  to  demand 
^41,820  more,  "to  make  good  the  Expences  of  Foreign  Hospitals" 
in  the  Seven  Years'  War.  Well  might  North  say,  as  he  did  when 
the  Budget  came  on,  that  "the  expences  of  the  war  were  great." 
The  very  recapitulation  of  them  is  enough — "Army  in  America, 
etc.  ^648,009.  Hanoverians  in  Gibraltar,  etc.  ^5 6,074.  Hanau 
troops,  ^18,000.  Ditto  Waldeck,  ^17,000.  Do.  Brunswick, 
^93,000.  Hessians,  ,£336,000.  Provisions  for  foreign  troops, 
£4 1,000.  Deficiencies  ditto,  £7  000.  Artillery  do.  £48,000. 
American  Extraordinaries,  £1,200,000.  Hessian  chasseurs, 
£36,000.  Hanau  ditto,  £16,000.  Anspach  troops,  £39,000. 
Deficiency,  Hessian  chasseurs,  £3000.  Total  expence  of  army, 
£3,773,000.  Sufferers  in  America,  £33,000.  Commons  Addresses, 
,£13,000."  1 

To  meet  this,  and  all  other  charges, — Exchequer  Bills,  vote  of 
credit,  lottery  prizes,  the  £618,000  arrears  of  the  Civil  List,  and 
all  other  expenses  of  a  great  Empire, — Administration  had  as  total 
supplies,  £12,592,534.  It  would  not  be  enough,  so  North 
proposed  a  tax  on  all  deeds  "and  paper  writings  sealed";  on 
male  servants,  and  sales  by  auction,  and  a  prohibitive  duty  on 
foreign  glass.  North  explained  that  the  duties  laid  on  the  materials 
used  in  the  making  of  glass  tended  to  encourage  foreign  manu- 
facture, and  discourage  our  own.  He  therefore  proposed  to  take 
off  these  duties,  but  to  put  a  duty,  "  nearly  equal  to  a  prohibition," 
on  foreign  glass — this  would  give  us  the  whole  of  the  manufacture 

1  This  curious  item  referred  to  the  Addresses  which  the  Americans  said 
showed  that  the  whole  people  of  England  were  now  turned  against  them.  Fox 
told  the  House  that  no  King  ever  had  so  many  Addresses  as  James  n. 


462  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

— it  was  sixteen  pence  a  pound  on  glass,  and  four  shillings  a 
dozen  on  imported  bottles.  Thus  we  shall  lower  the  price  of 
materials,  and  keep  the  whole  glass  manufactory  within  the 
kingdom.1 

North  was  still  optimistic.  He  scouted  the  warnings  as  to 
France — she  is  very  friendly,  and  the  pirate  who  took  the  Harwich 
packet  is  laid  by  the  heels  at  Dunkirk.  Fox  reminded  them  that 
the  object  of  the  war  was  to  get  a  revenue  out  of  America.  Were 
we  not  sick  of  it  by  this  time  ?  Who  but  contractors  will  benefit  ? 
Why  not  now  repeal  the  tax  on  tea?  We  shall  never  get  a 
shilling.  He  commented  severely  on  the  inhuman  conduct 
of  the  Hessians,  and  said  that  our  own  troops  were  almost  as 
culpable. 

In  the  middle  of  the  Debate  on  the  Budget,  Hartley  proposed 
an  Address  to  the  King  entreating  him  to  order  a  suspension 
of  hostilities.  It  was  not  moved,  but  the  allusions  to  America 
caused  Lord  George  Germaine  to  explain  to  the  House  why  he 
had  said  the  day  before  that  there  was  a  prospect  of  a  successful 
end  to  the  war.2  He  thought  so,  because  General  Howe's  army 
was  now  in  good  order,  and  more  numerous  than  in  the  last 
campaign,  while  the  rebel  army  was  in  much  worse  order  and  less 
numerous.  Then  the  fleet  was  reinforced,  and  the  Americans 
had  changed  their  minds,  from  their  experience  of  the  misery  of 
anarchy,  confusion  and  despotism,  instead  of  the  happiness  they 
used  to  enjoy — so  that  hundreds  of  deserters  were  coming  in 
daily  to  Howe.  Then  Congress  had  given  up,  and  made  Mr. 
Washington  Dictator — which  would  cause  divisions.  Then,  again, 
they  were  disappointed  of  assistance  from  France  and  Spain — 
not  that  he  denied  they  had  received  underhand  assistance. 
They  had  offered  to  pay  for  the  protection  of  France — they  had 
offered  France  our  West  India  Islands!  "There  is  a  love  of 
freedom,  Sir ! "  Then  we  have  great  expectations  from  the  army 
in  Canada — it  has  destroyed  the  enemy's  fleet,  and  will  be  able 
to  advance  early  in  the  spring,  and  unite  with  General  Howe's 
army,  adding  12,000  men  to  it,  besides  Canadians.  And 
Washington  can't  keep  his  army  together,  even  with  a  £30 
bounty — they  desert  as  fast   as   they  are   forced  to  enlist ;   while 

1  7s.  a  hundred  on  all  "  spread  glass,"  14s.  on  all  other  window  glass,  and 
3s.  6d.  per  cwt.  on  materials  used  in  making  common  bottles.  He  computed 
this  tax  would  bring  in  about  ^45,000  a  year. 

2  "  Lord  Shuldham  thinks  all  will  go  well  in  America,  though  the  war  may  be 
protracted  by  the  little  successes  of  the  Americans  in  the  Jerseys." — Hutchinson, 
Diary,  March  6,  1777. 


THE  KING'S  DEBTS  463 

Howe  has  6000  armed  New  Yorkers  in  his  army.  So  that  the 
next  campaign  is  sure  to  be  favourable. 

This  is  the  first  parliamentary  allusion  to  Burgoyne's  un- 
fortunate expedition. 

On  May  21  the  King  sent  for  a  vote  of  credit,  and  was 
granted  a  million  to  carry  on  with.  The  same  day  the  East 
India  Company  came  once  more  before  the  House.  It  was  again 
in  trouble.  A  very  odd  situation  had  arisen — the  Council  ol 
Madras  had  arrested  Lord  Pigot,  the  Governor,  and  were  keeping 
him  imprisoned.  It  appeared  that  the  Nabob  of  Arcot  had  got 
Mr.  Hastings  on  his  side,  and  had  formed  a  very  strong  party  in 
the  Council,  and  a  plan  to  dispossess  the  Rajah  of  Tanjore,  on 
pretence  that  he  was  in  arrears  with  his  tribute.  In  this  debate 
Fox  defended  Pigot  so  ably  that  the  whole  House  broke  into 
applause. 

But  the  debate  which  threw  all  others  into  the  shade  was  that 
in  the  Lords,  on  May  30,  when  Chatham  appeared — the  wreck  of 
his  former  self,  "pale,  and  grown  much  older,  and  had  one  crutch. 
His  voice  was  so  low  that  it  could  not  be  heard  to  the  end  of  the 
House,  and  little  remained  of  his  former  fire,  though  his  second 
speech  was  more  spirited." 

Yet  his  speech  reads  as  though  it  had  been  spoken  with  all  the 
old  irresistible  energy.  It  is  perhaps  more  direct,  less  oratorical  than 
most  of  his  great  speeches.  It  opens  with  a  rush,  as  though  the 
speaker  feared  the  storm  he  spoke  of  might  descend  within  that 
very  hour. 

"  My  lords,"  he  said,  "  this  is  a  flying  moment ;  perhaps  but 
six  weeks  to  arrest  the  dangers  that  surround  us.  The  gathering 
cloud  may  break ;  it  has  already  opened  ...  if  an  end  is  not  put 
to  this  war,  there  is  an  end  to  this  country.  I  do  not  trust  my 
judgment  in  my  present  state  of  health ;  this  is  the  judgment  of 
my  better  days ;  the  result  of  forty  years'  attention  to  America.  .  .  . 
I  state  to  you  the  importance  of  America  ...  a  double  market, 
the  market  of  consumption  and  the  market  of  supply.  .  .  .  America 
has  carried  you  through  four  wars,  and  will  now  carry  you  to  your 
death,  if  you  don't  take  things  in  time.  In  the  sportsman's  phrase, 
when  you  have  found  yourselves  at  fault,  you  must  try  back.  You 
have  ransacked  every  corner  of  Lower  Saxony ;  but  40,000  German 
boors  never  can  conquer  ten  times  the  number  of  British  freemen ; 
they  may  ravage,  they  cannot  conquer.  .  .  .  You  have  got  nothing 
in  America  but  stations.  You  have  been  three  years  teach- 
ing them  the  art  of  war.  They  are  apt  scholars.  .  .  .  We  have 
tried  for  unconditional  submission;   try  what  can   be  gained  by 


464  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

unconditional  redress  !  Now  is  the  crisis,  before  France  is  a  party 
to  the  Treaty.  .  .  .  Whenever  France  or  Spain  enters  into  a  treaty 
of  any  sort  with  America,  Great  Britain  must  immediately  declare 
war  against  them.  America  is  contending  with  us  under  a  masked 
battery  of  France.  There  is  still  a  moment  left — France  must  be 
as  self-destroying  as  England,  to  make  a  treaty  while  you  are  giving 
her  America  at  the  expense  to  yourselves  of  12  millions  a  year." 
He  moved  an  humble  Address  to  his  Majesty  for  a  speedy  stop 
to  the  war,  "  on  the  only  just  and  solid  foundation,  the  removal  of 
grievances." 1 

All  the  old  things  were  said  on  both  sides.  Gower  said 
numbers  were  coming  in — the  majority  of  the  rebels  wished  to 
shake  off  the  yoke  of  Congress.  Grafton  and  the  Bishop  of 
Peterborough  attributed  our  misfortunes  to  the  rejection  of 
Penn's  petition,  in  the  autumn  of  1775,  an(*  Peterborough  said 
the  Addresses  did  great  harm  by  making  America  think  we  were 
implacable.  Camden  reminded  them  how  at  first  a  file  of 
musketeers  was  to  do  it  —  then  four  regiments — then  10,000 
men — now  it  is  70,000.  There  was  a  wrangle  as  to  whether 
Franklin  and  Deane  were  officially  received  at  Versailles. 
Weymouth  declared  France  had  never  been  more  friendly  than 
now.  Mansfield  said  the  Americans  must  feel  the  superiority  of 
our  arms  before  we  could  treat — wait  till  after  the  next  campaign. 
Then  the  House  divided.  Contents  (two  proxies)  28.  Non- 
Contents  (23  proxies)  99. 

So  they  were  prorogued,  and  before  they  met  again  the  next 
campaign  had  been  fought,  and  Burgoyne  and  all  his  army  were 
prisoners  of  war. 

1  Of  this  speech  the  King  said,  "  Like  most  of  the  other  productions  of  that 
extraordinary  brain,  it  contains  nothing  but  specious  words  and  malevolence.  .  .  . 
But,  thank  God  !  the  nation  does  not  see  the  unhappy  contest  through  his 
mirour." — The  King  to  Lord  North,  on  Chatham's  Motion  of  May  30,  1777. 

In  1775,  the  King  had  written:  "His  political  conduct  the  last  winter 
was  so  abandoned,  that  he  must,  in  the  eyes  of  the  dispassionate,  have 
totally  undone  the  merit  of  his  former  services." — To  Lord  North,  August  9, 
I775- 


EBENEZER  PLATT. 

Piatt  was  one  of  eight  or  ten  men  who  sailed  in  a  schooner  from  Georgia,  by 
order  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  to  stop  Captain  Maitland's  ship,  bound  for 
St.  Augustine,  in  Florida,  and  take  out  of  her  powder  and  arms.  Piatt  was 
afterwards,  by  authority  of  Congress,  engaged  in  a  contraband  trade  with  some 
of  the  French  or  Dutch  Islands.     Here  he  was  taken,  and  carried  to  Jamaica, 


THE  KING'S  DEBTS  465 

where  his  ship  was  condemned,  and  he  was  sent  to  prison,  on  a  charge  of 
"corresponding  with  his  Majesty's  enemies,"  several  letters  having  been  found 
in  his  possession,  directed  to  the  Congress  "at  Georgia  and  Charlestown. " 
"  Nothing  material  was  found  against  him  ;  but  as  the  carrying  on  such  business 
with  Congresses  was  a  new  offence,  it  was  judged  proper  to  send  him  home  to 
England,  with  all  the  letters  and  papers  in  question."  At  Portsmouth  the 
matter  was  enquired  into,  "  and  nothing  appearing  that  would  affect  either 
his  life  or  liberty,  he  was  discharged,  with  an  offer  of  his  passage  back 
to  America.  This  he  refused ;  and  being  (as  there  are  reasons  to  suspect) 
properly  tutored  by  the  present  race  of  patriots,  he  attempted  to  procure 
a  copy  of  his  commitment,  in  order  to  proceed  against  those  who  had  a 
hand  in  confining  him.  Upon  his  application  for  this,  it  was  judged  proper 
to  commit  him  to  prison,  on  the  evidence  of  two  of  Captain  Maitland's  men, 
to  answer  for  the  charge  of  treason  and  piracy  committed  on  board  his  ship 
off  Georgia-bar,  in  North  America,  as  the  very  words  of  his  mittimus  set 
forth." — Gentleman 's  Magazine,  1777,  pp.  146-7. 


VOL.  I. — 30 


CHAPTER   LV 

JOHN  THE  PAINTER :  OUR  CRIMINAL  CODE  IN 
THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 

"lam  confident  that  every  new  sanguinary  law  operates  as  an  encouragement 
to  commit  capital  offences  ;  for  it  is  not  the  mode,  but  the  certainty  of  punish- 
ment, that  creates  terror.  "What  men  know  they  must  endure,  they  fear  ;  what 
they  think  they  can  escape,  they  despise.  .  .  .  Let  us  reflect  a  little  on  this 
woman's  fate.1  ...  It  was  for  no  injury  ;  but  for  a  mere  attempt  to  clothe  two 
naked  children  by  unlawful  means.  Compare  this,  with  what  the  state  did,  and 
with  what  the  law  did.  The  state  bereaved  the  woman  of  her  husband,  and  the 
children  of  a  father,  who  was  all  their  support ;  the  law  deprived  the  woman  of 
her  life,  and  the  children  of  their  remaining  parent.  .  .  .Take  all  the  circumstances 
together,  I  do  not  believe  that  a  fouler  murder  was  ever  committed  against  law, 
than  the  murder  of  this  woman  by  law." — Sir  William  Meredith  on  the  Bill  for 
the  Better  Securing  of  Private  Dockyards,  May  13,  1777* 

At  this  nervous  moment,  other  terrors  and  dangers  shook  the  nation. 
Arson  was  added  to  our  national  calamities. 

On  December  7,  1776,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  upper  loft  of 
the  rope-house  in  Portsmouth  Dock,  and  entirely  consumed 
the  building.  As  it  was  supposed  to  be  an  accident,  no  enquiry 
was  made.  But  on  January  15,  1777,  an  under-clerk  of  the 
dockyard,  having  occasion  to  move  some  hemp,  discovered  a 
strange-looking  object,  "about  the  size  of  a  half-pound  tea  can- 
ister, but  resembling  a  candlestick."  On  each  side  of  the  candle 
was  a  place  for  matches,  and  the  bottom  was  a  cavity  full  of  spirits 
of  wine.  The  thing  was  so  contrived  that  the  matches  would  have 
burnt  down  to  the  spirits  in  four  channels.  The  bottom  was  of 
wood.  The  matches  had  been  lighted,  and  were  nearly  burnt  low 
enough  to  set  the  spirits  on  fire ;  but  they  had  gone  out  too  soon 
— probably  because  too  much  hemp  had  been  piled  above  the 
11  machine,"  and  there  was  not  enough  air.  If  the  fire  had  caught, 
the  stores  in  the  store-house  close  by  were  enough  to  have  rigged 
fifty  ships. 

It  became  obvious  that  foul  play  was  at  work.  "The  whole 
dockyard  was  alarmed.  Some  hundreds  of  workmen  were  instantly 
1  Mary  Jones,  see  p.  470. 

466 


JOHN  THE  PAINTER  467 

drawn  together,  and  everyone  looked  at  his  neighbour,"  convinced 
that  whoever  put  the  thing  there  had  caused  the  fire  of  the  7th. 
Everybody  set  to  work  recollecting,  and  presently  it  occurred  to 
one  of  them  that  a  fellow  had  been  locked  into  the  rope-house 
the  night  before  the  fire ;  another  remembered  that  an  unknown 
man  had  been  seen  loitering  about  the  yard  on  the  very  day. 
Others  said  he  was  a  painter,  and  had  worked  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  as  he  had  never  been  seen  since  the  fire,  he  was 
suspected,  and  advertisements  were  issued,  describing  one  "John 
the  Painter  " — the  only  name  by  which  he  was  known,  and  offering 
^50  if  he  would  come  forward  to  be  examined,  and  the  same  sum 
to  any  who  should  apprehend  him. 

Meanwhile  other  fires  broke  out — particularly  at  Bristol — 
where  the  ships  Savatmah  La  Mar  and  Fame,  lying  at  the  quay, 
were  wilfully  set  on  fire  in  the  night  (apparently  of  the  very  day 
when  the  "  machine "  was  discovered  at  Portsmouth),  and  all  the 
other  ships,  and  all  that  part  of  the  town,  were  in  great  danger. 
There  was  also  an  attempt  to  fire  the  Hibernia ;  and  a  box  of 
combustibles  had  been  planted  in  a  warehouse  in  Crane  Lane — 
broken  into  for  the  purpose.  The  town  offered  ,£500  and  his 
Majesty's  pardon  for  the  discovery  of  the  incendiaries.  On 
Sunday  the  19th  there  was  another  great  fire,  in  the  warehouse 
of  "  Mr.  A.  Brown,  bookseller,"  in  which  the  warehouses  on  one 
side  of  Bell  Lane  were  entirely  consumed.  About  the  same  time 
a  quantity  of  combustibles  was  found  on  the  quay,  among  a 
number  of  oil-barrels — here,  too,  the  fire  had  burnt  out  with  no 
damage.  Bristol  began  to  think  itself  marked  out  for  destruction 
— the  damage  already  amounted  to  ^15,000.  The  citizens  took 
to  patrolling  the  streets — after  which  there  were  no  further 
attempts.  The  King  promised  his  free  pardon  and  ^1000  to 
any  person  who  would  discover  his  accomplice,  and  the  town 
offered  ^500  more.  There  was  now  ^1500  on  the  head  of  John 
the  Painter.  It  began  to  be  believed  that  "American  Agents" 
were  being  employed  "  to  spread  fire  and  devastation  throughout 
the  kingdom." 

Meanwhile  Sir  John  Fielding  had  found  means  to  trace  John 
the  Painter,  and  at  the  beginning  of  February  he  was  arrested  at 
Odiham,  for  a  burglary,  and  brought  to  London.  It  was  reported 
that  he  had  been  in  America,  and  had  worked  there  as  a  painter, 
and  Lord  Temple  sent  "  one  Baldwin,  a  painter,  who  had  likewise 
been  in  America,"  to  attend  his  examination  before  Fielding.  But 
Baldwin  said  he  had  never  seen  the  man  before  in  his  life.  As 
other  witnesses  had  sworn  falsely  against  John,  he  expressed  a  wish 


468  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

to  see  Baldwin  again,  and  Baldwin  was  encouraged  to  visit  him  as 
often  as  possible,  to  bring  him  to  confession.  After  seeing  Baldwin 
once  a  day — and  sometimes  twice — for  a  fortnight,  John  began  to 
trust  him  and  to  speak  openly.  He  told  him  he  had  been  in 
France,  and  had  seen  Silas  Deane,  and  Deane  had  given  him 
money  to  set  fire  to  the  British  dockyards — especially  at  Ports- 
mouth, Plymouth,  and  Woolwich — as  the  best  means  of  distressing 
Great  Britain.  As  "  an  earnest  of  what  should  follow,"  Deane 
gave  him  a  recommendation  to  and  bills  upon  a  merchant  in 
London  for  .^300,  but  these  John  had  found  it  necessary  to  burn 
to  prevent  discovery.  He  said  he  had  procured  a  passport  "  from 
the  French  King,"  which  passport  "he  lamented  he  had  left  at 
Portsmouth,  with  other  things,  in  a  bundle."  From  France  he 
went  to  Canterbury,  and  there  devised  the  machine  found  in  the 
hemp-house.  Here  he  had  a  quarrel  with  a  dragoon.  From 
Canterbury  he  went  to  Portsmouth,  and  prepared  his  combustibles. 
He  disclosed  to  Baldwin  the  secret  of  the  composition,  and  the 
way  to  apply  it ;  told  how  he  had  been  locked  into  the  rope-house ; 
how  he  had  quarrelled  with  his  landlady  for  interrupting  him  in  his 
operations,  how  she  forcibly  turned  him  out  of  her  house ;  how  he 
took  another  lodging;  how  he  could  not  light  his  matches,  and 
bought  others ;  how  he  fled  from  Portsmouth  in  a  woman's  cart. 
These  particulars  were  confirmed  at  his  trial.  The  boy  who  made 
the  canister,  the  dragoon,  the  landlady  at  Portsmouth,  the  man 
who  let  him  out  of  the  rope-house,  the  persons  who  saw  him  in  the 
yard,  the  woman  who  sold  him  the  matches,  and  the  woman  who 
took  him  up  in  her  cart,  all  testified ;  last  of  all,  the  bundle  actually 
contained  the  passport  from  France.  He  was  tried  at  Winchester, 
and  was  hanged  at  the  gate  of  Portsmouth  Dockyard,  "on  a 
gallows  60  feet  high." 

Before  he  was  taken  from  Winchester,  he  made  a  confession. 
His  real  name  was  James  Aitken.  He  was  born  at  Edinburgh  in 
1 75 1,  the  son  of  a  blacksmith.  He  became  a  painter.  "  Curiosity  " 
led  him  to  Virginia  in  1772;  he  left  America  in  1775,  and 
enlisted  in  the  32nd  Regiment — deserted,  re-enlisted  in  the  13th, 
and  again  deserted.  Then  he  followed  his  trade  of  painter  in  Bir- 
mingham and  other  towns.  At  Tichfield,  in  Hants,  he  "  conceived 
the  first  idea  of  setting  fire  to  the  dockyards."  He  went  to  France, 
and  applied  to  Deane,  who  told  him  "  when  the  work  was  done, 
he  should  be  rewarded."  After  firing  the  rope-yard,  he  went  to 
London,  and  saw  Dr.  Bancroft,  to  whom  he  had  a  verbal  recom- 
mendation from  Deane,  "  but  the  Doctor  gave  him  no  countenance." 
By  his  own  account  he  told  Bancroft  he  would  do  all  the  harm  he 


JOHN  THE  PAINTER  469 

could  to  this  kingdom,  but  the  Doctor  not  approving,  John  said 
he  hoped  that  he  would  not  inform  against  him.  After  this  he 
took  to  robbery  in  the  intervals  of  arson.  He  had  no  accomplices 
— his  villanies  were  his  own.  Silas  Deane's  promise  to  reward  him 
did  not  prevent  George  m  from  bribing  Deane  himself. 

John  the  Painter  was  hanged  because  it  was  death  to  fire  a 
royal  dockyard.  On  the  13th  of  May  a  Bill  was  brought  in  "for 
the  better  securing  and  preserving"  of  all  dockyards,  whether 
public  or  private.  They  were  to  be  secured  by  making  firing 
them  a  hanging  matter  too.  The  debate  is  worthy  of  notice.  Mr. 
Combe  said  that  many  crimes  far  less  heinous  were  punished  with 
death ;  and  if  John  the  Painter  had  burnt  all  the  warehouses  and 
ships  of  Bristol,  he  would  not  have  been  hanged.  To  this  Sir 
William  Meredith  replied  in  a  speech  which  may  perhaps  have 
influenced  Romilly  in  his  efforts  at  reforming  our  Criminal  Code. 
Meredith  did  not  think  the  punishment  of  death  "  at  all  useful  in 
the  prevention  of  crimes."  He  doubted  whether  hanging  "ever 
did,  or  can,  answer  any  good  purpose."  "The  cruel  exhibition  of 
every  execution-day  is  a  proof  that  hanging  carries  no  terror  with 
it."  What  men  think  they  can  escape,  they  despise.  "The 
multiplicity  of  our  hanging  laws  has  produced  two  things  :  frequency 
of  condemnation,  and  frequent  pardons."  As  our  laws  are  actually 
administered,  "  not  one  in  twenty  is  executed,"  so  each  man  thinks 
he  will  be  the  one  to  get  off.  And  what  an  example  the  executions 
give  !  The  hardened  villain  is  looked  on  "  with  envy  and  admira- 
tion";1 while  a  penitent  thief  makes  "a  sober  villain,"  oppressed 
with  want,  think  that  at  the  worst  he  too  can  die  penitent,  "  the 
punishment  will  be  short,  and  the  reward  eternal."  Even  in  crimes 
that  are  never  pardoned,  death  is  no  prevention — house-breakers, 
forgers,  and  coiners,  are  sure  to  be  hanged,  yet  these  are  the  very 
crimes  that  are  oftenest  committed.  Strange  it  is,  that  in  the  case 
of  blood,  where  we  ought  to  be  most  tender,  we  still  go  against 
reason  and  experience.  "A  recent  event  has  proved,  that  policy 
will  do  what  blood  cannot  do.  I  mean  the  late  regulation  of  the 
coinage.  Thirty  years  together  men  were  continually  hanged  for 
coining,  still  it  went  on,  but  on  the  new  regulation  of  the  gold  coin, 
it  ceased." 

1  "Wednesday,  April  2,  1777.  James  Frankling,  for  robbing  Mrs.  Harvey  and 
two  other  ladies  was  executed  at  Maidstone.  This  was  the  highwayman  who, 
after  having  robbed  the  ladies,  returned,  and,  putting  his  body  into  the  coach  to 
kiss  them,  was  seized  by  the  coachman,  and  apprehended.  He  behaved  in  a 
most  undaunted  manner  at  the  gallows,  placed  the  rope  about  his  neck,  and  threw 
himself  off  the  ladder  with  a  force  as  if  to  pull  his  head  off. " 


470  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Since  then  an  Act  has  passed  making  it  treason  to  coin  silver 
— but  we  hear  of  it  more  than  ever !  By  this  "  nickname  of 
treason,"  there  lies  in  Newgate  at  this  moment,  under  sentence  to 
be  burnt  alive,  a  girl  just  turned  of  fourteen  ;  at  her  master's  bidding 
she  hid  some  white-washed  farthings  behind  her  stays,  on  which 
the  jury  found  her  an  accomplice  in  the  treason.  "  The  master  was 
hanged  last  Wednesday,  and  the  faggots  all  lay  ready  for  her ;  no 
reprieve  came  till  just  as  the  cart  was  setting  out — the  girl  would 
have  been  burnt  alive  on  the  same  day,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
humane  but  casual  interference  of  Lord  Weymouth."  Good  God  ! 
Sir,  we  are  taught  to  execrate  the  fires  of  Smithfield — are  we 
lighting  them  now  to  burn  a  poor  harmless  child  for  hiding  a  white- 
washed farthing  ?  And  yet  this  barbarous  sentence  is  brought  as 
a  reason  for  more  hanging  and  burning !  I  was  asked  the  other 
day  to  bring  in  a  Bill  to  make  it  treason  to  coin  copper ! 

Meredith  then  told  a  terrible  story  about  the  Shop-lifting  Act — 
passed  to  protect  bankers'  and  silversmiths',  and  other  shops 
where  there  are  commonly  goods  of  great  value.  ("  When  a  member 
of  parliament  brings  in  a  new  hanging  law,  he  begins  with 
mentioning  some  injury  to  private  property,  for  which  a  man  is 
not  yet  liable  to  be  hanged,  and  then  proposes  the  gallows  as  the 
infallible  cure.")  The  Shop-lifting  Act  made  it  death  to  lift  any- 
thing off  a  counter  with  intent  to  steal.  Under  this  Act,  one  Mary 
Jones  was  executed.  It  was  at  the  time  when  press-warrants  were 
issued  on  the  alarm  about  the  Falkland  Islands.  "  The  woman's 
husband  was  pressed,  their  goods  seized  for  some  small  debts  of 
his,  and  she,  with  two  small  children,  turned  into  the  streets 
a-begging.  It  is  a  circumstance  not  to  be  forgotten  that  she  was 
very  young  (under  nineteen),  and  most  remarkably  handsome. 
She  went  to  a  linen-draper's  shop,  took  some  coarse  linen  off  the 
counter,  and  slipped  it  under  her  cloak;  the  shopman  saw  her, 
and  she  laid  it  down :  for  this  she  was  hanged.  Her  defence  was 
(I  have  the  trial  in  my  pocket),  that  she  (  lived  in  credit  and 
wanted  for  nothing,  till  a  press-gang  came  and  stole  her  husband 
from  her ;  but  since  then  she  had  had  no  bed  to  lie  on ;  nothing 
to  give  her  children  to  eat,  and  they  were  almost  naked,  and  she 
hardly  knew  what  she  did.' "  The  parish  officers  testified  to  the 
truth  of  her  story ;  and  her  neighbours  gave  her  a  good  character, 
and  signed  a  petition  on  her  behalf.  But  there  had  been  a  good 
deal  of  shop-lifting  about  Ludgate  —  an  example  was  thought 
necessary — "  this  woman  was  hanged  for  the  comfort  and  satis- 
faction of  some  shopkeepers  in  Ludgate-street."  When  she 
received   sentence   "she   behaved   in   such   a   frantic   manner,  as 


JOHN  THE  PAINTER  471 

proved  her  mind  to  be  distracted;  the  child  was  sucking  at  her 
breast  when  she  set  out  for  Tyburn." * 

Some,  said  Meredith,  are  perhaps  blaming  the  Judges,  the  jury, 
and  the  hangman — but  they  are  only  ministerial  agents — "  the  true 
hangman  is  the  member  of  parliament" — he  "who  frames  the 
bloody  law  is  answerable  for  all  the  blood  that  is  shed  under  it." 

Then  he  showed  how  the  Mosaic  Law  ordered  restitution — four 
and  fivefold,  but  only  if  the  thief  came  by  night  was  it  lawful  to 
kill  him.  If  he  came  by  day,  he  was  to  make  restitution,  and  if  he 
had  nothing  he  was  to  be  sold.  "  This  is  all  that  God  required  in 
felonies."  Only  the  Draconian  code  can  be  compared  with  ours. 
Draco  said  that  petty  crimes  deserved  death,  and  he  knew  "  nothing 
worse  for  the  greatest."  But  Solon  repealed  all  except  death  for 
murder. 

"A  few  years  ago  a  friend  of  mine  tried  to  repeal  some  of  the 
most  absurd  and  cruel  of  our  capital  laws."  The  Bill  passed  this 
House,  but  was  rejected  by  the  Lords,  "as  an  innovation."  But 
"  these  hanging  laws  are  themselves  innovations."  No  fewer  than 
three  and  thirty  of  them  passed  during  the  last  reign.  Treason, 
murder,  rape,  and  burning  a  dwelling-house  were  all  the  capital 
crimes  by  our  good  old  common  law,  Even  in  case  of  murder,  if 
compensation  could  be  made,  the  next  of  kin  could  discharge  the 
prosecution,  and  it  could  never  be  revived.  If  the  ravished  woman 
chose  to  marry  the  man,  she  could  save  him,  even  from  under  the 
gallows.  But  so  have  we  deviated  from  the  benignity  of  our 
ancient  laws,  that  "there  is  now  under  sentence  of  death  an 
unfortunate  clergyman  (Dr.  Dodd)  who  made  satisfaction  for  the 
injury  he  attempted  —  the  satisfaction  was  accepted  —  but  the 
acceptance  and  the  prosecution  bear  the  same  date." 

The  Bill  was  eventually  dropped. 

1  There  are  some  inaccuracies  of  detail  in  Meredith's  account,  but  they  do 
not  affect  his  argument.  His  speech  was  thought  so  important  that  it  was 
reprinted  by  the  Society  for  studying  Criminal  Law. 


CHAPTER   LVI 
IN  NEW  YORK 

"  Among  other  mischiefs,  we  are  pestered  with  stories  of  the  wisdom  and 
virtue  of  the  rebels." — Letter  from  an  Officer  at  New  York,  Feb.  14,  1777. 
(Almon.) 

"  Our  army  moulders  away  amazingly.  Many  die  by  the  sword,  many  by 
sickness  brought  on  by  the  bad  provisions  we  have  had  from  Ireland,  others  by 
the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  ...  I  wish  Government  would  look  after  the 
contractors,  for  without  we  are  supplied  with  wholesome  necessaries  of  life,  it 
cannot  be  expected  we  shall  long  fight  their  battles." — Letter  from  New  York, 
Dec.  3,  1776.     (Given  in  Almon's  Re?ne?7ibrancer.) 

1 '  We  are  contending  in  the  noblest  cause  that  can  enlarge  and  exalt  the 
human  heart.  Let  the  magnanimity  of  our  conduct  be  proportioned  to  the 
nobleness  of  our  pursuits.  .  .  .  We  are  forming  a  national  character.  .  .  .  Hoc 
idem  providendum  est,  paires  conscripti,  .  .  .  neu  magis  irce  quamfama  con- 
sulatis." — Speech  of  an  tmnamed  member  of  Congress,  against  a  motion  to  treat 
Scotch  prisoners  "with  the  utmost  severity,  as  the  rancorous  abettors  of  this 
inhuman  war," 

By  the  spring  of  1777  Washington  was  inundated  with  French 
officers,  who  seldom  brought  more  than  a  commission  and  a 
passport,  and  who  all  expected  to  be  instantly  made  field-officers. 
Washington  did  not  know  what  on  earth  to  do  with  them.  He 
did  not  wish  to  offend  them,  but  neither  could  he  offend  his  own 
officers  by  putting  the  Frenchmen  over  their  heads.  One  of  them 
had  calmly  asked  for  the  command  of  the  artillery — no  doubt 
considering  himself  more  competent  than  an  ex-bookseller.  Deane 
seems  to  have  sent  out  many  of  these  people.  Among  them  was  a 
Colonel  Conway,  an  Irishman,  who  said  he  had  been  thirty  years 
in  the  French  service,  and  was  a  Chevalier  of  St.  Louis. 

There  were  others,  whose  names  America  has  never  let  die — 
Kosciusko,  Pulaski,  Steuben,  Kalb,  and  the  very  young  Marquis 
de  Lafayette,  a  boy  of  nineteen,  who  left  his  girl-wife  to  come  and 
fight  for  liberty.  Washington  was  so  charmed  with  him,  that  he 
took  him  into  his  "  family,"  as  aide-de-camp.1 

1  With  a  want  of  delicacy  only  excusable  on  the  score  of  extreme  youth, 
Lafayette  had  had  himself  presented  to  George  in  just  before  he  went  to  fight 

472 


IN  NEW  YORK  473 

Louis  xvi  still  "  broke  into  a  passion  "  when  he  heard  of  help 
given  to  American  rebels;  but  he  could  not  restrain  the  nation. 
Lafayette  went  off  in  direct  disobedience  to  an  order  of  the  King 
— sailing  in  a  transport  he  bought  himself,  when  the  American 
Commissioners  told  him  American  credit  was  too  low  to  do  it. 
With  him  came  the  veteran  de  Kalb — who  in  1775  was  sent  by 
de  Choiseul  to  America  to  see  how  the  land  lay.  This  time,  too, 
de  Kalb's  errand  was  partly  political.  He  was  a  sort  of  emissary 
from  the  Count  de  Broglie,  who  had  thoughts  of  offering  himself 
to  the  Americans,  in  case  they  wanted  a  temporary  Stadtholder  (after 
the  pattern  of  William  of  Orange),  to  set  things  going  for  them  till 
they  could  manage  for  themselves.  But  America  was  poor,  and  the 
Count's  terms  were  high,  and  in  addition  he  asked  a  princely 
annuity  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

From  the  heights  of  Morristown,  Washington  so  far  dominated  the 
country  that  Cornwaliis  had  to  write  to  General  Washington,  to  ask 
permission  to  send  money  and  stores  to  the  Hessians  captured  at 
Trenton,  and  a  surgeon  and  medicines  to  the  wounded  at  Princeton. 
Washington  replied  that  no  molestation  would  be  offered  to  the 
convoy  by  the  regular  army  under  his  command,  "  but  he  could  not 
answer  for  the  militia,  who  were  resorting  to  arms  in  most  parts  of 
the  State,  and  were  excessively  exasperated  at  the  treatment  they 
had  met  with  from  both  Hessian  and  British  troops." 

The  last  words  refer  to  circumstances  which  had  changed  the 
whole  tone  of  public  opinion  in  New  Jersey.  It  is  beyond  doubt 
that  both  the  Howe  brothers  were  not  merely  not  rancorous — they 
were  kindly  disposed  towards  the  Americans,  and  had  publicly 
avowed  this  kindness  before  hostilities  commenced.  We  have 
seen  that  Howe's  constituents  charged  him  with  violating  his 
conscience  and  his  pledges  in  accepting  the  American  command. 
Sir  William  was  self-indulgent,  and  loose  in  his  morality,  but  he  was 
not  cruel.  The  Admiral  was  a  man  of  far  higher  type — stern,  just, 
incapable  of  fear  or  littleness.  His  sailors  called  him  "  Black 
Dick,"  for  his  sombre  looks.  He  was  deeply  attached  to  Franklin, 
and  continued  to  address  him  as  "  My  worthy  Friend,"  even  when 
in  arms  against  him.  He  had  shed  some  iron  tears  when  he  found 
there  was  no  hope  of  reconciliation.  He  was  in  no  way  responsible 
for  the  policy  which  turned  friends  into  foes  in  Jersey — the  blame 
of  it  must  lie  with  the  savage  instructions  of  Germaine,  and  Sir 
William  Howe's  criminal  weakness.  Ministerialists  in  England 
and  loyalists  in  America  freely  charged  both  brothers  with  treachery, 

against  him  !     The  unsuspecting  King  offered  to  let  him  inspect  the  dockyards, 
but  Lafayette  had  sufficient  sense  of  propriety  to  decline  this  ! 


474  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

for  not  crushing  the  rebels  when  they  might  have  done  so.  It  is 
true  that  there  were  occasions,  especially  in  1776,  when  General 
Howe,  if  he  had  pushed  his  advantage,  could  have  destroyed 
Washington.  But  the  same  thing  could  be  said  of  many  other 
wars;  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  war  depends  almost 
entirely  upon  knowledge  of  the  enemy's  movements.  Washington 
was  almost  always  far  better  informed  than  Howe — one  has  but  to 
read  the  despatches  to  see  this.  And  if  Washington's  army  was 
weak,  his  positions  were  always  strong — except  at  New  York, 
where  he  obeyed  the  civil  Government  against  his  own  better 
judgment. 

The  behaviour  of  the  British  in  New  York — a  city  on  the 
whole  favourable  to  them — was  outrageous.  The  arms  on  carriages 
were  defaced,  and  the  arms  of  the  plunderers  substituted.  Even 
the  King's  pardon  was  not  respected.  An  officer  of  high  rank 
took  forcible  possession  of  the  carriage  and  horses  of  a  gentleman 
who  had  been  pardoned.  The  Hessians,  said  this  witness,  thought 
that  all  Americans  had  forfeited  all.  General  de  Heister  offered 
to  sell  the  house  lent  him  for  his  quarters  by  a  loyalist !  The 
furniture  of  loyalists  suffering  imprisonment  among  the  rebels  was 
sold  by  auction  in  New  York  ! l 

Howe  proclaimed  that  all  stores  of  provisions  should  be 
considered  as  magazines  of  the  enemy.  The  amount  of  provisions 
a  family  might  have  in  the  house  was  so  restricted  that  people 
must  have  been  put  to  great  straits  in  providing  themselves.  But 
all  this  was  as  nothing.  It  was  the  conduct  of  the  army  on  its 
march  which  cured  Jersey  of  her  British  sympathies.  It  could 
not  have  been  better  contrived  if  it  had  been  expressly  intended 
to  prevent  all  possibility  of  the  reconciliation  we  were  always 
talking  about. 

Howe's  Proclamation  promised  protection  to  all  who  took  the 
Oath  of  Allegiance,  and  stayed  quietly  at  home.  On  this  the  loyal 
inhabitants  raised  two  brigades,  and  thousands  took  the  oath. 
Howe  immediately  published  their  names,  to  show  how  many 
adherents  the  King  had — thus  pointing  them  out  to  the  vengeance 
of  the  Whigs,  already  exasperated  by  outrages  committed  by  the 
loyalists  in  arms.      He  refused  to  arm  them  unless  they  would 

1  Judge  Jones,  a  staunch  loyalist,  tells  how  the  British  behaved  to  their  friends 
in  Long  Island.  A  loyalist  gentleman  of  fortune  and  character  had  a  horse,  a 
descendant  of  the  famous  Wildair.  An  English  cavalry  officer  saw  and  fancied 
the  animal,  told  its  owner  to  dismount  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  and  hand  over 
the  horse  to  his  own  orderly,  bidding  him  thank  his  stars  that  he  was  allowed  to 
keep  his  saddle. — Jones,  vol.  1.  chap.  vi. 


IN  NEW  YORK  475 

actually  enrol  themselves.  Then  he  marched  on,  and  they  were 
plundered  by  the  King's  troops.  He  had  issued  a  proclamation 
that  "all  salted  and  meal  provisions,  which  may  be  judged  to 
exceed  the  quantity  necessary  for  the  subsistence  of  an  ordinary 
family,  shall  be  considered  as  a  magazine  of  the  enemy,  and  seized 
for  the  King,  and  given  the  troops  as  a  saving  for  the  public." 
No  wonder  the  Hessians  thought  that  all  America  was  forfeit. 
They  plundered  Whig  and  Tory  alike.  They  stripped  man, 
woman,  and  child,  carried  off  every  horse,  cow,  pig  or  fowl  they 
could  find ;  and  when  the  maddened  people  began  to  form  bands 
to  waylay  the  marauders,  an  order  was  issued  to  Count  Donop  to 
hang  to  the  nearest  tree  any  civilian  who  fired  on  the  army.  Nor 
was  this  the  worst. 

Dreadful  things  were  done  by  the  troops  under  Cornwallis. 
At  Pennytown,  sixteen  young  women,  who  had  fled  to  the  woods, 
were  followed  and  caught  and  carried  off.  One  man  saw  his 
wife  and  only  daughter  ravished — the  daughter  a  child  of  ten.1 
Another  girl  of  eighteen  was  taken  from  her  father's  house  and 
carried  to  a  barn,  where  five  of  these  brutes  were  waiting.  The 
Tories  themselves  were  not  spared — every  American  who  fell  in 
with  the  soldiers — men,  old  women,  infants — all  were  stripped 
to  their  shirts.  Farmhouses  were  burned,  windows  and  doors 
smashed,  and  everything  carried  off.  A  blind  old  gentleman  near 
Pennytown  was  stripped  of  everything.  "  Yesterday,"  says  one  wit- 
ness, "they  burned  the  elegant  house  of  Daniel  Cox,  Esq.,  at  Trenton 
Ferry."  Cox  was  a  loyalist  and  supporter  of  Toryism  !  The  people 
became  so  exasperated  that  "they  are  flying  to  arms."  "One  of 
the  most  respectable  gentlemen  of  Woodbridge  heard  his  most 
lovely  daughter  shrieking,"  and  found  a  British  officer  outraging  her. 
The  infuriated  father  instantly  killed  the  ravisher,  when  two  other 
officers  rushed  in  and  fired  two  balls  at  the  father,  "  who  is  now 
languishing  under  his  wounds." 

Such  is  a  contemporaneous  account;  and  it  is  borne  out  by 
the  evidence  of  Major-General  Robertson  before  the  House  of 
Commons,  in  1779.  There  was,  he  says,  "much  plundering,  which 
lost  us  friends,  and  gained  us  enemies."  Howe  forbade  it,  but  it 
went  on.  Robertson  says  he  first  saw  the  bad  effect  of  plundering 
in  Long  Island — it  must  therefore  have  begun  at  once.  The 
Hessians  had  been  promised  they  should  make  their  fortunes  in 
America,  and  "  they  acted  on  that  principle."     "  Nothing  was  left 

1  "  This  he,  choaked  with  grief,  told  his  friend,  who  told  me." — Account  given 
by  an  Officer  of  distinction  in  the  American  Army,  printed  at  Philadelphia,  by 
order  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  January  4,  1777. 


476  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

alive  on  farms."  He  had  heard  about  the  twenty-two  waggons  full  of 
plunder,  restored  to  their  owners  by  Washington,  after  Trenton. 
Asked  if  it  was  possible  to  prevent  plundering,  Robertson  said  that 
he  himself  had  found  it  was.  At  Rhode  Island  he  hanged  a  man 
for  it,  and  there  was  no  more.  "I  always  considered  the  great 
object  of  the  war  to  be  the  regaining  of  the  people,  and  to  accom- 
plish this  by  proving  to  them  that  we  were  their  friends."  There 
is  something  very  ironical  in  the  methods  taken  by  the  King  and 
Lord  George  Germaine  to  prove  to  the  Americans  that  we  were 
their  friends.  On  those  two  men  must  lie  the  original  guilt  and 
disgrace  of  these  enormities.  Their  own  letters  are  there  to  prove 
it.  By  the  time  Washington  marched  back  from  Trenton,  the 
Jersey  brigades  were  disbanding,  and  the  whole  population  had 
turned  against  the  British. 

Having  so  many  officers  among  his  prisoners  (fourteen  British 
officers  were  taken  at  Princeton,  besides  the  Hessians  at  Trenton), 
Washington  tried  to  exchange  some  of  them  for  Lee — offering 
five  Hessians  for  him,  and  even  proposing  that  Lee  should  only 
be  exchanged  on  parole  not  to  take  active  service.  But  Howe 
refused,  and  talked  of  trying  Lee  as  a  deserter  —  whereupon 
Washington  sternly  replied  that  if  this  were  done  he  would 
retaliate  upon  the  British  and  Hessian  officers  in  his  hands.  He 
refused  to  consider  any  exchanges  till  Lee  was  recognised  as 
prisoner  of  war.  Howe  then  remembered  that  Lee  had  publicly 
resigned  his  half-pay — and  therefore  quitted  the  British  service — 
before  enlisting  with  the  rebels.  Strange  to  say,  Lee  was  never  ill- 
used,  as  were  so  many  American  officers;  he  was  even  allowed 
to  communicate  with  his  rebel  friends.  His  tone  to  Washington 
was  now  very  different,  and  he  was  begging  to  be  exchanged. 

Washington's  first  care,  after  recovering  the  Jerseys,  was  to 
strengthen  the  Northern  army,  lest  Carleton  should  try  to  re-take 
Ticonderoga,  as  soon  as  he  could  cross  Lake  Champlain  on  the 
ice.  He  was  sorely  in  need  of  men.  He  wrote  in  these  days 
that  Congress  thought  "it  is  but  to  say,  presto  begone,  and 
everything  is  done."  The  situation  in  the  North  was  rendered 
more  acute  by  jealousies  and  enmities.  Schuyler  was  unpopular 
with  New  England,  because  as  a  Commissioner  for  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants  he  had  stood  out  for  the  rights  of  the  New 
Yorkers.  So  Massachusetts  held  back  from  supporting  him,  and 
then,  when  Canada  was  lost,  laid  the  whole  blame  upon  him. 
Schuyler,  a  proud  and  sensitive  man,  demanded  an  enquiry,  and 
wished  to  resign,  but  Congress  insisted  on  his  remaining.  The 
whole  story,  with  Gates'  intrigues  to  supplant  him,  is  discreditable 


IN  NEW  YORK  477 

to  all  concerned,  except  to  Schuyler  himself,  and  to  Washington, 
who  always  stood  by  him. 

Throughout  all  the  early  part  of  1777  efforts  continued  to  be 
made  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  In  February  Franklin  and 
Deane  wrote  to  Lord  Stormont,  proposing  to  exchange  one  hundred 
British  seamen  taken  by  an  American  privateer  for  one  hundred 
American  prisoners  in  England.  Stormont  did  not  reply,  so  in 
April  the  envoys  wrote  again ;  then  Stormont  answered  only — 

"The  King's  Ambassador  receives  no  applications  from  rebels, 
unless  they  come  to  implore  his  Majesty's  mercy." 

The  state  of  the  prisoners  in  New  York  was  frightful.  The 
horrors  of  the  Sugar  House,  the  Jersey  Prison  Ship,  the  brutalities 
of  Provost  Marshal  Cunningham,  have  passed  into  American 
history,  as  the  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta  has  into  ours.  All  the 
denials  of  Lord  and  General  Howe  cannot  outweigh  the  testimony 
of  Washington,  and  the  dreadful  proof  afforded  by  the  mortality. 
It  was  never  even  pretended  that  there  was  any  conspicuous 
mortality  among  British  prisoners  of  war;  nor  did  any  British 
commander  ever  assert  that  he  received  his  men  back  in  evil  case. 
To  Sir  William  Howe's  insolent  letter,  twitting  Washington  with 
the  sickness  in  his  own  army,  Washington  might  have  replied  that 
they  too  were  suffering  from  cold  and  hunger.  But  there  was  no 
such  mortality  among  the  Americans  in  arms,  severe  as  were  their 
sufferings.  While  in  the  four  months  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Washing- 
ton, 1500  American  prisoners  of  war  died  in  New  York. 

It  is  not  from  the  despatches  of  Howe  that  we  get  any  idea  of 
the  true  state  of  affairs.  Howe  writes  that  New  York  was  "  almost 
without  inhabitants  "  when  he  entered — now,  such  is  the  people's 
eagerness  to  return  to  his  Majesty's  government,  that  there  are 
11, 000.  The  ships  have  remained  at  sea  during  the  whole  winter, 
and  have  taken  200  prizes.  Lord  Cornwallis  has  surprised  and 
defeated  the  enemy  at  Boundbrook.  Very  different  is  the  impres- 
sion produced  by  private  letters1  of  the  same  date — the  end  of 
April !  Private  letters  are  full  of  the  "  disagreements  and  factions  " 
in  the  army,  and  of  hints  that  Sir  William  Howe  had  lost  the 
confidence  of  his  best  officers.  Through  the  winter  he  had  played 
heavily  with  the  younger  ones.  Other  scandals  there  were,  con- 
nected with  ladies  who  had  better  have  been  left  at  home.  Howe 
was  accused  of  extreme  indolence  and  inattention  to  business,  and 
many  said  that  supreme  command  had  spoiled  him. 

From   these  accounts  we   also  learn   that  the   troops  at  New 

1  Very  many  of  these  letters  are  given  by  Almon.     Others  are  preserved  in 
the  American  Archives. 


478  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

York  and  Amboy  are  very  ill  of  dysentery,  "  which  carries  off  numbers 
of  them  daily.1  The  country  round  Amboy  is  a  perfect  desart  for 
several  miles,  owing  to  a  proclamation  issued  by  General  Washing- 
ton, in  March,  ordering  all  the  provisions  and  forage  in  Jersey  to 
be  removed  out  of  the  province,  and  all  that  was  not,  to  be 
destroyed.  Had  this  been  done  at  the  beginning  of  winter, 
General  Howe  would  not  have  had  a  horse  alive.  General  Howe 
cannot  take  the  field  till  the  end  of  May.  Very  few  Americans 
have  joined  General  Howe ;  at  the  utmost  they  are  not  five  hundred ; 
the  people  who  have  joined  him  are  refugees  from  Boston,  people 
who  have  been  driven  out  of  Virginia,  etc.,  chiefly  Scotch  and  Irish, 
and  some  English.  They  are  formed  into  1 3  regiments  of  300  each. 
During  the  months  of  March  and  April,  the  King's  army  are 
reckoned  to  have  lost  near  three  thousand  men  in  Jersey."  (Of 
course  this  includes  those  lost  by  sickness.) 

The  writer  of  this  letter  is  evidently  one  of  the  discontented 
officers.  He  complains  of  Howe's  partiality  for  Cornwallis — 
this  is  "  what  gives  disgust."  This  and  this  only  occasioned 
Lord  Percy  to  leave  the  army — "he  saw  himself  given  the  post 
of  a  brigadier-general,"  while  Cornwallis  had  the  post  of  a 
lieutenant  -  general.  The  writer  goes  on :  "  Lord  Cornwallis 
surprised  a  little  post  at  Boundbrook,  but  did  not  think  proper 
to  stay;  he  returned  as  fast  as  he  could  to  Brunswick.  And 
the  provincials  in  turn  surprised  his  post  at  Bonum  town.  These 
circumstances  afford  a  very  unpromising  prospect  of  conquest; 
as  they  shew,  that  whenever  any  parties  of  the  King's  troops 
are  sent  out,  they  can  stay  but  a  few  minutes  .  .  .  lest  the  country 
should  be  alarmed,  and  their  retreat  be  cut  off." 

A  "letter  said  to  be  written  at  New  York,"  is  given  in  the 
Ge7itlemarfs  Magazine  for  April,  1777,  as  "if  not  true,  plausible." 
It  is  chiefly  about  the  Hessians,  and  must  have  been  written  by 
someone  well  informed  about  them.  At  first  there  was  little 
communication  between  them  and  the  English.  The  English 
"  rather  affected  to  despise  the  thriftiness  of  the  Hessian  prudence, 
as  a  something  base  and  sordid."  The  Hessian,  "naturally 
fierce,"  returned  the  disdain,  and  called  our  men  unsoldierly  for 
going  to  war  in  so  "volatile  a  spirit."  They  talked  as  though 
they  were  going  to  do  it  all.  Howe  let  them — Knyphausen  in 
particular  putting  them  forward ;  and  then  they  began  to  complain 
that  everything  was  put  upon  them.  "They  had,  indeed,  from 
the  beginning,  considered  themselves  pretty  much  at  free  quarters 
in  an  enemy's  country,  and  it  is  not  easy  for  you  to  conceive 
1  "Other  particulars  brought  by  a  transport,"  etc. — Remembrancer,  5,  152-4. 


IN  NEW  YORK  479 

the  quantity  of  plunder  they  had  collected :  their  very  men 
were,  some  of  them,  as  it  were,  rich,  and  they  took  excellent  care 
of  what  they  had  got;  the  unthrifty  manner  of  our  people  left 
them  exposed  to  a  thousand  inconveniences  that  the  Hessians 
were  strangers  to."  The  Hessians  thought  they  "were  to  have 
allotments  of  land  in  the  very  first  province  that  was  conquered  " — 
the  writer  does  not  know  whether  this  was  "a  recruiting  tale," 
or  whether  (as  some  say)  it  was  really  suggested  to  Heister — 
anyway,  it  made  the  Hessians  eager  to  get  into  the  Jerseys.  When 
they  were  disappointed  of  an  immediate  settlement,1  they  revenged 
themselves  upon  the  country.  It  "was  certainly  ravaged  at  a 
high  rate."  The  rebellion  seemed  crushed  —  the  Americans 
"trembled  at  the  very  name  of  a  Hessian."  The  terror  they 
raised  "  is  inconceivable."  The  loyalists  "  lived  in  our  quarters 
hated  by  us  as  rebels,  and  despised  by  their  countrymen  as 
traitors."  "Here  you  see  us  in  triumph,  without  an  enemy, 
masters  of  a  delightful  country."  But  now  "  the  general  antipathy 
between  us  and  the  foreigners  appeared  without  a  mask.  .  .  . 
They  considered  the  country  as  their  right.  The  increase  of 
their  plunder  was  their  only  care;  they  would  not  move  without 
it."  In  vain  Howe  "exhausted  his  temper  in  reasoning" — as 
ill-luck  would  have  it,  they  were  just  then  in  arrears  of  pay, 
and  "want  of  pay  and  good  discipline  are  incompatible."  And 
the  ill  example  spread  to  the  English.  Moreover,  Howe  soon 
found  that  the  submission  of  the  rebels  "  was  all  feigned."  Many 
who  had  sworn  allegiance  deserted,  and  those  who  remained 
were  only  waiting  to  go.  But  the  Hessians  were  paid  somehow, 
and  reduced  "to  a  proper  temper."  Firmer  discipline,  too,  was 
established  among  our  own  people — though  as  to  this,  "opinions 
differed  widely;  it  was  thought  unreasonable  to  be  over  exact 
in  an  enemy's  country."  And  then  suddenly  Washington  came, 
and  after  this  "all  our  evil  humours  grew  into  rank  disorders." 
"  My  surprise  is  rather  that  we  keep  what  we  do,  than  that  we 
have  had  some  losses."  Not  that  the  writer  will  admit  any 
"  wisdom  "  in  the  rebels.  "  His  first  attempt  with  a  handful  of 
men,  was,  I  own,  a  spirited  thing ;  he  happened  to  succeed ;  he 
came  into  a  country  of  friends,  and  one  success  led  to  another." 
It  was  the  wealth  of  Philadelphia  that  created  the  army,  "not 
the  wisdom  of  Washington."  And,  after  all,  if  we  could  now 
act  with   our  whole  force,  they  could   not   stand   against   us,  but 

^he  Americans  also  made  offers.  Addresses  in  German  were  wrapped 
round  the  tobacco  the  Hessians  got,  offering  them  tracts  of  land  if  they  would 
abandon  the  ignominious  service  to  which  their  Sovereign  had  sold  them. 


48o  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  experiment  would  be  just  now  too  dangerous.  The  whole 
gist  of  this  letter  is  that  the  Hessians  had  better  be  got  rid  of. 
"  Would  to  God  we  were  all  British,  and  spoke  the  same  language, 
and  had  the  same  heart,  the  Rebels  would  soon  listen  to  reason." 

Every  letter  and  account  mentions  plunder.  The  whole 
army  is  alleged  to  have  caught  the  thirst  from  the  Hessians.  One 
letter  says,  "there  is  nothing  so  common  as  to  see  the  soldiers' 
wives,  and  other  women,  who  follow  the  army,  carrying  three  or 
four  silk  gowns,  fine  linen,  etc.,  taken  from  the  houses  on  the 
march,  or  where  they  last  slept.  Many  of  the  soldiers  have  got 
watches,  which  they  have  stolen  in  the  same  manner."1  The 
writer  even  accuses  some  of  the  officers — "the  considerable 
remittances  which  they  have  made  to  England,"  are  urged  as 
proofs  of  the  gain  they  have  made  by  plunder.  After  charging 
the  army  with  "  innumerable  ravishments  "  of  wives  and  daughters 
of  farmers,  the  writer  continues :  "  These  cruelties  and  robberies 
have  irritated  the  Americans  beyond  the  possibility  of  expression, 
and  have  put  peace  totally  out  of  sight.  And  as  to  conquest, 
it  is  ridiculous,  unless  the  army  was  at  least  three  times  larger 
than  it  is,  to  be  stationed  in  every  place  it  conquers." 

Provisions  in  New  York  were  dearer  than  ever — beef,  i4d. 
a  lb.  "by  the  quarter";  mutton  and  veal,  i8d. ;  butter,  4s.  id. 
"a  scant  two-pound  roll";  milk,  7d.  a  quart;  bread  "very  dear"; 
small  cabbages,  7d.  to  iod.  each;  five  eggs  for  7d. ;  wood,  45s. 
the  cord;  coals,  three  guineas  and  a  half  per  chauldron,  and 
"before  got  in,  half  a  guinea  for  carting,  etc.,  more." 

Rumours  from  the  Northern  army  had  begun  to  reach  them, 
and  the  same  writer  exults  in  the  knowledge  that  the  Six  Nations 
are  assembling,  "to  cure  the  New  Englanders,  who  have  caught 
the  itch  of  rambling  towards  their  country." 

Just  at  this  time — before  the  great  misfortunes  and  the  great 
victory  which  were  so  soon  to  attend  the  American  cause — one 
of  these  private  letters  gives  a  terrible  description  of  the  condition 
of  American  prisoners  of  war  in  New  York.  The  writer  says  he 
had  it  from  "a  person  of  veracity"  just  come  out  of  the  city. 
"They  are  allowed  but  3  ounces  of  salt  pork  per  day,  which 
they  are  frequently  obliged  to  eat  raw ;  and  three  pounds  of  bread 
per  week.  The  humane  and  compassionate  (for  such  it  seems 
there  are  even  among  Tories)  are  debarred  from  affording  them 
the  least  assistance ;  and  they  are  insulted  and  abused  in  the 
grossest  and  most  illiberal  manner."  This  was  to  force  them  to 
enlist  in  the  British  service. 

1  "  Other  Particulars,"  etc. 


IN  NEW  YORK  481 

An  account  printed  about  this  time  in  the  New  London  Gazette 
gives  the  prisoners'  own  story  of  their  treatment  after  being  taken 
at  Long  Island.  "They  were  robbed  of  all  their  baggage,  and 
of  whatever  money  they  had,  though  it  were  paper,  and  could  be 
of  no  advantage  to  the  enemy,  of  their  silver  buckles,  knee-buckles, 
etc.,  and  many  were  stripped  almost  naked  of  cloaths,  especially 
those  who  had  good  cloaths  were  stripped  at  once,  being  told, 
that  such  cloaths  were  too  good  for  rebels.  .  .  .  They  were  unable 
to  shift  even  their  linen,  and  were  obliged  to  wear  the  same 
shirts  for  three  or  four  months  together,  whereby  they  became 
extremely  nasty  and  lousy.  .  .  .  They  were  in  the  first  place  put 
on  board  the  ships,  and  thrust  down  into  the  hold,  where  not  a 
breath  of  fresh  air  could  be  obtained,  and  they  were  nearly 
suffocated  for  want  of  air;  particularly  some  who  were  taken  at 
Fort  Washington  ...  in  such  numbers  that  even  at  the  cold 
season  of  November,  they  could  scarcely  bear  any  cloaths  on 
them,  being  kept  in  a  constant  sweat.  Yet  these  same  persons 
.  .  .  were  of  a  sudden  taken  out,  and  put  into  some  of  the  churches 
in  New  York,  without  covering  or  a  spark  of  fire  .  .  .  the  con- 
sequence was,  that  they  took  such  colds  as  brought  on  the 
most  fatal  diseases,  and  swept  them  off  almost  beyond  con- 
ception. 

"  Besides  these  things,  they  suffered  extremely  for  want  of 
provisions,  and  even  water.  The  Commissary  pretended  to 
allow  them  half  a  pound  of  bread,  and  four  ounces  of  pork,  per 
day ;  but  of  this  pittance  they  were  much  cut  short.  What  was 
given  them  for  three  days,  was  not  enough  for  one  day,  and  in 
some  instances  they  went  for  three  days  without  a  single  mouthful 
of  food  of  any  kind.  They  were  pinched  to  that  degree,  that 
some  on  board  the  ships  would  pick  up  and  eat  the  salt  which 
happened  to  be  scattered  there ;  others  gathered  up  the  bran 
which  the  light  horse  wasted,  and  eat  that  mixed  with  dirt  and 
filth  as  it  was.  Nor  was  this  all,  both  the  bread  and  pork  which 
they  did  allow  them,  was  extremely  bad ;  for  the  bread,  some 
of  it  was  made  out  of  the  bran  which  they  brought  over  to  feed 
their  light  horse,  and  the  rest  of  it  was  so  mouldy,  and  the  pork 
was  so  damnified,  being  soaked  in  bilge  water,  in  the  transportation 
from  Europe,  that  they  were  not  fit  to  be  eaten  by  human 
creatures,  and  when  they  were  eaten  were  very  unwholesome. 
Such  bread  and  pork  as  they  would  not  pretend  to  give  to  their 
own  men,  they  gave  to  our  poor,  sick,  dying  prisoners." 

We  doubtless  see  here  the  sequel  to  the  voyage  of  Colonel 
Barre's  hogs,  and  to  the  unsaleable  flour  worked  off  by  enterpris- 
vol.  1. — 31 


482  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

ing  contractors  on  the  British  Army — these  provisions  now  found 
their  legitimate  use  in  poisoning  the  enemy. 

"Nor  were  they  in  this  doleful  situation  allowed  a  sufficiency 
of  water.  One  would  have  thought  that  water  is  so  plenty  and 
cheap  an  element,  that  they  would  not  have  grudged  them  that.  .  .  . 
The  water  allowed  them  was  so  brackish,  and  withal  nasty,  that 
they  could  not  drink  it  until  reduced  to  extremity.  Nor  did  they 
let  them  have  a  sufficiency  even  of  such  water  as  this. 

"  When  winter  came  on,  our  poor  people  suffered  extremely 
for  want  of  fire  and  cl oaths  to  keep  them  warm.  They  were 
confined  in  churches,  where  there  were  no  fireplaces.  .  .  .  Wood 
was  allowed  them  only  for  cooking  their  pittance  of  victuals ;  and 
for  that  purpose  very  sparingly.  They  had  none  to  keep  them 
warm  even  in  the  extremest  of  the  weather,  although  they  were 
almost  naked,  and  the  few  cloaths  they  had  left  were  thin  summer 
cloaths.  Nor  had  they  a  single  blanket,  nor  any  bedding,  not 
even  straw,  allowed  them,  till  a  little  before  Christmas.  .  .  . 

"At  the  time  that  these  were  taken  on  Long  Island,  a  con- 
siderable part  were  sick  of  the  dysentry,  and  with  this  distemper 
on  them  were  crouded  first  on  board  of  the  ships,  afterwards  into 
the  churches  in  New  York,  three,  four,  or  five  hundred  together, 
without  any  blankets,  or  anything  for  even  the  sick  to  lie  upon, 
but  the  bare  floors  or  pavements.  In  this  situation,  that  contagious 
distemper  soon  communicated  from  the  sick  to  the  well.  ...  Of 
this  distemper  numbers  died  daily,  and  many  others  .  .  .  contracted 
fevers  and  died  of  them.  During  their  sickness  with  these  and 
other  diseases,  they  had  no  medecine,  nothing  soothing  or  com- 
fortable for  sick  people,  and  were  not  so  much  as  once  visited  by 
any  physician  by  the  month  together. 

"  Nor  ought  we  to  omit  the  insults  which  the  humane  Britons 
offered  to  our  people,  nor  the  artifices  which  they  used  to  induce 
them  to  enlist  into  their  service,  and  fight  against  their  country.  .  .  . 
It  seems  that  one  end  of  their  starving  our  people,  was  to  bring 
them  by  dint  of  necessity  to  turn  rebels  to  their  own  country, 
their  conscience,  and  their  God  ;  for  while  thus  famishing,  they 
would  come  and  say  to  them,  'This  is  the  just  punishment  for 
your  rebellion, — nay,  you  are  treated  too  well  for  rebels, — you 
have  not  received  half  you  deserve,  nor  half  you  shall  receive ;  but 
if  you  will  inlist  into  his  Majesty's  service,  you  shall  have  victuals 
and  cloaths  enough.' 

"  As  to  insults,  the  British  officers,  besides  continually  cursing 
and  threatening  at  them  as  rebels,  often  threatened  to  hang  them 
all;  and  at  a  particular  time  ordered  a  number  to  choose  each 


IN  NEW  YORK  483 

man  his  halter,  out  of  a  parcel  offered,  wherewith  to  be  hanged ; 
and  even  went  so  far  as  to  cause  a  gallows  to  be  erected  before 
the  prison,  as  if  they  were  immediately  to  be  executed.  They 
further  threatened  to  send  them  all  to  the  East  Indies,  and  sell 
them  there  for  slaves.  .  .  . 

"  In  this  situation  ...  no  wonder  that  they  all  became  sickly  .  .  . 
no  wonder  they  died  by  scores  in  a  night.  And  those  who  were 
so  far  gone  as  to  be  unable  to  help  themselves,  the  workings  of 
their  distemper  passing  through  them,  as  they  lay,  could  not  be 
cleansed  for  want  of  cloaths ;  so  that  many  lay  for  six,  seven,  or 
eight  days  in  all  the  filth  of  nature  and  of  the  distemper,  till  death, 
more  kind  than  Britons,  put  an  end  to  their  misery. 

"By  these  means,  and  in  this  way,  above  fifteen  hundred 
Americans,  who  had  nobly  gone  forth  to  the  defence  of  their 
injured  oppressed  country  .  .  .  died  in  New  York :  many  of  them 
were  very  amiable  promising  youths,  of  good  families,  the  flower 
of  our  land.  And  of  those  who  lived  to  come  out  of  prison,  the 
greatest  part,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  are  either  dead  or  dying  : 
their  constitutions  are  broken,  their  stamina  of  nature  worn  out, 
they  cannot  recover,  they  die.  .  .  . 

"  I  shall  subjoin  the  manner  in  which  they  buried  those  of  our 
people  who  died. — They  dragged  them  out  of  their  prison  by  one 
leg,  or  one  arm ;  piled  them  up  without  doors ;  there  let  them  be, 
till  a  sufficient  number  were  dead  to  make  a  cart-load;  then 
loaded  them  up  in  a  cart ;  drove  the  cart  thus  loaded  out  to  the 
ditches  made  by  our  people  when  fortifying  New  York,  there  they 
would  tip  the  cart,  tumble  the  corpses  together  into  the  ditch, 
and  afterwards  lightly  cover  them  with  dirt. 

"By  these  things,  we  learn  the  temper  of  our  enemies.  .  .  . 
Where,  in  all  history,  can  we  find  an  instance  of  more  horrid 
treatment  of  prisoners  ?  Even  the  famous  instance  of  Calcutta  is 
not  to  be  compared  with  this :  that  respected  a  few,  only  140 ; 
this,  more  than  3000 ;  that  was  finished  in  one  night ;  this  was 
continued  for  four  or  five  months;  that  appears  to  have 
been  either  inconsideration  or  sudden  heat  of  passion;  this 
must  have  been  the  effect  of  cool  reflection  and  a  preconcerted 
system.  .  .  . 

"The  prisoners  we  have  taken,  have  enjoyed  liberty  to  walk 
and  ride  about  within  large  limits,  at  their  pleasure;  have  been 
fully  supplied  with  every  necessary,  and  have  ever  lived  on  the 
fat  of  the  land.  .  .  .  And  this  generous  treatment,  it  is  said,  they 
could  not  but  remember;  for  when  they  were  returned  in  the 
exchange  of  prisoners,  and  saw  the   miserable,   famished,  dying 


484  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

state  of  our  prisoners,  conscious  of  the  treatment  they  had  received, 
they  could  not  refrain  from  tears."1 

Those  who  lived  to  come  out  were  such  wrecks  that  when 
Washington  saw  them  he  refused  to  give  an  equal  number  of  his 
own  well-fed  prisoners  for  them.  He  wrote  to  General  Howe  to 
remonstrate  on  this  treatment  of  prisoners.  The  reply  excites 
wonder  at  Howe's  reputation  for  humanity.  "  To  what  cause  a 
speedy  death  of  a  large  part  of  them  is  to  be  attributed,  I  cannot 
determine.  How  is  the  cause  of  debility  in  prisoners  to  be 
ascertained  ?  "  2 

Towards  the  end  of  April  an  exchange  was  effected,  but  Howe 
still  would  not  give  up  Lee;  and  only  by  reiterated  threats  of 
retaliation  did  Washington  prevent  his  being  sent  to  England. 
Germaine,  at  the  King's  instance,  was  always  writing  to  demand  him. 

It  was  just  now  that  Congress  gave  deadly  offence  to  Brigadier- 
General  Arnold  by  not  including  him  in  a  new  batch  of  Major- 
Generals.  Washington  thought  it  must  be  an  oversight,  and 
entreated  Arnold  to  wait  patiently  till  he  could  get  it  remedied. 
Arnold  demanded  an  enquiry — when  it  appeared  that  no  slight 
was  intended,  but  as  Connecticut  already  had  the  two  Major- 
Generals,  to  which  her  contribution  entitled  her,  he  had  been 
passed  over.  Washington  observed  that  this  was  "a  strange 
mode  of  reasoning."  Presently  happened  Tryon's  expedition  to 
Danbury,  when  Wooster  and  Arnold  led  the  militia,  and  made  so 
gallant  a  resistance  that  Tryon  was  glad  to  get  back  to  his  ships 
as  soon  as  possible.  After  this  Congress  gave  Arnold  his  step, 
but  he  had  lost  his  seniority,  and  the  thought  rankled  in  his 
breast,  although  Congress  voted  him  a  horse  to  replace  the  one 
shot  under  him  at  Danbury. 

1  The  prisoners,  about  a  thousand  in  number,  who  were  imprisoned  in 
England,  suffered  greatly,  though  not  as  these.  They  too  were  often  given 
the  choice  of  being  hanged  or  enlisting  in  the  British  Army.  It  does  not  appear 
that  many  of  them  enlisted,  nor  that  any  of  those  who  refused  were  hanged — 
a  wholesome  dread  of  reprisals  had  been  instilled  by  Washington  into  the 
British  mind,  and  as  these  reprisals  would  of  a  surety  fall  partly  on  the  German 
troops,  and  Frederick  and  Maria  Theresa  were  already  talking  of  permitting 
no  more  Germans  to  be  sent  to  America,  it  was  necessary  to  be  careful. 

2  Letter  of  Sir  William  Howe  to  General  George  Washington,  New  York, 
April  21,  1777. 


CHAPTER   LVII 
"MR.  LEE'S  PLAN" 

"  If  they  can't  act  offensively,  but  want  to  keep  a  footing,  there  are  strong 
reasons  to  think  they  won't  shut  themselves  up  in  towns,  but  take  some  tract 
of  country,  which  will  afford  them  elbow-room.  I  have  particular  reasons 
to  think  they  may  cast  their  eyes  on  the  lower  counties  of  Delaware  and 
Maryland." — General  Lee  to  General  Washington ,  June  1778.1  (Given  in 
Moore's  Treason  of  Charles  Lee. ) 

The  military  operations  of  1777  decided  the  issue  of  the  struggle. 
Before  Saratoga  the  Americans  were  rebels  engaged  in  an 
insurrection  whose  fate  often  seemed  to  hang  on  a  thread;  after 
Saratoga  they  were  Independent  Belligerents,  acknowledged  by 
two  great  European  Powers  as  Sovereign  States.  These  operations 
are  therefore  of  extreme  interest  and  importance ;  and  the  interest 
is  increased  by  the  mystery  which  hangs  over  them. 

Who  was  to  blame  for  Burgoyne's  fiasco?  When  that 
unfortunate  general  was  to  be  made  the  scapegoat  for  the  disaster, 
there  remained  the  awkward  question :  Why  did  not  Sir  William 
Howe  meet  him  at  Albany  ?  The  idea  of  a  junction  between  the 
Northern  army  and  Howe's  was  no  secret  —  it  was  known  in 
America  as  soon  as  it  was  known  in  England.  It  was  indeed  so 
obvious  a  movement  that  neither  Sir  Henry  Clinton  nor  Washington 
could  bring  themselves  to  believe  it  was  not  the  real  intention. 

Most  certainly  it  was  the  first  intention.  Howe's  own  plan 
was  for  a  march  up  and  down  the  Hudson,  ending  in  the  junction 
at  Albany,  and  the  sweep  of  the  whole  country  from  Canada  to 
New  York.  "This,"  wrote  Howe  in  the  winter  of  1776-7, 
"  would  put  those  Independent  Hypocrites  between  two  fires,  and 
open  the  door  wide  for  the  Canadian  army."  But  suddenly,  in 
a  secret  despatch  of  April  2,  Howe  totally  relinquishes  the  idea 
of  any  serious  offensive  movement,  except  to  southward.  He  tells 
Germaine  that  the  Jerseys  must  be  abandoned,  and  Pennsylvania 
invaded  by  sea.  His  letter  to  Carleton  of  April  15,  written  in  a 
1  Just  before  the  evacuation  of  Philadelphia. 

485 


486  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

very  confident  tone,  says  that  he  has  entrusted  to  a  special 
messenger  "information  of  too  delicate  a  nature  to  commit  to 
paper,  and  of  the  utmost  importance  in  favour  of  the  Northern 
army  advancing  to  Albany." 

All  who  were  capable  of  judging  condemned  the  Southern 
Expedition — "absurd,"  "fatal,"  are  words  freely  used  of  it,  and 
this  not  after  the  event  but  before  the  Expedition  started.  A 
copy  of  Stedman's  History  contains  some  marginal  notes  believed 
to  be  in  the  hand  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  One  of  these  says,  "  I 
do  not  think  a  man  in  the  army  except  Cornwallis  and  Grant  did 
not  reprobate  the  movement  to  the  south,  and  see  the  necessity 
of  co-operating  with  Burgoyne."  And  when  we  consider  that  the 
Northern  Expedition  was  an  old  idea  —  older  than  the  war — 
suggested  by  Carleton,  as  soon  as  an  appeal  to  arms  became 
probable — the  sudden  abandonment  of  it — and  of  the  unhappy 
Burgoyne — is  inexplicable.  The  extraordinary  story  of  the  forgotten 
despatch  fully  explains  why  Burgoyne  carried  out  his  part  of  the 
original  plan,  and  Howe  did  not  carry  out  his ;  but  it  leaves  it  as 
great  a  mystery  as  ever  why  Howe  ever  thought  of  doing  anything 
but  meet  Burgoyne. 

Howe's  despatches  show  that  a  great  deal  was  left  to  his  own 
discretion.  It  is  also  certain  that  the  Pennsylvanian  plan  was  Howe's 
and  not  Germaine's.  In  his  despatch  of  June  3,  speaking  of  his 
intention  to  open  the  campaign  by  a  movement  in  the  Jerseys, 
"  where  the  enemy's  principal  strength  still  remains,"  he  adds : 
"and  I  shall  proceed,  as  occurrences  may  arise,  according  to  the 
plan  made  known  to  your  Lordship  in  my  former  despatches."  This 
shows  that  it  was  Howe  who  made  known  the  plan  to  Germaine, 
and  not  Germaine  who  sent  the  plan  to  Howe.  At  the  same  time 
Germaine  must  have  known  that  Howe  would  not  be  able  to 
co-operate  with  Burgoyne  if  he  went  south.  On  July  15  Howe 
writes  that  he  has  heard  Burgoyne  is  before  Ticonderoga;  and 
"  later  intelligence  "  leaves  no  doubt  the  fort  has  fallen ;  but  not  a 
single  word  in  this  despatch  betrays  that  he  supposes  his  own 
movements  are  now  to  be  in  any  way  dependent  on  those  of 
Burgoyne. 

Howe  had  a  reason  for  the  change  of  plan.  When  his  conduct 
was  enquired  into,  in  1779,  he  rested  his  defence  on  two  grounds — 
one,  that  he  was  given  a  full  discretion  as  to  what  movements  were 
advisable;  and  that  he  never  received  any  despatch  from  Lord 
George  Germaine,  suspending  this  discretion,  and  explicitly  ordering 
him  to  go  north  to  meet  Burgoyne ;  the  other  reason  was  that  he 
had  received  certain  information   during  the   last  winter,  from   a 


"  MR.  LEE'S  PLAN  "  487 

provincial  officer^  which  led  him  to  suppose  that  the  whole  State  of 
Pennsylvania  was  ready  to  rise  for  the  King.  This  officer  was  said 
to  have  been  in  Philadelphia,  but  his  name  was  never  known.  Is 
it  necessary  to  suppose  he  really  was  in  Philadelphia  ?  What  if  he 
were  in  New  York,  a  prisoner  ?  The  mention  of  New  York  would 
then  become  extremely  unadvisable — suspicion  would  infallibly  be 
directed  to  General  Charles  Lee,  and  there  were  the  strongest 
reasons  for  not  allowing  the  Americans  to  suspect  he  was  betray- 
ing them.  Whether,  however,  there  were  two  traitors  or  only  one, 
during  this  winter,  while  Washington  was  straining  every  nerve  to 
obtain  Lee's  release,  Lee  was  planning  the  ruin  of  the  American 
cause. 

In  all  probability  Washington  saved  Lee's  life,  by  refusing  to 
exchange  any  prisoners  until  Lee  was  recognised  as  a  prisoner  of 
war,  and  by  threatening  that  if  Lee  was  sent  to  England  the 
British  and  Hessian  officers  in  his  possession  should  go  into  close 
confinement.  By  Germaine's  order,  Lee  was  three  times  put  on 
a  ship  for  England,  but  Washington's  letter  arrived  and  he  was 
relanded.     It  would  not  do  to  offend  the  Germans  ! 

In  his  captivity  Lee  was  "usually  writing,"  and  on  the  29th  of 
March,  1777,  he  laid  before  the  Howes  a  "plan  of  reconciliation." 

This  plan  still  exists  in  Lee's  own  handwriting,  and  is  endorsed 
"  Mr.  Lee's  plan."  It  begins  with  an  apology.  Lee  believes  that 
America  has  no  chance  of  success — and  success,  if  she  obtained 
it,  would  be  her  ruin.  But  she  must  give  in  in  the  end ;  and  if 
Great  Britain  has  suffered  very  heavily  in  making  her  submit,  it 
will  be  the  worse  for  her.  So  being  convinced  that  Lord  and  Sir 
William  Howe  will  be  as  moderate  as  their  powers  allow — and  also 
convinced  that  these  powers  are  more  ample  than  they  may  as 
yet  make  known — he  feels  bound  in  conscience  to  furnish  "all  the 
lights  he  can." 

Sir  William  Howe  had  asked  for  15,000  more  men,  to  "finish 
the  war  in  a  year  "  ;  and  the  chief  part  of  the  small  reinforcement 
given  in  answer  had  been  sent  with  Burgoyne  to  Canada,  where- 
upon Howe  had  written  to  the  Secretary  of  State  that  his  force 
was  insufficient,  and  that  "the  northern  expedition  must  expect 
little  assistance  from  him."  It  is  therefore  rather  a  curious  co- 
incidence that  "Mr.  Lee's  plan"  is  formed  for  the  force  which 
Howe  actually  had  with  him.  "  I  will  suppose,"  says  Lee,  "  that 
besides  the  troops  in  Rhode  Island,  General  Howe  has  20,000 
men  fit  for  service."  Here  he  digresses  to  express  his  belief  that 
the  taking  of  Philadelphia  will  have  no  decisive  consequences — 
Congress    will    adjourn,    and    meet    somewhere    else ;    he    adds 


488  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

significantly,  "  they  look  to  Europe."  The  thing  to  be  done  is  to 
"unhinge  or  dissolve  the  whole  system  or  machine  of  resistance, 
or,  in  other  terms,  Congress  government."  This  system  depends 
on  the  disposition  of  the  provinces  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  and 
Pennsylvania.  If  Maryland  is  reduced,  and  Virginia  prevented 
from  marching  to  help  Pennsylvania,  "the  whole  machine  is 
dissolved."  The  difficulty  of  passing  and  repassing  the  North 
River  will  keep  the  New  Englanders  at  home — it  is  not  worth 
while  to  meddle  with  them ;  it  is  enough  to  protect  Rhode  Island 
and  New  York  from  their  incursions.  Fourteen  thousand  men  will 
be  more  than  enough  to  clear  the  Jerseys,  and  take  Philadelphia. 
Let  four  thousand  more  go,  half  of  them  up  the  Potomac  and 
take  Alexandria,  and  the  other  half  up  Chesapeak  Bay  and  take 
Annapolis.  These  two  posts  are  easy  to  take,  and  once  taken 
can  easily  be  made  very  strong ;  and  they  are  only  an  easy  day's 
march  apart.  The  Germans  will  come  in  rather  than  "see  their 
fine  farms  ravaged."  (Frederick  County  in  Maryland,  and  York 
County  in  Pennsylvania  were  all  German.)  Then  proclaim 
pardons. 

Thus  Lee's  plan  was  to  paralyse  the  heart  of  the  Middle 
States. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Howe  contented  himself  with  talking 
vaguely  of  the  "  provincial  officer  "  who  misled  him  with  regard  to 
Pennsylvania.  The  immediate  result  of  the  southern  expedition 
was  the  utter  ruin  of  the  northern,  and  the  capture  of  an  army; 
the  final  result  was  the  evacuation  of  Philadelphia,  and  the 
abandonment  of  whatever  had  been  gained  by  two  pitched 
battles  and  a  score  of  skirmishes.  By  1779  it  was  obvious  to 
every  man  in  England  that  Howe  had  gone  south  on  a  fool's 
errand.  He  had  given  up  a  good  plan  for  a  foolish  one.  He 
would  not  have  made  matters  better  by  confessing  that  he  had 
listened  to  Charles  Lee  against  the  judgment  of  every  officer  in 
the  British  army. 


CHAPTER   LVIII 
GENERAL  BURGOYNE 

"  It  may  be  asked  in  England,  'What  is  the  Admiral1  doing?'  .  .  .  That 
he  is  not  supplying  us  with  sheep  and  oxen,  the  dinners  of  the  best  of  us  bear 
meagre  testimony.  .  .  .  He  is  not  employing  his  ships  to  keep  up  communication 
and  intelligence  with  the  King's  servants  ...  for  I  do  not  believe  General 
Gage  has  received  a  letter  from  any  correspondent  out  of  Boston  these  six 
weeks.  He  is  intent  upon  greater  objects,  you  will  think  ...  he  is  doubtless 
.  .  .  laying  the  towns  in  ashes  that  refuse  his  terms  ?  Alas  !  he  is  not.  British 
thunder  is  diverted  or  controlled  by  pitiful  attentions  and  mere  Quaker-like 
scruples." — General  Burgoyne  to  Lord  George  Germaine,  Boston,  Aug.  20,  1775. 

"Accustomed  to  felling  of  timber  and  to  grubbing  up  trees,  they  are  very 
ready  at  earthworks  and  palisading." — Reflections  upon  the  War  in  America, 
Burgoyne  (summer  of  1775). 

Meanwhile  much  had  happened  in  Canada. 

General  Burgoyne  was  sent  to  Quebec  in  the  early  summer  of 
1776 — going  from  England,  whither  he  had  returned  in  the  autumn 
°f  J775 — 1°  act  as  second  in  command  under  Governor  Carleton, 
in  driving  the  American  invaders  out  of  Canada.  So  gloomy 
seemed  the  prospect  of  affairs,  that  in  a  pamphlet,  written  just 
before  leaving  England,  Burgoyne  speaks  as  though  he  supposed 
it  quite  possible  that  Quebec  had  fallen.  He  found  the  town 
very  much  knocked  about.  Anburey  says  that  many  houses  had 
been  destroyed  for  fuel,  or  to  prevent  their  harbouring  the  besiegers ; 
others  were  damaged  by  shot  and  shell ;  while  the  lower  town  had 
been  set  fire  to  and  almost  destroyed  by  the  Americans,  when 
they  found  they  could  not  hold  it.  The  inhabitants  had  been 
compelled  to  live  in  the  cellars  of  their  houses  during  the  siege — 
"the  only  place  that  could  afford  them  the  least  shelter."  All 
agreed  that  only  the  extraordinary  exertions  of  General  Carleton 
had  saved  the  town. 

With  the  troops  sent  out  with  Burgoyne,  the  British  army  in 
Canada  numbered  12,000  men,  of  whom  about  a  third  were 
Hessians  or  Bruns wickers.  Burgoyne's  record  as  a  soldier  was 
not  important,  but  it  was  very  romantic.     He   entered   the  army 

1  "  The  Admiral  "  was  Samuel  Graves.     He  was  soon  recalled. 
489 


490  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

early — then  ran  away  with  the  Earl  of  Derby's  daughter,  and  lived 
for  some  years  on  the  Continent,  as  he  was  too  poor  to  live  in 
England  in  the  style  befitting  his  wife's  rank.1  When  the  Seven 
Years'  War  began,  he  re-entered  the  service,  took  part  in  the 
attack  on  Cherbourg  in  1758,  and  in  the  unfortunate  expedition 
against  St.  Malo  in  the  same  year.  In  1759  he  was  selected  to 
form  the  two  regiments  of  light  dragoons,  which  were  the  first  light 
cavalry  introduced  into  British  armies,  and  the  corps  was  spoken 
of  as  "  Burgoyne's  Light-Horse."  He  took  part  in  both  the  expedi- 
tions against  Belle  Isle  in  1760.  In  1762  he  went  to  Portugal 
with  the  contingent  sent  by  England  to  defend  that  country  from 
Spain  and  France,  who  wished  to  force  her  to  give  up  her  neutrality, 
and  enter  into  their  alliance  against  England.  In  this  campaign 
Burgoyne  took  the  town  of  Valentia  d' Alcantara  by  a  very  bold 
coup-de-main,  riding  into  the  square  at  sunrise  before  the  garrison 
dreamed  that  an  enemy  was  near. 

In  civil  life  Burgoyne  had  also  distinguished  himself,  had 
written  one  or  two  tolerable  plays — one  of  which  was  rather 
successful — and  had  made  some  figure  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
On  a  few  occasions  he  had  voted  with  Opposition,  but  was  a 
supporter  of  Administration  on  the  question  of  America.  He 
spoke  and  voted  against  repealing  the  tea-duty.  He  had  taken 
a  very  great  part  in  the  enquiry  into  the  affairs  of  the  East  India 
Company,  and  had  done  his  best  to  expose  the  iniquities  of  Clive's 
administration.  He  was  vain,  and  somewhat  frivolous,  but  he  had 
the  instincts  of  a  soldier  and  a  gentleman,  and  showed  a  disregard 
of  worldly  advantage  where  honour  was  concerned,  which  goes  far 
to  atone  for  many  of  his  weaknesses.  He  perhaps  owed  his 
present  appointment  as  much  to  Germaine's  hatred  of  Carleton 
as  to  favour  to  himself.  Carleton  had  offended  Germaine — 
who  never  forgot  or  forgave — by  declining  to  take  upon  his  staff 
an  incompetent  protkge  of  the  Minister's,  and  only  the  favour  of 
the  King  prevented  Carleton's  immediate  recall.  Burgoyne  him- 
self was  not  very  eager  for  a  military  appointment  in  America. 
He  considered  negotiation  to  be  his  forte,  and  had  tried  hard  to 
get  the  Ministry  to  make  him  Tryon's  successor  at  New  York — 
he  was  convinced  that  he  could  have  "united  that  province  in 
loyalty  and  obedience,"  if  he  might  have  gone  there  as  Governor 
in  1775  with  but  three  or  four  regiments. 

He  had  with  him  a  large  staff  of  distinguished  officers.  Seldom 
has  a  General  had  one  more  brilliant.     He  had  several  English 

1  In   France   Burgoyne    formed  a  lasting    friendship   with   the   Duke   and 
Duchess  de  Choiseul. 


GENERAL  BURGOYNE  491 

and  Scottish  lords,  four  members  of  Parliament,  and  more  than 
thirty  of  his  British  officers  afterwards  became  general  officers. 
Phillips,  his  second  in  command,  commanded  the  British  artillery 
at  Minden,  and  was  thanked  in  Prince  Ferdinand's  General  Orders 
next  day.  Brigadier-General  Fraser— of  the  Lovat  family,  but  not, 
as  has  been  supposed,  a  son  of  old  Simon  Lovat — was  one  of  the 
rising  officers  in  the  army.  Major  Acland,  the  hot-headed  Somerset- 
shire Squire,  who  used  to  make  violent  speeches  in  Parliament 
against  the  rebels,  was  a  brave  and  generous  man,  adored  by  his 
young  wife,  who  had  followed  him  to  the  war.  Kingston,  once  of 
Burgoyne's  Light-Horse  in  Portugal,  was  now  his  Adjutant-General ; 
and  not  the  least  excellent  of  the  officers  was  Lieutenant  Schank,  a 
Scot,  already  the  inventor  of  the  centre-board,  who  had  come  to 
make  the  floating  bridges  which  would  be  wanted  if  the  army  was 
ever  to  get  to  Albany.  Of  the  German  officers,  the  chief  was 
General  Baron  von  Riedesel,  a  trusted  officer  of  Prince  Ferdinand ; 
and  under  him,  Colonel  Baum  and  Colonel  Breymann. 

There  were  soon  to  be  others — stranger  figures — the  strangest 
La  Corne  St.  Luc,  the  old  Auvergnat  frontier-fighter,  who  began 
his  career  by  leading  the  Iroquois  against  the  English — scalping 
them  as  opportunity  offered.  He  was  now  in  the  English  service, 
a  Legislative  Councillor,  strongly  opposed  to  the  Quebec  Act. 
He  was  in  command  of  the  Ottawas.  (It  is  odd  that  English 
accounts  always  call  them  "  Savages,"  while  the  Americans  usually 
say  "  Indians.")  Second  under  St.  Luc  was  another  strange 
figure — Charles  de  Langlade,  the  same  who  led  these  very  same 
nations  against  poor  Braddock  on  the  dreadful  day  by  the 
Monongahela. 

The  regiments  were  even  more  distinguished  than  the  officers — 
they  were  among  the  most  famous  in  the  British  Army.  The 
21st  (Royal  North  British  Fusileers)  fought  its  first  battle  at 
Both  well  Brig,  in  1679,  and  had  been  in  nearly  every  important 
action  since.  The  20th  began  service  at  the  Boyne,  and  several 
others  went  back  to  Queen  Anne. 

At  first  all  went  well.  Thompson's  daring  attack  on  Three 
Rivers — on  the  8th  of  June — failed  ignominiously ;  Fraser  defeated 
and  took  him  prisoner.  Arnold  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  camp 
at  Sorel,  and  all  that  he  and  Sullivan  could  do  at  St.  John's  and 
Chamblee  was  to  destroy  what  they  could  not  carry  away.  The 
camp  at  Isle-aux-Noix  was  so  unhealthy  that  sickness  broke  out, 
and  Sullivan  crossed  Lake  Champlain  to  gain  Crown  Point.  The 
battle  must  now  be  by  water.  Both  British  and  Americans  set  about 
getting  ready  a  flotilla  to  dispute  the  mastery  of  Lake  Champlain. 


492  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Lieutenant  Schank  built  the  Inflexible  at  Quebec.  Then  she 
was  taken  apart  and  carried  to  Chamblee,  then  on  to  St.  John's,1 
and  there  put  together  again.  Her  keel  was  laid  the  second  time 
on  September  2,  and  by  sunset  of  that  day  she  was  as  far  advanced 
as  she  had  been  at  Quebec.  Three  hundred  carpenters  had  been 
sent  for  to  New  York,  and  though  only  half  the  number  came, 
they  worked  at  such  a  rate  that  sometimes  trees  that  in  the 
morning  were  growing  were  forming  part  of  a  ship  at  night. 
Carleton  had  parts  of  vessels  sent  from  England.  Other  boats 
were  dragged  overland,  or  up  the  rapids  of  the  Sorel,  and  the 
Canadian  farmers  were  compelled  to  help.  If  a  British  fleet 
could  get  the  command  of  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  the 
north  of  New  York  State  would  be  at  their  mercy.  Before  winter 
the  army  might  be  at  Albany,  and  the  rebellion  would  be  cut 
in  two.  But  first,  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  must  be  taken, 
and  the  utmost  exertions  could  not  get  the  fleet  ready  before  the 
end  of  September.  When  it  was  ready  there  were  from  twenty 
to  thirty  sail  in  all.  Carleton's  flag-ship,  the  Inflexible,  mounted 
eighteen  12-pounders — the  rest  were  gun-boats,  a  gondola  and  a 
flat-bottomed  vessel,  called  a  "  radeau,"  and  named  the  Thunderer, 
with  a  battery  of  six  24-pounders,  and  twelve  6-pounders,  besides 
howitzers.  He  had  with  him  700  seamen.  Burgoyne,  as  yet 
only  second  in  command,  went  with  him.  Captain  Pringle 
superintended  the  naval  operations. 

Arnold  had  stationed  his  little  fleet  under  cover  of  Valcour 
Island,  in  the  upper  part  of  a  deep  channel,  between  the  island 
and  the  mainland.  He  had  three  schooners,  two  sloops,  three 
galleys,  and  eight  gondolas — carrying  in  all  70  guns,  many  of  them 
18-pounders.  On  October  n  the  British  ships,  sweeping  on  with 
fair  wind,  had  passed  the  island  before  they  saw  him — anchored 
across  the  strait.  Pringle  hauled  close  to  the  wind,  and  tried  to 
beat  up  the  channel,  but  the  wind  was  against  him  and  the 
largest  ship  could  not  enter.  Arnold  was  on  board  his  own 
largest  galley,  the  Congress.  Leaving  his  line,  he  advanced 
with  the  other  two  galleys,  and  the  schooner  Royal  Savage? 
hoping  to  deal  with  the  smaller  British  vessels  before  the  larger 
could  come  up.  About  noon  the  British  opened  a  brisk  fire, 
which  was  returned.  In  trying  to  return  to  the  line  the  Royal 
Savage  ran  aground.  The  crew  set  her  on  fire  and  abandoned 
her.  In  about  an  hour  Pringle  brought  all  his  gun-boats  in  a 
line  across  the  channel.     The  ships  were  now  within  musket-shot. 

1  St.  John's,  on  the  Richelieu,  27  miles  south-east  of  Montreal. 

2  She  was  a  captured  British  ship. 


GENERAL  BURGOYNE  493 

A  large  body  of  Indians  had  been  landed  on  the  island  to  gall 
the  Americans  from  shore — their  fire  did  not  prove  very  formidable, 
but  their  war-whoops  added  to  the  fury  of  the  fight.  It  was  a 
desperate  one,  and  Arnold  was  in  the  hottest  of  it — encouraging 
his  men,  and  often  pointing  the  guns  himself.  So  they  fought 
till  evening,  when  Pringle  called  off  the  smaller  vessels,  and 
anchored  his  squadron  across  the  channel  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  Americans,  to  prevent  their  escape.  But  the  night  was  dark 
and  cloudy  —  Arnold  slipped  out  through  the  British  line,  each 
vessel  following  a  light  in  the  stern  of  the  one  ahead.  By  day- 
light the  flotilla  was  out  of  sight.  But  Arnold  was  compelled 
to  anchor  off  Schuyler's  Island — ten  miles  up  the  lake — to  repair 
damages.  Here  he  sunk  two  gondolas,  damaged  past  patching. 
About  noon  he  resumed  his  retreat,  but  the  wind  was  now 
adverse,  his  sails  were  shattered,  and  his  galley  and  others  fell 
astern  in  the  course  of  the  next  night.  So  in  the  morning,  when 
the  sun  dispersed  the  fog  that  lay  on  the  Lake,  they  saw  the 
British  fleet  in  full  chase,  only  a  few  miles  behind — and  their 
own  consorts  nearly  out  of  sight,  making  for  Crown  Point. 

Arnold  managed  to  get  within  a  few  leagues  of  Crown  Point 
before  he  was  overtaken  by  the  Inflexible,  the  Carleton,  and  the 
Maria.  They  poured  in  a  tremendous  fire.  The  Washington — ■ 
already  shattered  in  the  battle  of  yesterday  —  was  obliged  to 
strike.  Arnold  fought  on,  till  one-third  of  his  men  were  killed. 
Then  he  ran  his  five  shattered  ships  on  shore,  and  set  fire  to  them — 
remaining  on  board  the  Congress  till  he  was  sure  the  British  would 
not  get  her  colours — when  he  took  to  the  woods  with  the  remnant 
of  his  men.  They  reached  Crown  Point  that  night — narrowly 
escaping  an  Indian  ambush.  Arnold's  other  vessels  were  there, 
but,  seeing  that  it  was  impossible  to  hold  Crown  Point,  he  burned 
all  the  stores  and  set  sail  for  Ticonderoga. 

Carleton  took  possession  of  the  ruined  fort,  but  it  was  too 
late  now  to  cross  Lake  George  before  winter — his  plans  had  to 
wait  till  next  year. 


CHAPTER   LIX 
THE  EVACUATION  OF  THE  JERSEYS 

"They,  in  plain  English,  are  turning  me  into  a  kidnapper." — The  King  to 
Lord  North,  Nov.  14,  1775. 

"  We  have  undertaken  a  war  against  farmers  and  farm-houses,  scattered 
through  a  wild  waste  of  continent." — A.  B.  (Quoted  by  Almon.)  Written 
before  the  American  account  of  Trenton  arrived. 

"  What  a  dreadful  thing  it  is  for  such  a  wicked  little  imp  as  man  to  have 
absolute  power." — Walpole  to  Conway,  June,  1776. 

When,  early  in  the  spring,  General  Howe  had  asked  for  15,000 
more  men  "  to  finish  the  war  in  a  year,"  Germaine  thought  this 
too  many — "persons  well-informed  on  the  spot"  had  told  him  so. 
He  promised  4000  more  Germans,  and  told  Howe  this  would  make 
him  35,000  strong,  so  his  army  "would  still  be  equal  to  his  wishes." 
Howe  was  very  angry — especially  as  Germaine  sent  these  reinforce- 
ments by  way  of  Canada.  He  wrote  that  the  army  would  be  too 
weak  for  rapid  success,  that  the  campaign  could  not  begin  as  early 
as  his  lordship  expected,  and  that  the  Northern  army  must  expect 
little  help  from  him.  All  the  private  letters  agree  in  saying  that  no 
one  knew  where  Howe's  army  was  going — for  once  a  secret  was 
kept.  At  the  end  of  May,  Washington's  spies  informed  him  that  a 
fleet  of  one  hundred  sail  had  left  New  York  and  stood  out  to  sea — 
also  that  eighteen  fresh  transports  had  arrived  with  troops  in  a 
foreign  uniform.  They  were  the  Anspachers.  Howe  had  been  wait- 
ing for  them,  and  for  remounts,  and  tents,  and  for  the  grass  to  grow. 
A  reinforcement  of  British  troops  came  with  the  Anspachers. 
The  German  levies  were  falling  off,  both  in  quality  and  quantity — 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick's  last  consignment  was  so  bad  that  Faucit 
would  only  take  222  of  them.  He  wrote,  "I  hardly  remember  to 
have  ever  seen  such  a  parcel  of  miserable,  ill-looking  fellows 
collected  together."  The  terrible  Landgrave  found  1449  men  to 
replace  those  taken  at  Trenton,  and  300  who  had  died  at  New 
Brunswick  at  the  end  of  winter,  of  "a  putrid  epidemic."  The 
Prince  of  Waldeck  got  together  a  scratch  collection,  picked  up  in 

his  own  domain  or  kidnapped  from  his  neighbours — 20  Waldeckers, 

494 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  THE  JERSEYS    495 

23  Suabians,  91  from  Cassel,  and  so  on;  and  kept  them  locked 
up  in  the  Schloss  of  Hamelin  lest  they  should  desert.  Germany 
was  getting  tired  of  the  grenadier-market,  and  several  Princes 
were  refusing  passage,  and  even  claiming  the  recruits  as  their  own. 
The  Anspachers  had  so  little  stomach  to  the  fight  that  they  could 
not  be  trusted  to  carry  their  own  weapons — they  had  to  be  driven 
by  armed  jagers ;  and  at  Ochsenfurt-am-Main,  where  they  were  to 
embark,  they  tried  to  bolt,  and  several  were  shot  down  in  an 
orchard  by  the  jagers.  Some  of  the  details  of  the  infamous  affair 
would  be  incredible  if  they  did  not  rest  on  the  testimony  of  the 
contrivers  of  the  business.  The  Catholic  Princes  in  particular 
discouraged  the  service ;  and  the  two  most  powerful  Sovereigns  of 
Germany,  Frederick  the  Great  and  Maria  Theresa,  were  resolving 
to  put  a  stop  to  it.  There  could  be  no  stronger  proof  that  Great 
Britain  was  exhausting  her  own  resources  than  this  desperate 
attempt  to  buy  up  fighting-men  from  anywhere  and  everywhere. 

But  the  King  had  allies  more  fatal  than  these.  He  was  now 
sending  detailed  orders  for  the  enlistment  of  Indians  in  Canada 
— by  their  help  operations  were  to  be  "extended."  The  only 
difficulty  was  that  the  Indians  wanted  their  own  leaders.  They 
preferred  fighting  without  any  white  men  looking  on,  and  raising 
objections  to  their  methods  of  practising  the  art  of  war.  Germaine, 
by  the  King's  command,  was  urging  greater  severity;  the  King 
wanted  Boston  and  the  other  ports  of  New  England  to  be 
destroyed  by  the  fleet.  But  "Black  Dick"  did  not  care  for  this 
sort  of  fighting.1 

Towards  the  end  of  May  "a  great  stir  among  the  shipping" 
was  reported  to  Washington.  It  was  evident  that  some  important 
movement  was  preparing — but  what?  No  one  knew  where  the 
British  were  going.  It  looked  like  an  expedition  by  water. 
Washington,  who  had  been  planning  "a  stroke"  for  Putnam — 
the  surprise  of  Fort  Independence — was  obliged  to  give  up  all 
idea  of  it,  and  concentrate  his  whole  attention  on  the  Jerseys. 
Was  Howe  going  up  the  Hudson  to  co-operate  with  Carleton  and 
Burgoyne  ?  This  seemed  to  Washington  so  obviously  the  thing  to 
do,  that  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  believe  Howe  meant 
anything   else.     Or  would  he   at  last  try  for  Philadelphia?     For 

1  When  Lord  Howe  was  plagued  by  Englishmen  settled  in  the  Southern 
Colonies  who  had  been  stripped,  and  applied  for  letters  of  marque  to  cruise 
against  the  rebels,  he  sternly  replied,  "  Will  you  never  have  done  with  oppressing 
these  poor  people?  Will  you  never  give  them  an  opportunity  of  seeing  their 
error?"  He  gave  great  offence  by  this.  Eventually  letters  of  marque  were 
granted, 


496  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

this,  too,  Washington  must  be  prepared.  So  far  as  he  could,  he 
strengthened  all  his  posts,  and  ordered  all  his  General  officers  to  be 
on  the  alert.  Already  he  had  sent  Greene,  Knox,  and  Wayne  to 
examine  the  fortifications  of  the  posts  in  the  Highlands.  These 
generals  were  all  for  a  boom,  or  chain — to  go  across  the  Hudson 
from  Fort  Montgomery  to  Antony's  Nose,  and  be  protected  by 
two  ships  and  two  row-galleys.  Putnam  also  had  a  great  fancy 
for  booms  and  obstructions.  Washington  did  not  much  believe 
in  them — he  was  rather  for  looking  to  the  passes.  In  particular, 
to  one  pass  which  he  had  noticed  last  year — "a  wild  and  rugged 
pass  on  the  west  side  of  Hudson,  round  Bull  Hill,  a  rocky,  forest- 
clad  mountain  at  the  entrance  of  Peekskill  Bay."  He  thought  it 
most  important  to  see  that  the  enemy  could  not  take  possession  of 
this  pass,  before  the  garrison  of  Fort  Montgomery  could  assemble 
to  oppose  them.  That  Fort  was  so  important — a  Major-General's 
post — that  Washington  had  offered  it  to  Arnold ;  but  Arnold 
declined — he  must.be  in  Philadelphia  to  settle  his  accounts,  for 
his  enemies  had  put  about  reports  touching  his  integrity.  So 
Washington  gave  him  a  letter  to  the  President  of  Congress, 
bearing  witness  to  his  military  character,  and  countenancing  his 
complaints.1  He  appointed  Brigadier-Generals  George  Clinton 
and  McDougall  to  the  command  of  the  Forts,  and  towards  the 
end  of  May  removed  his  own  camp  to  Middlebrook,  ten  miles 
from  Brunswick,2  to  a  strong  position  among  the  hills  behind  the 
village.  It  commanded  a  wide  view  of  the  country — the  road  to 
Philadelphia,  and  the  course  of  the  Raritan.  Howe  could  not 
move  without  his  knowing  it.  Washington's  whole  force  was  now 
about  7500  men,  from  all  States  south  of  Hudson,  formed  into 
48  regiments  and  10  brigades. 

It  was  believed  in  New  York  that  Howe  was  going  to  bring  off 
Cornwallis,  "  who  begins  to  be  closely  pressed  by  Mr.  Washington 
on  all  sides."  The  writer  of  a  private  letter  says  that  Howe  was 
greatly  chagrined  at  being  obliged  to  leave  Jersey;  "it  was  the 
darling  wish  of  his  heart  to  march  through  Jersey  to  Philadelphia  " 
— no  doubt  to  wipe  out  the  memory  of  his  disappointment  in 
1776.  The  writer  adds,  "No  one  can  tell  where  General  Howe 
intends  to  go."  He  is  not  sanguine,  though  he  does  not  think 
Washington  can  do  anything.  Howe  "may  ravage,  and  desolate 
the  country  for  a  little  while,  with  impunity ;  plunder  farms,  burn 
villages,  etc.,  but  all  this  is  no  permanent  advantage.     The  country 

1  The  Board  of  War  found  the  charges  against  Arnold  false  and  slanderous  ; 
but  his  seniority  was  not  restored. 

2  Cornwallis  had  his  headquarters  at  Brunswick. 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  THE  JERSEYS    497 

force  will  be  collected,  and  he  will  be  again  driven  to  his  ships." 
All  which  happened  exactly  as  the  writer  describes.  He  concludes, 
"  There  is  not  a  sensible  man  in  the  army  in  America,  who  does 
not  reprobate  all  the  notions  and  nonsense  of  conquering  that 
immense  country." 1 

The  army  was  furious  when  it  found  that  Jersey  was  to  be 
evacuated.  That  "arch-plunderer,"  de  Heister,  asked  for  leave, 
and  was  going  home — in  such  a  huff  that  he  asked  to  be  excused 
coming  to  London.  With  him  went  several  other  Hessian  officers. 
Another  private  letter  says  that  Howe  left  New  York  "full  of 
anxiety,  grief,  and  vexation."  The  Scots  in  his  army  had  formed 
a  faction;  they  professed  to  be  offended  because  Howe  did  not 
fight  Mr.  Washington;  but  what  they  meant  was  that  they  were 
disappointed  of  the  plunder  they  had  reckoned  on  in  marching 
through  Jersey.  "Their  example  has  infected  the  English 
soldiery,"  says  the  writer;  "the  army  in  general  is  become  a 
banditti  of  robbers."  "  Howe  is  daily  abused  in  the  several  prints 
under  ministerial  direction  by  the  different  Court  writers,  who  are 
kept  in  constant  pay  for  this  and  other  dirty  purposes."  Every- 
body remembers  how  Gage  used  to  be  abused  by  the  papers  here 
when  he  was  in  Boston.  "  The  Scotch  in  America  and  the  Scotch 
in  England  perfectly  understand  each  other."  This  writer  says 
Howe  wanted  to  wait  for  the  return  of  General  Robertson  2 — who 
took  to  England  his  despatch  of  February  12.  "But  the  Scotch 
were  clamorous.     He  was  afraid  to  disoblige  them." 

A  later  letter  throws  more  light  on  the  "Scotchmen."  "For 
some  time  past,"  says  a  writer,  who  dates  "New  York,  Aug.  8," 
"  the  demand  for  goods  of  all  sorts,  and  the  high  prices  given  for 
them,  has  made  the  fortunes  of  those  who  brought  out  cargoes  with 
them.  This  lucrative  traffic  has  been  confined  to  a  few  favourites, 
chiefly  Scotchmen.  It  was  thought  the  British  prohibitory  Act 
would  have  prevented  the  arrival,  in  America,  of  all  British  goods ; 
but  so  far  from  it,  that  Act  has  thrown  the  whole  trade  into  the 
hands  of  a  few,  who  make  a  monopoly  of  it.  But  the  departure 
of  the  fleet  and  army,  which  has  carried  off  24,000  people,  soldiers, 
sailors,  and  attendants,  together  with  a  proclamation  issued  out, 
prohibiting  all  intercourse  with  the  Jerseys,  has  made  trade  very 
dull  of  late."  By  this  time  beef  was  "is.  9d.  sterling"  a  pound, 
and  other  articles  in  proportion. 

1  Remembrancer,  vol.  v.  pp.  363-4. 

2  "  By  whom  he  expected  orders,  or  at  least  very  interesting  advices"  This 
statement  appears  to  have  reached  England  on  September  9,  1777.  — 
Remembrancer,  v.  364  and  366. 

VOL.  I. — 32 


498  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Howe  had  made  up  his  mind  to  give  up  the  Jerseys,  and  go 
to  Philadelphia  by  the  long  sea-route,  but  he  did  not  mean  to 
leave  Washington  behind.  He  must  draw  him  into  a  general 
action,  and  crush  him.  By  June  6  he  was  moving  most  of  his 
troops  into  Jersey.  "  We  shall  have  warm  work  of  it,"  writes  some- 
one from  Amboy.  On  the  12th,  he  was  at  Brunswick.  The  next 
night  he  went  out  in  force — as  though  pushing  for  the  Delaware — 
but  halted  near  Somerset  Court  House.  Washington  reconnoitred 
— he  feared  this  was  to  lure  him  out  of  his  camp,  but  he  meant 
to  hang  heavily  on  Howe's  rear.  Meanwhile  he  sent  word  to 
Arnold,  now  commanding  in  Philadelphia,  to  be  ready  to  oppose 
an  enemy's  force  to  westward. 

Four  days  the  armies  looked  at  each  other,  each  waiting  to  be 
attacked.  Washington  had  been  reinforced  by  the  New  Jersey 
Militia,  but  Howe  was  still  two  to  one.  He  made  several  feints, 
as  if  to  pass  the  camp  and  go  on  to  the  Delaware,  but  Washington 
was  not  deceived — he  was  sure  Howe  would  not  go  there  until  he 
had  struck  a  blow  at  the  Provincial  Army,  and  he  remained  on  his 
heights.  On  the  19th  Howe  suddenly  returned  to  Brunswick, 
burning  several  "good  houses "  on  his  way.  Next  day  Washington 
heard  from  Schuyler  that  he  had  caught  a  British  spy,  and  learned 
that  Burgoyne  was  arrived  at  Quebec  to  lead  an  invasion  from 
Canada.  A  force  of  British,  Canadians,  and  Indians  was  to  march 
to  the  Mohawk  and  take  up  a  post  between  Fort  Edward  and  Fort 
Stanwix.  If  this  was  true,  Ticonderoga  would  soon  be  attacked, 
and  Schuyler  asked  for  reinforcements.  Washington  sent  word  to 
Putnam  at  Peekskill  to  hold  four  New  England  regiments  ready. 

On  the  22nd  Howe  marched  out  again,  but  this  time  he  went 
towards  Amboy — burning  as  he  went,  and  Greene  and  Morgan 
harassing  his  rear.  When  Washington  found  he  had  really  sent 
his  heavy  baggage  and  some  of  his  troops  over  the  bridge  of  boats 
to  Staten  Island,  he  came  down  to  Quibbletown — six  or  seven  miles 
on  the  road  to  Amboy  —  to  be  nearer  his  advanced  parties. 
Stirling,  with  his  division,  was  at  Matouchin  Church,  nearer  the 
British  lines.  Howe  now  thought  he  had  gained  his  object — a 
general  action  at  great  odds.  He  formed  in  two  columns — 
Cornwallis  leading  one,  and  he  himself  the  other,  and  marched 
back  by  two  different  routes  towards  Quibbletown.  But  in  Jersey 
Washington  always  had  timely  information  of  any  movement  of 
the, British — in  itself  a  proof  of  the  disposition  of  the  province. 
When  Howe  came  up,  Washington  was  already  again  in  his 
fortified  camp  on  the  heights  above  Middlebrook,  and  had  secured 
the  passes.     There  was  a  smart  skirmish  between  Cornwallis  and 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  THE  JERSEYS    499 

Stirling,  near  Quibbletown — it  is  noteworthy  that  Howe's  despatch 
says  Stirling's  artillery  was  "  well  -  disposed,"  and  "  the  enemy 
inclined  to  resist " ;  but  the  Provincials  lost  three  field-pieces,  and 
the  affair  is  represented  as  a  victory.  But  Howe  had  learned  by 
experience  what  it  was  to  advance  through  a  hostile  country  with 
Washington  hanging  on  his  rear.  He  returned  to  Amboy,  broke 
up  his  camp,  and  crossed  the  floating  bridge  to  Staten  Island,  and 
so  to  the  old  camping-ground  in  New  York  Bay.  The  ships 
moved  down  round  the  Island.  The  British  had  evacuated  the 
Jerseys. 

They  seemed  determined  to  be  remembered.  A  letter  written 
by  one  of  Washington's  general  officers,  and  printed  at  the  time, 
says,  "Their  cruelty  to  the  inhabitants  is  beyond  the  powers  of 
human  utterance  to  express;  not  content  with  plundering,  they 
ruined  and  defaced  every  public  edifice,  particularly  those  which 
were  erected  and  dedicated  to  Almighty  God."  This  letter  says 
the  British  ran  from  Brunswick,  at  one  in  the  morning,  "  leaving  their 
blankets,  camp-kettles,  waggons,  etc.,"  and  "  we  took  possession  of 
the  town  in  less  than  15  minutes."1 

And  now  preparations  were  pushed  on  with  all  speed  for  the 
great  expedition.  By  the  5  th  of  July  Howe  had  begun  to  embark 
his  men — the  army  furious  at  the  abandonment  of  Jersey,  and 
everyone  who  knew  where  they  were  going  dead  against  the  plan. 
On  the  10th,  General  Prescot  (the  same  who  put  Ethan  Allen  in 
irons  at  Quebec)  was  surprised  in  his  bed,  at  his  headquarters  in 
Rhode  Island,  by  a  small  party  of  Rhode  Islanders — much  as  Lee 
had  been  captured  six  months  before.  Having  now  caught  an 
undoubted  general,  Washington  immediately  offered  to  exchange 
him  for  Lee,  whom  the  British  still  persisted  in  regarding  as  a  sham 
one.  A  little  before  Prescot  had  set  a  price  on  Arnold's  head,  as 
though  he  had  been  a  highwayman,  and  Arnold  had  retaliated  by 
setting  a  lower  price  on  Prescot's  head.  Now  Prescot  was  captured 
ignominiously,  and  it  became  more  inconvenient  still  to  retain 
Lee. 

Howe  did  not  entirely  ignore  Burgoyne — he  had  written  to  both 
Germaine  and  Carleton  that  the  army  which  was  to  advance  from 
Canada  "would  meet  with  very  little  assistance  from  him."  He 
had  proposed  to  leave  Sir  Henry  Clinton  only  3000  men,  but 
Clinton  had  said  that  if  the  Provincials  knew  what  they  ought  to 
do,  they  would  attack  New  York  as  soon  as  Howe  was  gone ;  so 
Howe  sent  him  back  6000  more — for  they  were  already  embarked. 
Howe  sailed  on  the  24th  July,  for  no  one  knew  where — not  even 
1  Given  by  Almon. 


$00  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

all  his  own  officers.  Just  before  he  started  he  received  a  despatch 
from  Burgoyne  to  say  he  had  taken  Ticonderoga,  and  was  coming 
down  to  Albany.  Howe  replied  that  he  had  ordered  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  to  make  a  diversion ;  and  set  sail. 

Howe  had  spared  no  pains  to  keep  up  Washington's  fears  to 
the  last — as  late  as  July  22  he  sent  a  floating  battery  and  some 
transports  up  the  North  River,  "  but  they  came  down  again  time 
enough  to  sail  at  the  tail  of  the  fleet."  They  had  attained  their 
object,  for  Washington  detached  a  large  body  of  his  own  army  over 
the  North  River. 

The  last  British  sail  had  hardly  disappeared  round  Staten 
Island,  on  the  24th  of  July,  when  Washington  heard  from  General 
St.  Clair — now  in  command  at  Ticonderoga — that  a  British  fleet 
was  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  Burgoyne,  with  the  whole  Canadian 
army,  was  advancing  up  the  lake  to  Ticonderoga. 

Washington  was  now  in  a  terrible  dilemma.  He  knew  but  too 
well  the  importance  of  Ticonderoga,  and  had  sent  Kosciusko  to 
superintend  the  improvement  of  the  fortifications.  St.  Clair — a 
Scotsman  who  had  seen  service  in  the  Old  French  War — was 
confident.  There  was  a  general  belief  that  with  anything  like  a 
garrison  Ticonderoga  was  impregnable — and  St.  Clair  had  3000 
men.  This  movement  of  Howe's  might  be  a  feint  to  engage 
Washington's  attention,  while  the  main  army  got  round  by  sea. 
Or  if  Burgoyne  really  meant  to  break  through  by  Ticonderoga, 
Howe  must  be  co-operating  with  him ;  then  all  the  puzzling 
movements  in  Jersey  had  only  been  to  give  time  for  Burgoyne  to 
arrive,  and  by  moving  nearer  Philadelphia  Washington  would  leave 
Howe  free  to  go  up  the  Hudson,  and  seize  the  passes  of  the 
Highlands — so  opening  the  way  for  Burgoyne.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  Washington  went  to  Peekskill  to  guard  the  passes,  he 
opened  Howe's  way  to  Philadelphia.  And  Washington's  own 
conviction  now  was  that  Philadelphia  was  the  point  aimed  at. 
Deserters  from  Howe  brought  word  that  the  transports  were 
taking  in  three  weeks'  provisions,  and  were  being  fitted  up  with 
stalls  over  their  main-decks  for  the  reception  of  horses.  This 
looked  as  if  a  longer  voyage  were  intended  than  up  the  North 
River. 

Washington  wrote  all  this  to  Congress,  and  did  his  best  to 
be  prepared  for  either  contingency — ordering  two  more  brigades 
to  Peekskill,  calling  out  the  militia,  and  sending  word  to  Schuyler 
to  remove  all  cattle  and  vehicles  from  the  districts  through  which 
Burgoyne  might  pass.  He  also  sent  warnings  to  the  Eastern 
States,  and  even  to  South  Carolina,  that  Howe  was  at  sea  with 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  THE  JERSEYS    501 

his  army.  He  himself  removed  to  Morristown,  to  be  half-way 
between  the  two  points  he  must  guard.  Then  he  gave  the  Jersey 
Militia  leave  of  absence  to  get  in  their  harvest. 

Hardly  was  the  British  fleet  well  out  of  sight  the  second 
time,  when  he  received  fresh  news  from  Canada — St.  Clair  had 
evacuated  Ticonderoga,  and  disappeared  into  the  woods  with  his 
whole  army ! 

Many  a  Commander  would  have  despaired.  But  Washington 
was  of  the  old  Roman  temper,  which  thought  despair  a  sin 
against  one's  country.  He  did  not  pretend  that  the  calamity 
was  not  great — incomprehensible — but  he  refused  to  condemn 
St.  Clair  till  he  knew  more.  Meanwhile  he  said,  "We  should 
never  despair.  Our  situation  before  has  been  unpromising,  and 
has  changed  for  the  better,  as  I  trust  it  will  again.  If  new 
difficulties  arise,  we  must  only  put  forth  new  exertions." 

Of  course  Schuyler  was  blamed — it  was  even  said  he  had 
ordered  the  evacuation.  The  disasters  of  the  invasion  were  raked 
up,  and  everything  was  laid  to  Schuyler's  charge.  It  was  almost 
hinted  that  he  was  a  traitor.  Schuyler  demanded  an  enquiry. 
Then  it  was  said  that,  whether  he  was  to  blame  or  not,  he  was 
unpopular  in  the  Eastern  States  —  and  this  reason  influenced 
many  who  were  not  otherwise  his  enemies.  After  long  debates, 
Congress  sent  for  both  Schuyler  and  St.  Clair  to  go  to  Head- 
quarters to  account  for  the  disasters  in  the  North,  and  Washington 
was  requested  to  appoint  a  general  to  the  Northern  army.  The 
Adamses  entreated  him  to  appoint  Gates,  as  likely  to  restore 
order  and  discipline;  but  Washington  excused  himself  —  the 
Northern  command  was  separate;  Congress  ought  to  make  the 
appointment.     Congress  thereupon  appointed  Gates. 

And  now  Washington  had  his  own  case  to  think  of.  He 
was  convinced  Howe  meant  Philadelphia,  but  all  his  doubts 
vanished  when  a  young  man  brought  him  an  intercepted  letter 
from  Howe  to  Burgoyne,  saying  he  was  going  to  Boston. 
Washington  at  once  marched  to  the  Delaware,  and  on  July  30 
was  only  thirty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  He  was  still  puzzled. 
Howe's  abandonment  of  Burgoyne  appeared  to  him  so  un- 
accountable, "that  I  cannot  help  casting  my  eyes  continually 
behind  me."  Next  day,  however,  it  was  certain.  He  heard 
that  the  British  fleet  of  228  sail  had  been  seen  off  the  Capes 
of  Delaware,  and  instantly  sent  word  to  Schuyler  that  he  would 
have  only  Burgoyne  to  deal  with.  He  himself  moved  to 
Germantown,  six  miles  from  Philadelphia — and  next  day  again 
he  heard  the  British  Fleet  had  sailed  out  of  the  Delaware,  and 


502  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

seemed  to  be  going  east.     Now  once  more  he  feared  it  must  be 
the  Hudson. 

Washington  waited  for  days  at  Germantown,  in  the  utmost 
anxiety.  The  heat  was  intense,  his  army  was  harassed  with  march- 
ings and  countermarchings.  Just  as  he  thought  that  Howe  must 
really  be  gone  east,  and  had  begun  his  march  to  recross  the 
Delaware,  an  express  overtook  him,  on  August  ioth,  with  the  news 
that  three  days  before  the  British  Fleet  was  seen  sixteen  leagues 
south  of  the  Capes  of  Delaware.  Always  dreading  a  feint, 
Washington  sent  to  Putnam,  bidding  him  send  spies  to  ascertain 
whether  Clinton  really  was  in  New  York,  and  what  troops  he  had. 
He  also  sent  Morgan  and  500  riflemen  to  the  Northern  army 
— to  deal  with  the  Indians  in  their  own  way.  Thus  he  was 
trying  to  keep  back  Burgoyne  with  one  hand  and  Howe  with 
the  other. 

He  was  again  so  long  without  hearing  more  of  Howe  that  he 
thought  the  British  must  be  gone  to  Charlestown.  He  had  just 
determined  to  try  "a  stroke"  on  New  York  (having  first  asked 
for  the  approval  of  Congress),  when  intelligence  came  that  the 
British  Fleet  had  entered  the  Chesapeak,  and  anchored  at  Swan 
Point,  at  least  two  hundred  miles  within  the  Capes  of  Virginia. 
It  was  a  strange  route  to  go  to  Philadelphia,  but  Howe  had  heard 
that  the  navigation  of  the  Delaware  had  been  obstructed,  so  had 
come  up  the  Chesapeak,  that  great  arm  of  the  Atlantic  which  runs 
through  the  heart  of  Maryland. 

Now,  at  last,  Philadelphia  must  be  defended.  All  the  divisions 
of  the  army  were  summoned,  the  militia  of  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
and  North  Virginia  were  called  out.  As  there  had  been  much 
disaffection — or  loyalty — in  Philadelphia,  and  the  popular  cause 
had  been  represented  as  hopeless,  and  Washington's  army  as  a 
mere  handful,  he  marched  them  all  through  the  city — "down 
Front  Street  and  up  Chestnut  Street."  Great  pains  were  taken 
to  make  this  an  imposing  display.  The  army  marched  to  military 
music,  and,  "to  give  them  something  of  a  uniform  appearance," 
they  had  sprigs  of  green  in  their  hats.  Lafayette  describes  them 
as,  "eleven  thousand  men  but  tolerably  armed,  and  still  worse 
clad  ...  in  this  party-coloured  and  half-naked  state,  the  best 
dresses  were  hunting  shirts  of  brown  linen.  .  .  .  They  were 
arranged  without  regard  to  size,  except  that  the  smallest  men  were 
the  front  rank;  with  all  this,  there  were  good-looking  soldiers 
conducted  by  zealous  officers."  John  Adams  criticised  them  more 
severely — he  thought  they  did  not  step  quite  in  time,  or  hold  their 
heads  quite  erect,  nor  turn  out  their  toes  quite  as  much  as  they 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  THE  JERSEYS     503 

ought.  This  brisk  little  lawyer  had  the  soul  of  a  martinet ;  he  had 
a  large  mind,  but  a  narrow  heart,  full  of  little  jealousies.  He 
wavered  between  involuntary  tributes  to  the  greatness  of  Wash- 
ington's character,  and  something  which  bordered  on  detraction. 
His  idea  of  war  was  a  series  of  brilliant  actions.  "Washington 
is  very  prudent,"  he  wrote  peevishly.  "I  should  put  more  to 
risk,  were  I  in  his  shoes ;  I  am  sick  of  Fabian  systems.  My  toast 
is,  a  short  and  violent  war."  But  as  Chairman  of  the  War  Board, 
he  did  not  see  to  it  that  Washington  had  the  means  for  shortness 
and  violence.  He  was  much  too  fond  of  raising  regiments  on 
paper — he  thought  that  the  instant  Congress  had  voted  eighty-eight 
battalions,  they  would  spring  full-armed  out  of  the  furrows. 

In  spite  of  the  rags,  and  the  sprigs  of  green  by  way  of  uniform, 
the  Philadelphians  were  surprised  to  see  how  like  a  real  army  it 
looked — the  pioneers  with  their  axes,  the  trains  of  artillery,  the 
trumpets,  and  the  fifes  and  drums.  The  army  marched  on  to 
Wilmington,  where  the  Brandywine  falls  into  Christiana  Creek. 
And  now  came  a  piece  of  good  news — Stark  had  totally  routed 
the  Hessians  and  Indians  at  Bennington,  and — though  of  course 
this  was  not  yet  known — Burgoyne's  fortune  had  turned. 


CHAPTER   LX 
THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  BRANDYWINE 

"Because  you  lived  in  a  little  country,  where  an  army  might  run  over  the 
whole  in  a  few  days,  and  where  a  single  company  of  soldiers  might  put  a 
multitude  to  the  rout,  you  expected  to  find  it  the  same  here.  .  .  .  Were  you 
to  garrison  the  places  you  might  march  over  .  .  .  your  army  would  be  like 
a  stream  of  water  running  to  nothing.  .  .  .  Suppose  our  armies  .  .  .  were 
immediately  to  disperse,  and  engage  to  reassemble  on  a  certain  future  day ; 
it  is  clear  that  you  would  then  have  no  army  to  contend  with,  yet  you  would 
be  as  much  at  a  loss  in  that  case  as  you  are  now :  you  would  be  afraid  to 
send  your  troops  in  parties  .  .  .  and  while  you  kept  them  together,  you 
could  not  call  it  a  conquest  .  .  .  when  we  returned  at  the  appointed  time, 
you  would  have  the  same  work  to  do  that  you  had  at  first." — Paine  {The 
American  Crisis,  iii.  to  Lord  Howe). 

"Their  principal  dependence  is  not  upon  their  arms,  I  believe,  so  much 
as  upon  the  failure  of  our  revenue.  They  think  they  have  taken  such  measures, 
by  circulating  counterfeit  bills,  to  depreciate  the  currency,  that  it  cannot  hold 
its  credit  longer  than  this  campaign.  .  .  .  We  must  disappoint  them  by 
renouncing  all  luxuries.  .  .  .  General  Washington  sets  a  fine  example.  He 
has  banished  wine  from  his  table,  and  entertains  his  friends  with  rum  and 
water.  .  .  .  The  example  must  be  followed  by  banishing  sugar  and  all 
imported  articles  from  our  families.  "—John  Adams  to  his  Wife,  Philadelphia, 
Sept.   i,  1777. 

Calms  and  contrary  winds  kept  Sir  William  Howe  long  at 
sea.  It  was  the  30th  before  he  arrived  off  the  Capes  of  Delaware 
— to  find  that  both  horses  and  men  were  unfit  for  active  service. 
If  he  could  have  marched  at  once,  he  might  have  taken  Phila- 
delphia then  and  there — Congress,  in  a  panic,  was  preparing  to 
fly  a  second  time.  But  he  was  obliged  to  rest  his  army,  and  in 
the  meanwhile  he  received  information  which  made  him  decide 
on  going  farther  round  still — by  Chesapeak  Bay.  He  heard  that 
the  navigation  of  the  Delaware  was  blocked.  He  put  to  sea  again, 
and  the  winds  being  still  contrary,  it  was  the  14th  of  August  before 
the  fleet  was  off  the  Capes  of  Virginia,  the  16th  before  they  entered 
the  Bay,  and  the   22  nd  before  Howe   landed   at   Elk   Ferry,   on 

the  Pennsylvania  side.     Men  and  horses  had  now  been  cooped 

504 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  BRANDYWINE     505 

up  miserably  in  unhealthy  holds  for  nearly  two  months,1  on  salt 
meat  and  pease,  and  not  always  water  enough.  He  was  again 
obliged  to  rest  his  army,  and  to  recruit  the  horses  which  were  still 
alive.  He  lost  another  fortnight.  He  was  now  ten  miles  farther 
from  Philadelphia  than  he  had  been  at  Brunswick. 

He  issued  a  Proclamation,2  promising  protection  to  all  who 
stayed  quietly  at  home,  and  pardon  to  all  in  arms  who  promptly 
returned  to  obedience.  He  also  promised  the  "  strictest  regularity 
and  discipline  "  on  the  part  of  his  army — none  of  "  his  Majesty's 
well-disposed  subjects  "  need  fear  its  "  depredations." 

He  left  General  Grant  to  protect  communications  with  the 
fleet,  and  on  September  8  marched  with  his  main  body,  by  Newark 
(Pa.),  and  encamped  that  evening  on  the  Lancaster  road;  Wash- 
ington's army  being  about  four  miles  off,  at  Hokessen.  Early  in 
the  night  Washington  moved,  and  at  ten  next  morning  crossed 
the  Brandywine  at  Chad's  Ford,  and  took  post  on  the  heights  of 
its  eastern  side. 

The  seventy  miles  which  lay  between  Howe  and  Philadelphia 
presented  great  natural  difficulties  to  an  invader.  The  country 
was  cut  by  deep  streams,  and  was  very  thickly  wooded.  At  the 
Enquiry,  Cornwallis  said  he  "  never  saw  a  stronger  country."  But 
Howe  expected  an  easy  victory.  Had  not  his  secret  informant, 
the  unnamed  "provincial  officer,"  assured  him  that  all  Pennsylvania 
would  rise  for  the  King  the  moment  a  British  army  appeared  to 
protect  the  loyal  from  the  vengeance  of  the  disloyal  ?  And  this  was 
so  far  true,  that  he  was  now  in  the  land  of  passive  obedience,  and 
that  the  Quakers  were  mostly  loyalists. 

But  already  he  had  met  with  resistance.  Greene  and  Stephen 
had  been  in  time  to  remove  most  of  the  stores  at  Head  of  Elk 
before  he  landed.  There  was  a  severe  skirmish  on  the  3rd,  at 
White  Clay  Creek,  between  Howe's  vanguard  and  Maxwell  with 
the  light  troops,  but  Maxwell  had  no  artillery  and  was  obliged  to 
fall  back. 

Howe's  lack  of  horses  made  his  march  slow — Greene  and 
Stephen  harassed  him  with  skirmishes,  and  Henry  Lee  of  Virginia 
("Light  Horse  Harry")  cut  off  his  stragglers. 

All  this  time  Washington  almost  lived  in  the  saddle.     For  the 

1  From  Lord  Howe's  despatches  of  July  9  and  August  28  we  learn  that 
the  whole  force  intended  for  this  service  was  embarked  by  the  9th  of  July. 
The  embarkment  began  on  the  5th. 

2  Aug.  27.  No  time  was  fixed  for  submission — the  day  of  grace  extended 
to  "the  day  on  which  it  shall  be  notified  that  the  said  indulgence  is  to  be 
discontinued," 


506  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

first  time  information  failed  him.  He  was  always  reconnoitring — 
even  running  great  risk  of  capture,  in  his  eagerness  to  discover  how 
many  the  enemy  were.  He  sorely  missed  Morgan,  and  formed  a 
company  of  light-horse  to  supply  the  place  of  the  500  picked  rifles 
he  had  sent  north.  In  this  company  served  Count  Pulaski,  who 
came  over  recommended  by  Franklin  as  a  man  who  had  been 
engaged  in  defending  the  liberty  and  independence  of  his  own 
country.  Sullivan  had  come  in  with  3000  men,  but  even  now 
Washington  only  numbered  about  14,000,  poorly  equipped,  and 
still  worse  disciplined — every  man  that  could  be  spared  had  been 
sent  to  the  Northern  army,  to  check  Burgoyne's  advance.  With 
these  men  Washington  fought  his  first  battles  which  could  be  called 
general  actions. 

The  battle  which  decided  the  fate  of  Philadelphia  was  fought  at 
the  passages  of  the  Brandy  wine,  on  the  nth  of  September.  The 
Brandy  wine  Creek  commences  with  two  branches  —  East  and 
West — which  unite  in  one  stream,  that  after  twenty-two  miles  falls 
into  the  Delaware  about  twenty-five  miles  below  Philadelphia.  It 
was  impossible  to  get  sure  information  as  to  which  of  the  three 
fords  the  British  army  was  taking,  but  Chad's  Ford  was  the  most 
practicable,  and  was  in  the  direct  route  to  Philadelphia.1  Wash- 
ington made  it  his  centre.  His  right  wing  (under  Sullivan) 
extended  two  miles  up  the  Brandywine,  as  far  as  the  Forks.  The 
Brandywine  was  now  the  only  obstacle  between  the  two  armies. 

Howe  advanced  in  two  columns  —  one,  under  Knyphausen, 
consisted  of  four  Hessian  battalions  under  Stern;  the  1st  and  2nd 
British  Brigades,  three  battalions  of  the  71st,  the  Queen's  American 
Rangers,  and  one  squadron  of  the  16th  Dragoons,  under  Grant. 
They  had  with  them  six  12-pounders,  four  howitzers,  and  the  light 
artillery.  This  column  marched  to  Chad's  Ford,  and  arrived  in 
front  of  the  enemy  about  ten  in  the  morning — "  skirmishing  most 
part  of  the  march." 

On  the  5th  Washington  had  made  a  stirring  appeal  to  his  army 
to  save  Philadelphia,  and  when  Knyphausen  was  seen  emerging 
from  the  skirt  of  the  wood,  he  rode  up  and  down  the  line  amidst 
the  acclamations  of  his  army.  Maxwell,  with  the  Light  Infantry,  was 
already  engaged,  and  a  heavy  cannonade  began.  There  was  much 
skirmishing  —  crossing  and  re-crossing  the  Brandywine  —  but 
Knyphausen  made  no  real  attack.  At  noon  an  express  came  from 
Sullivan  to  say  that  Howe,  with  a  large  force  and  a  park  of  artillery, 

1  "  Unfortunately  the  intelligence  received  of  the  enemy's  advancing  up  the 
Brandywine  .  .  .  was  uncertain  and  contradictory,  notwithstanding  all  my 
pains  to  get  the  best." — Washington's  Despatch  of  September  II. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  BRANDYWINE    507 

was  pushing  up  the  Lancaster  road — intending,  no  doubt,  to  cross 
at  the  upper  fords.  Washington  resolved  to  cross  at  Chad's  and 
attack  Knyphausen  before  the  other  division  could  arrive;  but  at 
that  moment  a  man  of  the  neighbourhood — Cheyney  by  name — 
came  spurring  up  to  tell  Washington  that  he  must  retreat  instantly, 
or  he  would  be  surrounded  1  Cheyney  had  come  on  the  British 
unawares,  and  had  narrowly  escaped  capture — they  were  marching 
down-stream,  and  were  close  at  hand ;  an  officer  sent  by  Washing- 
ton to  make  sure,  saw  them  two  miles  behind  Sullivan's  right, 
coming  on  fast.  Howe  had  tried  the  same  tactics  as  at  Long 
Island — Knyphausen  had  "amused"  the  Americans  at  the  ford, 
while  Cornwallis,  Grey,  Matthew  and  Agnew,  with  the  mounted 
and  dismounted  Hessian  and  Anspach  Chasseurs,  two  battalions  of 
British  Grenadiers  and  three  of  Hessians,  two  squadrons  of  the 
Dragoons,  and  the  3rd  and  4th  Brigades  and  artillery,  made  a  detour 
of  about  twelve  miles  to  the  Forks  of  the  Brandywine,  crossed  the 
first  at  Trimbles',  and  the  second  at  Jefifery's  Ford,  about  two  in  the 
afternoon,  and  were  marching  down  the  Dilworth  road  to  take  the 
Americans  at  Chad's  Ford  in  the  rear.  There  was  not  a  moment 
to  be  lost — Washington  sent  orders  to  Sullivan  to  oppose  Cornwallis 
with  the  whole  right  wing.  Howe  calls  it  10,000  men,  but  the 
whole  Provincial  Army  was  but  14,000.  Each  brigade  was  to 
attack  as  it  arrived. 

Sullivan  took  "a  strong  position  on  the  commanding  ground 
above  Birmingham  Church,"  with  his  left  near  the  Brandywine, 
both  flanks  covered  by  very  thick  woods,  and  his  artillery  advan- 
tageously disposed.1  Meanwhile  Wayne  was  to  keep  Knyphausen 
at  bay  at  Chad's  Ford,  and  Greene  to  hold  the  reserve  in  readiness. 
Cornwallis  advanced  in  three  columns,  the  Hessians  and  An- 
spachers  in  the  centre.  It  was  now  four  o'clock.  Lafayette  was 
with  Sullivan,  and  has  left  an  account  of  the  action  which  followed. 
Sullivan  advanced,  and  began  to  form  his  line  in  front  of  an  open 
piece  of  wood.  Here  an  unfortunate  delay  took  place  on  a  point 
of  etiquette — Stirling  had  accidentally  formed  to  right  of  Sullivan  ; 
this  was  taking  rank  of  him,  and  had  to  be  changed.  The  change 
was  actually  making  when  Cornwallis  advanced  with  his  own  troops 
in  perfect  order,  and  opened  a  brisk  fire.  The  Americans  made  an 
obstinate  resistance,  but  Cornwallis'  onslaught  was  "impetuous," 
and  they  were  taken  at  a  disadvantage  owing  to  the  mistake.  Both 
wings  broke,  and  were  driven  into  the  woods.  The  centre  stood 
firm  for  some  time,  but  at  length  it  too  gave  way.  Lafayette  was 
shot  through  the  leg  endeavouring  to  rally  the  centre.     The  British, 

1  Howe's  Despatch. 


508  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

in  pursuing,  became  entangled  in  the  wood,1  and  the  Americans 
rallied  on  a  height  to  north  of  Dilworth, — still  in  a  wood, — but  after 
a  spirited  resistance  were  again  dislodged  with  heavy  loss.  Night 
coming  on,  and  the  fatigue  of  the  British,  saved  them  from  further 
pursuit ;  but  the  flight  continued  to  Chester,  twelve  miles  from  the 
field  of  battle. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Knyphausen  had  made  a  push  to  cross 
Chad's  Ford.  He  was  vigorously  opposed  by  Wayne,  and  Greene 
was  about  to  second  him  when  he  was  called  by  Washington  to 
support  the  right  wing.  It  was  said  that  Greene's  men  covered  five 
miles  in  less  than  fifty  minutes,  but  they  arrived  too  late  to  prevent 
the  rout  of  the  right  wing.  They  did,  however,  save  the  left — 
Greene  opening  his  ranks  from  time  to  time  to  receive  the  fugitives, 
and  closing  as  soon  as  they  had  passed.  At  one  point  in  this  part 
of  the  action  both  sides  charged  again  and  again  with  the  bayonet. 
But  it  was  a  defeat,  though  Knyphausen's  Hessians  were  too  tired 
to  pursue.  The  road  to  Chester  was  crowded  with  fugitives,  cannon, 
baggage,  all  hurrying  along,  with  the  artillery  thundering,  and 
muskets  volleying  amidst  the  dust  and  uproar.  Not  till  Chester 
was  reached  could  Lafayette  stay  the  flight. 

Every  discharge  of  cannon  had  been  heard  in  Philadelphia, 
twenty-six  miles  off.  Groups  of  Whigs  and  Tories  stood  in  the 
streets  and  squares,  waiting  for  a  messenger.  About  noon  there 
was  a  violent  thunderstorm,  all  the  more  terrifying,  because  Christ 
Church  steeple  had  been  struck  only  three  months  before.  It  was 
evening  before  a  horseman  galloped  into  the  city — "  down  Chestnut 
Street  and  round  Fourth  Street,"  never  drawing  rein  till  he  came  to 
the  Indian  Queen.  He  told  the  excited  crowd  that  there  had  been 
fighting  all  day,  and  General  Washington  was  driven  back,  the 
French  Marquess  was  wounded,  and  many  others — Birmingham 
Meeting-House  was  full  of  them,  and  the  Quakers  were  attend- 
ing on  them,  and  the  roads  were  crowded  with  people  taking  away 
their  goods. 

Congress  sat  all  night,  and  in  the  morning  removed  to  Lan- 
caster. 

Howe  halted  at  Dilworth,  and  did  nothing  for  two  days — he 
might  have  utterly  destroyed  the  discomfited  army  if  he  had 
pursued.  Washington  made  good  use  of  the  delay — retreating  on 
Germantown.  Strange  to  say,  his  army  was  in  good  spirits — it 
had  been  defeated,  but  it  had  made  a  good  fight,  and  it  was  not 

1  "The  ist  British  grenadiers,  the  Hessian  grenadiers,  and  guards,  having  in 
the  pursuit  got  entangled  in  very  thick  woods,  were  no  further  engaged  that 
day." — Howe's  Despatch, 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  BRANDYWINE    509 

discouraged.1  Washington  resolved  to  fight  again.  On  the  16th 
he  advanced  along  the  Lancaster  road,  hoping  to  turn  the  British 
flank.  The  two  armies  were  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle  near 
Goshen  Meeting-House  (twenty-three  miles  from  Philadelphia), 
and  were  just  about  to  engage,  when  so  violent  a  storm  of  rain 
came  on,  and  continued  for  twenty-four  hours,  that  both  sides  saw 
it  was  impossible  to  fight.  But  as  usual  the  Americans  suffered 
most — their  cartouche-boxes  were  not  of  seasoned  leather,  and  so 
their  cartridges  got  wet,  and  Washington  was  compelled  to  draw 
up  into  the  country  till  he  had  a  fresh  supply.  Bad  weather  was 
very  distressing  to  the  Americans,  poorly  clad,  with  no  blankets, 
and  separated  from  their  tents,  the  rain  spoiling  their  small 
ammunition  and  rusting  the  locks  of  their  muskets.  Nearly 
one  thousand  were  actually  barefooted.  But  Washington  marched 
them  all  night  to  Yellow  Springs,  and  on  the  18th  to  Warwick, 
hoping  to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  Schuylkill.  He  crossed  that 
river  and  encamped  on  the  farther  bank,  after  detaching  troops  to 
all  the  fords.  And  now  another  misfortune  befell  him — Wayne, 
who  was  about  to  surprise  Howe,  was  himself  surprised  by  General 
Grey,2  and  though  he  made  a  valiant  defence  he  lost  400 
men.  The  British  had  in  truth  many  friends  in  Pennsylvania, 
when  Howe  first  came,  and  information  was  brought  by  them. 

In  these  last  days,  before  the  fall  of  Philadelphia,  Thomas 
Paine  tried  to  rouse  the  spirit  of  the  city.  At  one  in  the  morning 
of  the  1 9th  news  came  that  Howe  was  crossing  the  Schuylkill,  and 
the  panic  and  confusion  were  very  great.  It  was  a  beautiful,  still 
moonlight  night,  and  the  streets  were  as  full  of  men,  women,  and 
children  "as  on  a  market-day."  The  night  before  Paine  had  gone 
to  Colonel  Bayard,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
reasoned  with  him.  Washington  was  thirty  miles  up  the  Schuylkill 
with  an  army,  only  waiting  for  ammunition  to  supply  that  spoiled 
by  the  rain  ;  and  a  reinforcement  of  1500  men  was  marching  from 
the  North  River  to  join  him.  Paine  represented  that  "even  the 
appearance  of  defence,"  by  throwing  up  works  at  the  heads  of 
streets,  would  "make  the  enemy  very  suspicious"  how  they 
ventured  themselves  between  the  city  and  Washington,  and  between 
two  rivers.  Paine  had  observed  that  "military  gentlemen"  were 
exceedingly  cautious  on  new  ground,  and  suspicious  of  towns  and 
villages,  and  "  more  afraid  of  little  things  they  don't  know  than  of 

1  Washington's  losses  at  the  Brandywine,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners, 
were  about  iooo.     The  British  loss  was  579,  of  whom  58  were  officers. 

3  "No-Flint  Grey,"  first  Earl  Grey,  and  father  of  the  Minister  who  passed 
the  Reform  Bill  of  1832. 


510  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

great  things  they  do."  He  thought  Philadelphia  might  hold  out 
a  day  or  two,  till  Washington  could  come  down — the  city  had 
better  assess  itself  at  50,000  dollars  for  defence  than  let  the  British 
come  in.  Bayard  agreed,  but  there  was  no  one  ready  to  take  the 
lead,  and  nothing  was  done. 

On  one  of  these  nights  of  listening  and  suspense,  there  was 
"  the  most  awfully  grand  display  of  the  Aurora  ever  seen."  At 
first  it  was  thought  that  the  crimson-stained  streamers  which  flashed 
over  the  city  were  occasioned  by  the  fires  of  the  British ;  but  soon 
they  found  that  the  spectacle  was  too  vast  for  human  agency,  and 
began  to  think  of  the  Siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  dreadful  signs 
then  seen  in  the  heavens. 

On  the  22nd  Howe  made  a  rapid  march  up  the  Schuylkill, 
towards  Reading — Washington  keeping  pace  with  him  on  the  other 
bank  as  far  as  Pott's  Grove.  Then  Howe  turned,  and  by  a  rapid 
countermarch  reached  the  ford  below,  and  crossed.  Washington 
learned  this  also  too  late  to  oppose  him,  and  Howe  went  on  to 
Germantown,  and  sent  Cornwallis  forward  to  take  formal  possession 
of  Philadelphia  in  the  King's  name. 

Cornwallis  marched  in  about  noon  of  the  26th  of  September, 
with  a  brilliant  staff,  "splendid  legions  of  British  and  Hessian 
grenadiers,"  long  trains  of  artillery,  squadrons  of  light  dragoons, 
and  bands  playing  "God  Save  the  King ! " — a  very  different 
spectacle  from  the  regiments  in  hunting-frocks,  with  sprigs  of 
green  by  way  of  uniform !  The  windows  were  full  of  people 
dressed  in  their  best — they  had  been  advised  to  be  dressed  well, 
and  to  keep  their  doors  shut.  But  it  was  an  unspeakable  relief 
that  the  British  marched  in  so  quietly — and  in  the  morning.  A 
Tory  lady  (then  a  child)  says  they. showed  no  signs  of  exultation. 
"Well-fed,  clean,  and  well-clad — how  unlike  our  poor  fellows, 
bare-footed  and  ragged  ! "  There  were  loyal  addresses  and  demon 
strations,  and  a  little  boy  ran  up  to  shake  hands  with  one  of  the 
grenadiers. 

Cornwallis,  who  came  to  this  lady's  mother's  to  look  for  quarters, 
was  very  polite.  Lord  Rawdon  "and  the  other  aids  looked 
haughty."  But  the  officers  were  usually  polite — "  they  felt  uneasy 
at  acting  as  enemies  to  people  who  spoke  the  same  language." 
Many  had  buried  their  plate  and  money — and  some  their  papers, 
"  which  of  course  mouldered  away."  There  was  nothing  in  the 
shops,  and  the  paper  money  had  depreciated  to  nothing.  A  little 
before  the  British  came,  two  pieces  of  silk  had  been  offered  at 
100  dollars  a  yard,  and  tea  was  50  or  60  dollars  a  pound.1 

1  Recollections  of  Deborah  Logan. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  BRANDYWINE    511 

Two  years  after,  when  giving  evidence  at  the  Enquiry  into  the 
Conduct  of  the  War,  Howe  denied  that  he  was  received  with 
gladness  in  Philadelphia — only  4500  of  the  male  inhabitants  from 
18  to  60  years  of  age  remained  there.  It  was  true  they  gave  the 
British  support,  and  refused  to  help  the  rebel  General — but  that 
was  because  they  had  no  opinion  of  the  value  of  Congress  paper 
money.1  "We  paid  in  hard  cash" — also,  they  could  buy  things 
of  us.  As  for  its  being  at  the  risk  of  their  lives  that  they  took  our 
money,  that  is  nonsense — Washington  connived  at  it — he  was  very 
glad  silver  and  gold  should  come  in.  And  "  thousands  "  did  not 
join  us — at  no  time  did  men  in  numbers  come  over, — though 
there  was  a  prospect  of  this  in  the  spring  of  1778.  Of  men  in 
our  Provincial  corps,  only  a  small  proportion  were  American. 
This  confirms  some  of  the  private  letters,  and  is  in  flat  contradiction 
to  Galloway. 

1  There  were  enormous  frauds.  A  band  of  villains  counterfeited  the  New 
Hampshire  currency  to  a  great  amount.  Mrs.  Adams  had  £5  of  it — everybody 
had  some.  Worse  still,  one  Col.  Farrington,  taken  sick,  confessed  not  only  to 
counterfeiting,  but  to  enlisting  near  2000  men,  to  fall  on  the  people  when  the 
troops  came  to  Boston,  and  make  havoc. — Letter  of  John  Adams,  May,  1777. 


CHAPTER  LXI 
GERMANTOWN 

"  The  people  of  this  country  are  chiefly  Germans,  who  have  schools  in  their 
own  language  ...  so  that  multitudes  are  born,  grow  up,  and  die  here,  without 
ever  learning  English.  In  politics  they  are  a  breed  of  mongrels  or  neutrals, 
and  benumbed  with  a  general  torpor." — -John  Adams  to  his  Wife,  Yorktown, 
Oct.  28,  1777. 

"  If  our  cause  is  just,  it  will  be  best  supported  by  justice  and  righteousness." 
— Abigail  Adams  to  her  Husband,  Braintree,  May  18,  1777. 

Washington  sent  to  Putnam  for  still  more  men,  and  wrote  to 
Gates  to  send  him  back  Morgan.  Undaunted  by  defeat,  he 
believed  that  with  a  sufficient  force  he  could  compel  Howe  to 
evacuate  Philadelphia — perhaps  to  capitulate — before  winter. 

Lord  Howe  meanwhile  was  trying  to  destroy  the  three  chevaux- 
de-frise  which  had  been  made  across  the  Delaware.  He  thought 
it  would  be  easy,  but  a  large  American  frigate  (the  Delaware)  and 
other  vessels  got  within  500  yards  of  the  new  batteries — begun  the 
very  day  that  Cornwallis  entered — and  brought  a  heavy  cannonade 
to  bear  on  town  and  battery;  but  the  tide  falling,  the  Delaware 
grounded  and  was  taken,  and  most  of  the  smaller  vessels  were 
disabled.  Five  miles  lower  down  there  was  a  redoubt  on  the 
Jersey  shore,  at  Billingsport.  On  the  1st  of  October  Captain 
Hammond,  in  the  Roebuck  man-of-war,  took  Billingsport,  and 
removed  part  of  the  chevaux-de-frise  there. 

By  this  time  Washington  had  been  reinforced  by  the  1500 
men  from  Peekskill  and  1000  from  Virginia;  and  knowing  that 
Howe  at  Germantown  was  weakened  by  detaching  Cornwallis  and 
the  battalions  sent  to  Billingsport,  he  resolved  to  attack  him. 

Howe's  main  body  lay  encamped  about  a  mile  from  the  head 
of  the  main  street  of  Germantown — "one  continued  street  for 
two   miles."1     Market   Square   was   the   centre  of  his  line.     His 

1  Germantown  was  first  settled  in  1683,  by  colonists  from  the  Lower  Rhine 

(near  the  borders  of  Holland).     It  was  really  a  German  town — the  people  spoke 

German.     There  were  many  manufactures,  and   many    linen    weavers.     They 

also  made  stockings  from  the  famous  Germantown  wool ;   and  since  1760  had 

512 


GERMANTOWN  513 

headquarters  were  at  Stenton.  His  right — the  Grenadier  Guards 
and  six  battalions  of  the  line  under  Grant  and  Matthews — extended 
along  Mill  Street  to  Luken's  Mill;  his  left — the  3rd  and  4th 
Brigades  under  Grey  and  Agnew,  and  the  Hessians  under 
Knyphausen  —  stretched  along  School  House  Lane  to  Ridge 
Avenue,1  the  Hessians  being  at  the  extreme  left.  Knyphausen 
commanded  the  whole.  There  were  two  battalions  of  the  Guards 
to  rear  of  the  town,  and  two  more  were  posted  in  advance  of  the 
centre  on  the  Main  Street.  Colonel  Musgrave  with  the  40th  was 
stationed  near  Chew's  House.2 

On  the  night  of  the  2nd  of  October,  the  whole  American 
army  moved  along  the  Shippack  road  to  a  point  eighteen  miles 
from  Germantown,  and  made  as  though  they  intended  to  form  a 
permanent  camp  there.  That  night  they  marched  on  at  7  o'clock 
to  Bethlehem  Turnpike,  and  there  separated  into  four  columns, 
each  of  which  was  to  go  by  a  different  route.  At  7  next  evening 
they  marched  again.  Smallwood,  with  the  New  Jersey  and 
Maryland  Militia,  went  by  the  York  road,  to  get  to  the  rear  of 
the  British  right.  Greene,  with  his  own  and  Stephen's  divisions, 
and  McDougall's  brigade,  marched  by  the  Limekiln  road  to  attack 
the  British  right.  The  rest  marched  by  Bethlehem  Turnpike 
down  to  Chestnut  Hill,  to  near  the  place  where  General  Armstrong 
and  the  Pennsylvanians  got  into  Ridge  road.  They  were  guided 
by  a  German,  and  were  to  take  the  British  left  in  rear.  Sullivan's 
and  Wayne's  divisions,  and  the  reserve  under  Lord  Stirling,  with 
the  Commander-in-Chief  in  person  and  all  his  staff,  marched  by 
the  mainroad  down  Chestnut  Hill  to  the  village  of  Germantown, 
to  attack  Howe's  left.  It  was  a  very  extended  plan  of  attack,  and 
it  was  of  the  utmost  importance  that  all  should  carry  out  their 
orders  precisely. 

The  days  preceding  had  been  fair,  but  the  mornings  foggy. 
When  Sullivan  reached  the  Mermaid  Tavern  to  north  of  Mount 
Airy  (where  the  52nd  Light  Infantry,  with  a  picket,  were  stationed 
on  the  property  of  Chief  Justice  Allen),  the  sun  was  just  rising 
above  the  hills.  But  "  it  was  soon  buried  in  a  bank  of  cloud  " — a 
dense  fog  settled  down,  till  men  could  not  see  100  yards  before 
them — some  said  not  100  feet.  The  Americans  had  been  ordered 
to  put  white  papers  in  their  hats,  that  they  might  know  each  other 
— many  being  in  red,  like  the  British ;  but  this  was  not  effective, 

turned  out  as  many  as  60,000  dozen  pairs  of  thread  stockings  a  year,  "at  a 
dollar  a  pair." 

1  Howe  says  Knyphausen's  division  extended  to  the  Schuylkill. 

2  Historic  Germantown. 

vol.  1.— 33 


514  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

and  as  the  fog  thickened  they  became  suspicious  of  each  other. 
And  soon  the  smoke  of  battle,  and  of  the  burning  stubble-fields, 
was  added  to  the  mirky  gloom  of  the  mist,  till  no  man  could  dis- 
tinguish friend  from  foe. 

Sullivan  formed  to  the  west,  and  Wayne  to  the  east.  Sullivan 
came  first  into  action,  surprising  the  picket  at  the  Allen  House. 
The  sentries  were  killed — Sullivan  carried  all  before  him.  Howe, 
whose  headquarters  were  at  Stenton,1  is  said  to  have  been  awakened 
by  the  noise.  He  rode  up  just  in  time  to  see  the  Light  Infantry 
running  away,  and  cried,  "  For  shame,  light  infantry  !  I  never  saw 
you  retreat  before !  Form !  This  is  only  a  scouting  party ! " 
Reinforcements  came  up,  and  the  infantry  rallying  made  a  stand  on 
both  sides  of  the  main  street  of  Germantown,  "at  the  Maronite 
Church."  Here  Dr.  William  Shippen's  house  soon  became  the 
centre  of  fierce  skirmish.     Here  Agnew  fell. 

Greene  pushed  on  to  east  of  the  road,  passing  the  Chew  House 
— a  strong  stone  building,  erected  the  year  the  King  came  to 
the  throne,  the  country  seat  of  Benjamin  Chew,  Chief  Justice  of 
Pennsylvania  before  the  Revolution.  It  stood  in  an  open  space 
at  the  head  of  the  village.2  It  was  to  decide  the  issue  of  the 
coming  battle. 

When  Washington  came  up  with  the  reserve,  it  was  discovered 
that  Musgrave  and  six  companies  of  the  40th  had  thrown  them- 
selves into  the  Chew  House,  closed  the  lower  shutters,  and  were 
keeping  up  a  steady  fire  from  the  second-floor  windows  and  from 
the  roof.  Both  Greene  and  Sullivan  had  passed  without  noticing 
this.  A  hasty  Council  of  War  was  held  "  near  the  Billmyer  House." 
Washington  ordered  Maxwell's  brigade  to  attack  (some  accounts 
say  only  to  watch)  the  Chew  House,  sent  Nash's  reserve  brigade  to 
strengthen  Sullivan,  and  passed  on. 

Meanwhile  Greene  was  fighting  on  the  Limekiln  road ;  but  both 
Stephen  and  McDougall  mistook  their  way  in  the  fog,  and  thus 
time  was  lost.  Greene  himself  came  up  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
late,  advancing  through  marshes,  thickets,  and  "  post-and-rail 
fences."  By  the  time  he  attacked  the  British  right  it  was  waiting 
for  him. 

By  this  time  the  battle  was  general  all  along  the  line,  except  on 
the  York  road,  where  Smallwood  was  approaching  Branchtown. 
Armstrong  was  skirmishing  with  the  Hessians,  and  cannonading 
them  from  the  heights  above  the  Wissahickon.  Sullivan,  reinforced 
by  Nash,  was  pushing  the  British  back  on  the  centre  of  the  town. 

1  "  In  Dr.  George  Logan's  house."     The  doctor  was  in  England. 

2  Historic  Germantown.— Chas.  F.  Jenkins. 


GERMANTOWN  5  1 5 

It  seemed  as  though  the  day  was  lost — orders  were  actually  given 
for  the  corps  to  rendezvous  at  Chester — when  a  panic  arose  in 
Wayne's  division.  One  of  Stephen's  brigades,  acting  without  orders 
— in  fact  neglecting  its  orders — had  turned  aside  to  Chew's  House, 
and  was  playing  on  the  walls  with  its  field-pieces.  Wayne's  men 
took  this  for  a  British  cannonade,  and  at  the  same  critical  moment 
a  brigade  of  Greene's,  which  had  lost  its  way  in  the  fog,  appeared  in 
the  rear  and  was  taken  for  the  enemy,  while  a  drum  heard  beating 
at  Chew's  was  thought  to  be  the  signal  for  retreat.  Someone 
called  out  that  they  were  surrounded,  and  Wayne's  men  retired  in 
disorder,  uncovering  Sullivan's  left.  Sullivan's  ammunition  was 
exhausted — he  too  was  compelled  to  retreat.  Washington,  fearing 
a  general  rout,  recalled  Smallwood  and  Greene — who  was  success- 
fully engaged.  Greene  fell  back,  stubbornly  contesting  every  inch 
of  ground,  and  giving  time  for  the  other  divisions  to  withdraw. 

There  had  been  a  fierce  fight  at  the  Chew  House.  The  first 
shot  of  the  Provincial  artillery  burst  open  the  front  door — it  had  "  a 
portico  and  two  doric  pillars,"  and  afforded  cover.  The  Provincials 
piled  up  tables  and  chairs,  everything  combustible  they  could  find, 
while  others  advanced  "  under  the  cover  of  the  cherry-trees  in  the 
lane,"  and  crouched  behind  the  marble  statues,  which  were  broken 
by  the  balls.  They  could  not  fire  the  house,  though  Major  White, 
of  Sullivan's  staff,  laid  a  bundle  of  straw  against  the  cellar  window. 
There  was  fighting  on  the  wide  stair,  which  led  up  from  "  the  stately 
hall "  ;  but  Musgrave  had  posted  his  men  with  the  greatest  skill — 
it  was  said  he  had  but  one  man  killed,  while  46  officers  and  men  fell 
of  Maxwell's  brigade  alone.  They  had  better  have  left  Musgrave 
alone — the  panic  caused  by  their  cannonade  lost  the  battle.1 

The  retreat  was  orderly — but  everyone  was  determined  to  go. 
Washington  wrote  to  Congress,  "  In  the  midst  of  the  most  promis- 

1  "  So  sudden  and  unexpected  was  the  retreat,  that  the  9th  Virginia  Regiment 
— which  had  driven  everything  before  it — thought  the  battle  was  won,  and  got  so 
far  in  advance  that  it  could  not  rejoin  the  main  army,  and  was  surrounded  and 
obliged  to  surrender.  It  had  taken  more  prisoners  than  its  own  number." — 
Historic  Germantown. 

"  A  gentleman  of  distinction  in  Philadelphia,"  who  was  with  the  main  body  on 
the  day  of  the  Brandywine,  writes  to  "his  friend"  in  Boston:  "I  shall  follow 
the  usual  custom  of  the  drama,  by  introducing  the  greatest  hero  first.  The 
character  of  our  worthy  General  needs  no  eulogium.  He  is  at  all  times  great, 
but  on  that  day  he  surpassed  himself.  .  .  .  Description  would  fail  me  were  I  to 
attempt  to  represent  how  much  the  men  seemed  animated  by  his  presence. 
.  .  .  Never  were  men  in  better  spirits."  The  letter  concludes  with  eager 
anticipations  of  "the  next  battle,"  which  the  writer  thinks  will  be  "a  very 
bloody  one."  This  gentleman  writes  from  Hancock's  house. — See  the  Letter  in 
Almon,  v.  433. 


Si6  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

ing  appearances,  when  everything  gave  the  most  flattering  hopes  of 
a  victory,  the  troops  suddenly  began  to  retreat,  and  entirely  left  the 
field,  in  spite  of  every  effort  that  could  be  made  to  rally  them. 
.  .  .  We  sustained  no  material  loss  of  men  .  .  .  the  enemy  are 
nothing  the  better  by  the  event,  and  our  troops,  who  are  not  in  the 
least  dispirited  by  it,  have  gained  what  all  young  corps  gain  by 
being  in  action." 

Paine  has  also  given  an  account  of  this  extraordinary  battle. 
No  one  ever  understood  why  Germantown  was  lost — Washington 
himself  said  he  did  not.  In  the  retreat,  "  nobody  hurried  them- 
selves." Everyone  marched  at  his  own  pace.  The  troops  were 
young  and  raw,  "  unused  to  breaking  and  rallying  " — they  had  not 
learned  to  fight,  and  Washington  dared  not  risk  them.  The  fog, 
and  the  difficulty  of  distinguishing  each  other  from  the  enemy, 
were  no  doubt  the  first  reasons,  and  to  these  were  added  a  drunken 
general.  General  Stephen,  who  had  served  with  credit  in  the  old 
French  War,  had  unfortunately  fallen  into  habits  of  intemperance, 
and  to  this  was  doubtless  owing  the  unfortunate  attack  on  the 
Chew  House.1 

Immediately  after  Germantown,  General  Howe  sent  orders  to 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  abandon  Fort  Clinton  on  the  Hudson,  and 
send  him  6000  of  the  9000  men  he  had  given  him  ;  and  on  October 
19  he  removed  his  army  to  Philadelphia — little  imagining  that  at 
that  very  hour  Burgoyne  was  signing  a  Capitulation  at  Saratoga, 
and  that  the  blame  of  it  would  be  cast  upon  himself. 

The  opening  of  the  Delaware  was  a  more  difficult  task  than 
had  been  expected.  It  was  the  middle  of  October  before  Lord 
Howe  could  open  a  narrow  channel  through  the  first  obstruction. 
The  rebels  (now  called  "  the  enemy ")  had  entrenched  about  800 
men  at  Red  Bank  (Fort  Mercer),  on  the  Jersey  shore,  close  by 
Mud  Island,  where  was  the  upper  cheval-de-frise?  On  the  22nd 
Howe  sent  Count  Donop  and  three  battalions  of  Hessian  Grenadiers 
to  attack  this  post.  The  Hessians  were  repulsed  with  loss,  and 
Donop  was  mortally  wounded.  Next  day  Lord  Howe  lost  two 
ships  by  their  running  aground  near  the  same  fort.3 

Meanwhile    Sir  Henry   Clinton   had   made   his   cattle-raid    in 

1  Stephen  was  dismissed  for  misconduct  at  Germantown. 

2  Lord  Howe's  Despatch  of  October  25,  "on  board  his  Majesty's  ship  Eagle" 
shows  that  the  obstruction  at  Mud  Island  was  very  formidable,  and  also  that 
the  Americans  made  very  vigorous  attempts  with  "fire-rafts,  gallies,  and  other 
armed  craft,"  to  frustrate  his  efforts. 

3  In  his  despatch  about  the  repulse  at  Mud  Island,  Sir  William  asks  for 
"additional  cloathing  for  5000  Provincials,"  including  "the  new  levies  expected 
to  be  raised." 


GERMANTOWN  51; 

Jersey,  and  Brigadier-General  Campbell's  force  on  Staten  Island 
had  had  two  of  his  loyalist  battalions  surprised,  but  the  rebels  were 
themselves  surprised  by  Colonel  Dongan,  as  they  were  crossing 
back  to  Jersey,  and  the  affair  ended  in  considerable  loss  to  the 
Americans. 

Washington's  raw  levies  were  no  match  for  the  British  regulars ; 
but  the  chief  reason  for  the  ill-success  of  the  Americans  was  the 
fact  that,  owing  to  the  number  of  British  sympathisers  in  Phila- 
delphia, he  was  not  supplied  with  timely  intelligence  of  Howe's 
movements.  This  is  the  sure  test  of  public  sentiment  in  the 
province.  In  Jersey  Washington  knew  everything,  although  there 
sentiment  was  so  much  divided  that  the  British  also  got  a  great 
deal  of  information — as  we  learn  from  Howe's  despatches.  But 
when  Howe  arrived  in  Pennsylvania,  there  was  a  great  body  of 
waverers,  and  the  Quakers  in  particular  were,  passively  at  least,  on 
the  King's  side.  At  Germantown  the  case  was  different — there 
the  fog  saved  Howe  from  a  disaster ;  it  not  only  delayed  the  march 
of  the  converging  columns  (which,  however,  did  not  prevent  the 
surprise),  but  it  confused  friend  with  foe,  until  the  Americans 
were  so  nervous  that  they  fired  on  their  friends,  and  mistook  their 
own  cannonade  for  that  of  the  enemy.  Panic  did  the  rest.  Panic 
is  at  all  times  unreasoning — the  ancients  recognised  how  little  it 
can  be  either  accounted  for  or  controlled. 


CHAPTER   LXII 
THE  RETAKING  OF  TICONDEROGA 

"This  Army  must  not  retreat." — General Burgoy tie's  General  Orders,  Crown 
Point,  June  30,  1777. 

"Were  the  Indians  left  to  themselves,  enormities  too  horrid  to  think  of 
would  ensue  ;  guilty  and  innocent,  women  and  infants,  would  be  a  common 
prey." — General  Burgoy ne  to  Lord  George  Germaine. 

"  The  chief  of  the  tribes,  who  went  by  the  name  of  King  Last-night,  because 
his  tribe  had  sold  their  lands,  had  seen  some  English  men-of-war  in  some  of  the 
waters  of  Canada,  and  was  impressed  with  the  power  of  these  great  canoes ; 
but  he  saw  that  the  English  made  no  progress  against  us  by  land.  .  .  .  '  The 
King  of  England,'  he  said,  'is  like  a  fish.  When  he  is  in  the  water  he  can 
wag  his  tail;  when  he  comes  on  land  he  lays  down  on  his  side.'" — Letter  of 
Thomas  Paine,  on  the  Meeting  ofLndians  with  the  Commission  sent  from  Congress 
to  treat  with  them  at  Eaton,  Pa.,  on  Jan.  21,  1777. 

The  expedition  of  Burgoyne  had  been  planned  in  the  winter, 
between  the  King,  Burgoyne, — then  again  in  England, —  and 
Germaine.  Long  ago  Carleton  had  pointed  out  that  the  best 
way  to  secure  New  York  would  be  to  establish  military  communica- 
tion between  it  and  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  plan  was,  to  sweep 
Canada  of  the  rebel  invaders,  and  then  work  down  to  Albany,  and 
so  by  the  Hudson  to  New  York.  This,  it  was  confidently  believed, 
would  kill  the  rebellion  by  cutting  it  in  two.  The  plan  was  to  be 
completed,  and  its  success  made  certain,  by  Howe  co-operating, 
and  coming  up  the  Hudson  to  meet  Burgoyne  at  Albany.  Incred- 
ible as  it  must  appear,  Howe  had  received  no  positive  instructions, 
had  been  allowed  to  form  another,  and  incompatible  plan,  and  was 
gone  off  to  take  Philadelphia. 

As  the  original  author  of  the  plan,  Carleton  had  expected  the 
command.  To  his  astonishment  and  disgust  it  was  given  to 
Burgoyne.  Instead  of  meeting  with  any  recognition  of  his 
tremendous  exertions  in  saving  Canada  in  1775-6,  Carleton  had 
been  abused  for  not  taking  Ticonderoga  last  October,  and  Germaine 
was  trying  to  get  him  superseded.  He  had  one  of  his  many 
grudges  against  Carleton,  who  had  declined  to  give  a  staff 
appointment     to     one     of     Germaine's     incompetent    proteges. 

518 


THE  RETAKING  OF  TICONDEROGA       519 

Germaine  would  have  recalled  him,  but  the  King  stood  Carleton's 
friend,  and  was  annoyed  at  Germaine's  persistent  persecution  of 
this  brave  soldier.  Probably  Germaine  had  yet  another  grudge 
against  the  man  thanks  to  whom  we  did  not  lose  Canada — 
Carleton  was  humane  and  generous,  and  had  been  very  kind  to 
his  prisoners.  Instead  of  putting  them  in  irons,  he  gave  them 
food,  shoes,  and  warm  waistcoats,  and  told  them  to  go  home,  and 
not  let  him  catch  them  again.  This  was  not  the  way  to  win 
Germaine's  favour,  and  he  did  not  rest  till  he  had  got  rid  of 
Carleton. 

Burgoyne  returned  from  England  on  the  6th  of  May — appointed 
to  the  chief  command  in  Canada.  Carleton  was  ordered  to 
defend  his  province  with  the  3000  men  to  be  left  with  him  as 
Governor.  The  slight  was  not  to  be  misunderstood — Carleton 
wrote  to  resign  the  Governorship,  and  the  King  said  he  did  not 
wonder  at  it.  Meanwhile  Carleton  abated  nothing  of  his  zeal  in 
supplying  Burgoyne  with  all  he  needed. 

Burgoyne  was  delayed  waiting  for  some  of  his  troop-ships. 
He  had  better  have  spent  the  time  in  getting  his  boats  and 
transport  together;  but  it  was  the  7th  of  June  before  he  made 
a  formal  requisition  to  Carleton  for  400  artillery  horses,  and  500 
carts  to  carry  the  stores  and  ammunition. 

On  the  13th  of  June,  1777,  the  Standard  of  England  was  hoisted 
on  board  the  radeau,  and  Burgoyne  began  his  march  to  his 
doom.  On  the  20th,  being  then  in  camp  at  Bouquet  Ferry,  he 
issued  a  Proclamation.  It  was  all  about  "  the  power,  the  justice, 
and  when  properly  sought,  the  mercy  of  the  King."  It  called  "  the 
present  unnatural  rebellion  the  foundation  for  the  compleatest 
system  of  Tyranny  that  ever  God  in  his  displeasure  suffer'd  for  a 
time  to  be  executed  over  a  froward  and  stubborn  generation " ; 
and  wound  up  with  dreadful  threats  of  "  giving  a  stretch  "  to  the 
Indians  under  his  direction — "they  amount  to  thousands" — to 
"overtake  the  harden'd  Enemies  of  Great  Britain  and  America." 
A  few  days  later  he  issued  a  Standing  Order  on  the  methods  of 
entrenching  and  fortification — "  so  necessary  in  little  Wars." 

On  the  2 1  st  he  made  his  famous  speech  to  the  Indians — 
the  speech  over  which  Burke  made  so  merry.1  It  began,  "  Chiefs 
and  Warriors ! "  talked  about  "  the  great  King,  our  common 
father,"  complimented  them  on  not  having  joined  the  rebels ;  and 

1  "Figure  to  yourself  an  English  General,  surrounded  by  his  suite,  receiving 
from  the  hands  of  an  Indian  chief,  besmeared  with  blood,  the  scalps  of  an 
hundred  defenceless  women  and  children." — Letter  frotn  New  York,  July  I,  1777. 
(Almon.) 


520  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

then  came  to  the  point.  His  "friends"  must  be  good  boys. 
In  former  wars  they  had  held  themselves  justified  in  destroying 
everything  they  came  across.  This  must  not  be  now.  The  King 
has  many  faithful  subjects  in  this  province — your  brothers  there- 
fore. "Your  magnanimity  of  character,"  and  your  affection  for 
the  King,  will  induce  you  to  obey  me.  You  must  kill  no  one  in 
cold  blood.  "  Aged  men,  women,  children,  and  prisoners,  must 
be  held  sacred  from  the  knife  or  hatchet,  even  in  the  time  of 
actual  conflict."  You  shall  be  compensated  for  your  prisoners, 
and  you  must  account  for  scalps.  As  you  have  always  been  used 
to  it,  you  may  scalp  the  dead,  whom  you  have  killed  in  fair  fight, 
but  on  no  pretence  may  you  scalp  the  wounded,  "  or  even  dying  " 
— it  would  be  still  worse  to  kill  them  on  purpose,  in  order  to  evade 
my  prohibition  to  scalp  the  living.  "Base  lurking  assassins, 
incendiaries,  ravagers,  and  plunderers  of  the  country,  to  whatever 
army  they  belong,  shall  be  treated  with  less  reserve ; "  but  I  must 
be  the  judge.  If  the  enemy  commit  acts  of  barbarity,  you  may 
retaliate.  Finally,  remember  that  the  King  will  examine  and 
judge  you  on  "  the  test  only  of  your  steady  and  uniform  adher- 
ance  to  orders." 

They  all  cried  "  Etow !  Etow ! "  and  after  a  consultation,  an 
old  Chief  of  the  Iroquois  rose  and  made  a  short  speech.  "We 
have  been  tried  and  tempted  by  the  Bostonians,"  he  said ;  "  but 
we  have  loved  our  father,  and  our  hatchets  have  been  sharpened 
upon  our  affection."  Then  he  promised  obedience  and  sat  down, 
and  again  they  all  cried  "  Etow  !  " 

But  in  spite  of  his  grandiloquent  language,  Burgoyne  must 
have  felt  uneasy.  During  the  advance  of  the  year  before, 
Lieutenant  Hadden  heard  him  say  that  a  thousand  savages 
brought  into  the  field  cost  more  than  20,000  regular  troops.1 
Perhaps  this  referred  only  to  the  presents  which  had  to  be  made 
to  the  savages — silver  bracelets,  gold-laced  hats  and  coats,  feathers, 
paint — and  arms.  They  had  found  out  the  difference  between 
gold  and  tinsel,  and  if  they  accepted  a  brooch  to  wear  in  their 
shirts,  it  must  at  least  be  sterling  silver. 

By  the  30th  of  June  the  army  was  at  Three  Mile  Point, 
and  Burgoyne  issued  his  General  Order  with  the  ill-omened 
expression,  "  This  army  must  not  retreat."  Why  mention  retreat  ? 
The  words  were  unfortunate,  and  the  remembrance  of  them 
influenced  Burgoyne's  decision  to  advance  from  Fort  Edward, 
instead  of  retracing  his  steps  to  Lake  George.  Next  morning 
the  army  embarked,  and  sailed  up  the  three  miles  of  river 
1  Hadden,  Journal  in  Canada. 


THE  RETAKING  OF  TICONDEROGA       521 

which  connect  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  —  the  Indians, 
who  had  lately  been  getting  drunk,  going  first  in  their  birch 
canoes. 

Montcalm  said  once  of  Ticonderoga  that  it  was  "  une  poste  pour 
un  honnete  homme  de  se  deshonorer."  And  so  Schuyler  and  St. 
Clair  proved  it.  Enormous  pains  had  been  spent  on  the  defences  of 
Ticonderoga  by  the  Americans,  but  unfortunately  they  had  fortified 
the  wrong  hill.  All  their  pains  had  been  bestowed  on  Mount  Inde- 
pendence, on  the  eastern  side  of  Champlain,  instead  of  on  Sugar  Hill, 
a  rugged  height,  the  terminus  of  the  ridge  between  Lake  Champlain 
and  Lake  George.  It  was  about  66  feet  high — to  south  of  the 
Fort,  beyond  the  narrow  channel  connecting  the  two  lakes.  They 
thought  it  out  of  range,  though  Trumbull  had  proved  to  them  that 
it  was  not,  by  firing  a  shot  the  year  before.  Then  they  said 
it  was  inaccessible — but  Trumbull  and  Arnold  climbed  it.  In 
vain  Trumbull  insisted  that  the  fort  ought  to  be  on  Sugar  Hill,  as 
it  dominated  everything — so  much  attention  was  being  given  to 
the  question  whether  Schuyler  or  Gates  was  to  command  in  the 
North,  that  the  question  of  Sugar  Hill  was  allowed  to  slide.  This 
incredible  blunder  caused  the  loss  of  Ticonderoga,  and,  but  for 
Germaine's  still  more  incredible  blunder  about  the  despatch,  might 
have  caused  the  triumph  of  the  British  arms  in  the  Northern  and 
Central  States. 

No  sooner  did  Phillips  see  Sugar  Hill  than  he  under- 
stood what  he  had  to  do.  He  advanced  with  Fraser's  corps 
and  took  it  without  opposition.  It  was  re-christened  Mount 
Hope,  because  it  gave  such  good  hope  of  taking  Ticonderoga. 
Next  he  set  about  cutting  a  road  up  it  for  his  artillery. 
The  Americans,  now  convinced  that  Mount  Hope  was  within 
range,  were  playing  upon  it  with  their  artillery,  and  wondered 
that  they  got  no  reply — Phillips  was  cutting  his  road  behind 
among  trees  and  rocks.  In  the  night  of  July  4,  everything  was 
carried  up  * — the  cannon  were  hauled  from  tree  to  tree,  and  in  the 
morning  the  garrison  were  astounded  to  see  red-coats  on  the 
Sugar  Hill,  evidently  working  at  a  battery.  Then  St.  Clair  also 
understood.  He  called  a  Council  of  War.  It  was  resolved  to 
evacuate  that  very  night,  and  retreat  to  Skenesborough,  thirty 
miles  off,  on  the  east  side  of  Lake  George.  The  provisions  and 
military  stores,  the  tents,  the  wounded,  and  the  women,  were 
embarked  on  two  hundred  bateaux,  guarded  by  600  men,  with 
200  more  in  five  armed  galleys.     All  was  done  so  silently  that  the 

1  Anburey  says  that  Phillips  split  fifteen  canes  in  beating  the  horses,  "  such 
was  his  anxiousness  in  expediting  the  artillery." 


522  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

flotilla  got  off  undiscovered,  though  it  was  a  moonlight  night.1 
St.  Clair  and  the  main  body  crossed  to  the  Vermont  side  of  the 
lake  at  three  in  the  morning,  and  set  forward  for  Hubbardtown ; 
and  no  alarm  would  have  been  given  if,  by  some  never  explained 
mistake  as  to  Colonel  Francis'  orders,  the  rear-guard  had  not  set 
fire  to  a  house  near  Mount  Independence.  The  house  blazed, 
the  sentries  on  Mount  Hope  saw  it  and  fired  the  alarm-gun  ;  the 
drums  beat  to  arms ;  Fraser  dashed  into  the  Fort  and  found  it 
deserted.  By  daybreak  the  British  flag  floated  once  more  on 
Ticonderoga,  and  Fraser  was  in  full  pursuit. 

Burgoyne,  on  the  Royal  George,  woke  to  find  the  Fort  taken,  and 
to  see  Fraser  disappearing  on  the  Vermont  shore.  He  instantly 
sent  Riedesel  to  support  him,  put  a  garrison  in  Ticonderoga,  and 
by  8  o'clock  the  troops  were  embarked  and  a  passage  broken 
through  the  great  boom  which  the  Americans  had  been  six  months 
making. 

The  fleet  set  out  to  pursue  the  flotilla.  The  lake  is  so  narrow 
above  Ticonderoga  that  it  used  to  be  called  South  River — 
("  beautiful  waters  wind  among  mountains  and  primaeval  forests  "). 
The  American  vanguard  did  not  know  the  alarm  was  given,  and 
fondly  believed  the  floating  bridge  would  be  a  great  hindrance  to 
Burgoyne.  They  are  described  as  making  merry,  and  drinking 
derisive  toasts  to  the  British  Commander,  forgetful  of  the  good  old 
adage  which^bids  us  not  shout  till  we  are  out  of  the  wood.  They 
reached  Skenesborough  about  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  had 
hardly  begun  to  disembark  when  they  heard  artillery  from  below. 
It  came  from  the  British  gun-boats,  which  had  pushed  on  and  were 
firing  on  the  galleys.  After  some  defence,  at  least  two  struck  and 
three  blew  up.  The  fugitives  brought  word  that  the  British  ships 
could  not  get  up,  and  so  the  British  and  Indians  were  landing  and 
scrambling  up  the  hills,  to  take  the  Fort  of  Skenesborough  in  rear 
and  cut  off  all  retreat.  There  was  consternation  and  confusion. 
Colonel  Long,  who  commanded  this  division,  had  everything  set 
on  fire — batteaux,  storehouses,  fort,  mill,2  and  then  there  was  a 
general  flight  to  Fort  Anne,  twelve  miles  farther  on.  Some  got  up 
Wood  Creek  in  boats,  but  Long  and  the  main  body  retreated  by 

1  St.  Clair  had  broken  down  the  bridge  as  he  crossed,  and. left  four  men  to 
fire  off  the  cannon  of  a  large  battery — but  the  men  got  at  a  cask  of  Madeira,  and 
were  lying  by  it  dead  drunk.  An  Indian,  "very  curious  in  examining  every- 
thing," dropped  a  spark  on  the  priming  of  a  cannon,  and  nearly  raked  the  9th, 
who  were  crossing. — Anburey. 

2  "The  trees  all  up  the  side  of  the  hanging  rock  had  caught  fire,  as  well 
as  at  the  top  of  a  very  lofty  hill.  The  element  appeared  to  threaten  universal 
destruction. " — Ibid. 


THE  RETAKING  OF  TICONDEROGA       523 

the  narrow  defile  cut  through  the  woods — harassed  all  night  by 
alarms  that  the  Indians  were  upon  them,  and  expecting  every 
moment  to  hear  the  war-whoop.  Both  parties  reached  Fort  Anne 
at  daybreak.  They  were  now  sixteen  miles  from  Fort  Edward. 
Schuyler  reached  Fort  Edward  next  day,  and  hearing  of  Long's 
plight,  sent  him  a  small  reinforcement,  urging  him  to  hold  out. 
The  same  day  Long's  scouts  told  him  the  red-coats  were  coming. 
It  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hill,  whom  Burgoyne  had  despatched  in 
pursuit.  There  was  a  sharp  skirmish  on  Wood  Creek,  the  British 
being  besieged  on  a  hill  for  two  hours.  Just  as  their  ammuni- 
tion was  failing,  Captain  Money,  Burgoyne's  D.Q.M.G.,  sounded 
the  Indian  war-whoop  in  the  wood.  He  actually  had  a  party  of 
Indians  behind  him,  but  they  had  refused  to  advance.  But  the 
war-whoop  had  almost  the  same  effect.  The  British  on  the  hill 
gave  three  cheers.  Long's  own  ammunition  was  nearly  exhausted. 
He  set  fire  to  Fort  Anne,  and  continued  his  flight  to  Fort  Edward. 
St.  Clair,  meanwhile,  had  retreated  through  the  woods  all  night, 
till  he  reached  Castleton,  nearly  half-way  to  Skenesborough.  His 
rear-guard  was  halted  at  Hubbardtown,  six  miles  behind,  to  wait  for 
stragglers.  It  was  composed  of  three  regiments — those  of  Colonels 
Seth  Warner,  Francis,  and  Hale — about  1300  in  all.  They  were 
tired  and  dispirited.  Very  early  on  the  morning  of  7th — "a  sultry 
July  day" — they  were  ordered  to  be  ready  to  march,  and  were 
taking  some  hasty  refreshment,  when,  just  as  the  sun  rose,  there 
was  a  cry — "  The  enemy  are  upon  us ! "  The  sentries  had  dis- 
charged their  muskets  and  were  running  in  from  the  thickets.  It 
was  Fraser  with  his  advance-guard  of  850,  who  had  pressed  on  in 
the  very  early  hours  of  the  morning,  and  now  fell  on  the  Americans. 
As  one  of  them  wrote  to  Starke,  "Some  behaved  and  some  did 
not."  Hale's  regiment  of  militia  fled  in  a  body — it  was  first 
attacked,  and  was  not  formed.  This  reduced  the  Provincials  to 
700.  The  regiments  of  Francis  and  Warner  made  a  stand,  "  every 
man  trying  to  secure  himself  behind  girdled  trees,"  in  backwoods 
fashion.  A  British  account  admits  that  for  a  time  the  issue  was  "  at 
least  doubtful,"  the  Provincials  having  turned  Fraser's  flank,  when 
Riedesel  came  up — his  men  singing  a  psalm  as  they  came — and 
charged  with  the  bayonet.1     Francis  and  200  were  killed,  the  rest 

1  Riedesel  arrived  on  the  field  some  time  before  his  men,  and  "  poured  forth 
every  imprecation  "  on  them  for  not  coming  in  time  to  share  in  the  glory.  Their 
incessant  firing  decided  the  fate  of  the  day.  "  In  this  action  I  found  all  manual 
exercise  is  but  an  ornament,  and  the  only  object  of  importance  .  .  .  was  loading, 
firing,  and  charging  with  bayonets.  .  .  .  Here  I  cannot  help  observing  to  you, 
whether  it  proceeded  from  an  idea  of  self-preservation,  or  natural  instinct,  but 
the  soldiers  greatly  improved  the  mode  they  were  taught  in,  as  to  expedition." 


524  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

broke  and  fled.  So  demoralised  were  some  of  them,  that  seventy 
Americans  surrendered  to  fifteen  British,1  whose  officer,  sent  out  to 
bring  in  cattle,  made  them  believe  he  had  a  large  party  concealed 
close  by. 

St.  Clair  at  Castleton  heard  the  firing,  and  ordered  two  militia 
regiments — which  were  only  two  miles  from  Hubbardtown — to  go 
back  and  assist  Francis;  but  they  refused,  and  at  this  moment 
St.  Clair  heard  that  Burgoyne  had  reached  Skenesborough.  So, 
fearing  to  be  intercepted  at  Fort  Anne,  he  struck  into  the  woods  on 
his  left,  and  for  five  days  no  one  knew  what  had  become  of  him. 
Then  the  shattered  remains  of  the  little  army  assembled  at  Fort 
Edward  (July  12),  having  lost  an  immense  quantity  of  stores  and 
artillery,  and  all  the  forts  which  had  been  relied  on  to  delay  the 
British  advance. 

The  panic  spread  to  Albany — "  people  were  running  about  as  if 
distracted,  sending  off  their  goods  and  furniture."2  The  British 
thought  the  campaign  was  over,  and  nothing  remained  but  a  some- 
what toilsome  march  to  Albany.  On  Sunday,  a  thanksgiving 
sermon  was  preached,  "  for  the  success  of  our  arms,  after  which  there 
was  a.  feu  dejoie  fired  by  the  whole  army,  with  artillery  and  small 
arms."3  The  British  also  were  shouting  before  they  were  out  of  the 
wood. 

When  the  news  reached  England,  the  King  rushed  into  the 
Queen's  apartments,  crying,  "  I  have  beat  them,  I  have  beat  all  the 
Americans ! "  He  offered  Burgoyne  the  Bath,4  but  Burgoyne 
declined  it — until  he  had  deserved  it  by  the  complete  success  of 
his  expedition. 

(Anburey,  i.  293-5.)  Anburey  accuses  the  Americans  of  treachery.  About 
60  came  across  a  field,  "  with  their  arms  clubbed,  which  is  always  considered 
to  be  a  surrender."  The  Grenadiers  were  accordingly  ordered  to  cease  firing. 
The  Americans  came  within  ten  yards,  and  then  fired  and  fled  to  the  woods, 
having  killed  and  wounded  a  great  number.  Those  who  escaped  the  fire 
pursued,  and  gave  no  quarter. 

1  "A  proof  of  what  may  be  done  against  Beaten  Battalions  while  their  fears 
are  strong  upon  them." — Hadden. 

2  Letter  of  Richard  Varick  to  General  Schuyler. 

3  He  adds,  "  the  sermon  was ...  an  exceeding  good  one,  for  a  parish  church, 
but  not  in  the  least  applicable  to  the  occasion." — Anburey. 

4  This  offer  caused  the  very  common  error  of  calling  Burgoyne  "Sir  John 
Burgoyne." — Horace  Walpole,  Last  Papers. 


THE  RETAKING  OF  TICONDEROGA       525 


NOTE. 

In  March,  1777,  a  Cabinet  Council  decided  that  Burgoyne  should  command  the 
expedition,1  and  Germaine  wrote  to  Carleton.  After  explaining  that  his  letter 
of  August  22,  1776,  was  entrusted  to  Captain  le  Maitre,  one  of  Burgoyne's  aides, 
but  that  le  Maitre,  unable  to  get  up  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Quebec,  had  brought  the 
letter  back  to  England,  Germaine  now  transmits  it,  "  though  it  was  prevented  by 
that  accident  from  reaching  your  hands  in  due  time  "  ;  he  continues — 

"  You  will  be  informed  by  the  contents  thereof,  that  as  soon  as  you  should 
have  driven  the  rebel  forces  from  the  frontiers  of  Canada  .  .  .  you  should  return 
to  Quebec,"  with  such  part  of  your  army  as  you  think  necessary  to  defend 
the  province;  "that  you  should  detach  Lieut. -General  Burgoyne,  or  such 
officer  as  you  think  most  proper,  with  the  remainder  of  the  troops,  and  direct 
the  Officer  so  detached  to  proceed  with  all  possible  expedition  to  join  General 
Howe,  and  to  put  himself  under  his  command.  With  a  view  of  quelling  the 
rebellion  as  soon  as  possible,  it  is  become  highly  necessary  that  the  most  speedy 
junction  of  the  two  armies  should  be  effected  ;  and  therefore  ...  it  is  the  King's 
determination  to  leave  about  3000  men  under  your  command,  .  .  .  and  to 
employ  the  remainder  of  your  army  on  two  expeditions,  the  one  under  the  command 
of  Lieutenant-General  Burgoyne,  who  is  to  force  his  way  to  Albany,  and 
the  other  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  St.  Leger,  who  is  to  make 
a  diversion  on  the  Mohawk  River.  As  this  plan  cannot  be  advantageously 
executed  without  the  assistance  of  Canadians  and  Indians,  his  Majesty  strongly 
recommends  it  to  your  care  to  furnish  both  expeditions  with  good  and  sufficient 
bodies  of  these  men." 

Then  follow  minute  directions  as  to  the  description  and  number  of  the  troops 
to  be  given  to  General  Burgoyne,  ending  with  the  words,  "  together  with  as  many 
Canadians  and  Indians  as  may  be  thought  necessary  for  this  service."  Burgoyne 
is  to  be  furnished  "in  the  fullest  and  completest  manner  with  artillery,  stores, 
provisions,  and  every  other  article  necessary  for  his  expedition.  .  .  .  You  are 
TO  GIVE  HIM  ORDERS  TO  PASS  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN,  AND  FROM  THENCE,  BY 
THE  MOST  VIGOROUS  EXERTION  OF  THE  FORCE  UNDER  HIS  COMMAND,  TO 
PROCEED    WITH    ALL   EXPEDITION    TO   ALBANY,   AND   PUT    HIMSELF    UNDER 

the  command  of  Sir  William  Howe."  "From  the  King's  knowledge  of 
the  great  preparations  made  by  you  last  year,  to  secure  the  command  of  the 
Lakes,"  his  Majesty  is  led  to  believe  that  everything  will  be  ready  for  General 
Burgoyne  to  pass  the  Lakes.  Then  come  directions  about  St.  Leger's  force — he 
too  is  to  have  "  a  sufficient  number  of  Canadians  and  Indians,"  and  all  else  that 
is  necessary,  and  "  you  are  to  give  him  orders  to  proceed  forthwith  to  and  down 
the  Mohawk  River  to  Albany,  and  put  himself  under  the  command 
of  Sir  Wm.  Howe.  I  shall  write  to  Sir  William  Howe  from  hence 
by  the  first  packet  ;  but  you  are  nevertheless  to  give  him  the  earliest  intelli- 
gence of  this  measure  ;  and  also  direct  Lieutenant-General  Burgoyne  and 
Lieutenant-Colonel  St.  Leger,  to  neglect  no  opportunity  of  doing  the  same,  that 
they  may  receive  instructions  from  Sir  William  Howe.  You  will 
at  the  same  time  inform  them,  that,  until  they  shall  have  received  orders  from  Sir 

1  ' '  Lord  George  Germaine  will  to-morrow  propose  General  Clinton  for  Canada, 
and  Burgoyne  to  join  Howe.  I  thoroughly  approve  of  this  ;  he  wants  [Carleton  (?)] 
to  be  recalled,  but  I  have  thrown  cold  water  on  that." — The  King  to  North, 
February  24,  1777,  50  min.  pt.  5  p.m. 


526  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Wm.  Howe,  it  is  his  Majesty's  pleasure  that  they  ACT  AS  exigencies  may 
require  ...  for  making  an  impression  on  the  Rebels  .  .  .  but  that  in  so 
doing,  they  must  never  lose  sight  of  their  intended  junction  with 
Sir  Wm.  Howe,  as  their  principal  objects." 

So  anxious  is  the  Government  for  this  scheme,  that  "in  case  Lieut. - 
General  Burgoyne,  or  Lieut. -Colonel  St.  Leger,  should  happen  to  die,"  or  be 
incapacitated  through  illness,  "  you  are  to  nominate  such  Officers  as  you  shall 
think  best  qualified  "  to  supply  their  place. 

This  despatch  is  dated,  Whitehall,  March  26,  1777. 

Sir  William  Howe  declared  unwaveringly  that  he  never  received  the  letter 
which  was  to  come  "  by  the  first  packet  "  ;  nor  did  Germaine  ever  produce  the 
copy  of  such  despatch,  nor  any  evidence  that  it  was  actually  sent, 


CHAPTER   LXIII 
THE  INDIANS 

"  Brothers,  we  again  repeat,  that  we  have  no  quarrel  with  you,  and  we  do 
expect  that  you  will  not  interfere  in  this  family  contest,  but  stand  by  as 
indifferent  spectators,  agreeable  to  the  engagement  of  the  Six  Nations  made 
last  summer,  at  their  own  request." — Speech  of  General  Philip  Schuyler  to  a 
Deputation  from  the  Mohawk  Indians^  at  Schenectady^  Tuesday  evening, 
Jan.  1 6,  1776. 

"  The  United  States  are  now  one  people ;  suffer  not  any  evil  spirit  to  lead 
you  into  war.  Brothers  of  the  Mohawks,  you  will  be  no  more  a  people  from 
the  time  you  quit  your  ancient  habitations.  Brothers  of  the  Six  Nations,  the 
Americans  well  know  your  great  fame  and  power  as  warriors ;  the  only  reason 
why  they  did  not  ask  your  help  against  the  cruelty  of  the  King  was,  that 
they  thought  it  ungenerous  to  desire  you  to  suffer  in  a  quarrel  in  which  you 
had  no  concern." — Speech  of  General  Horatio  Gates  to  the  Six  Nations ;  assembled 
in  Council of  War ;  May,  1777. 

"Warriors,  you  are  free — Go  forth  in  the  might  of  your  valour  and  your 
cause ;  strike  at  the  common  enemies  of  Great  Britain  and  America — dis- 
turbers of  public  order,  peace  and  happiness — destroyers  of  commerce, 
parricides  of  the  state.  The  circle  round  you,  the  Chiefs  of  his  Majesty's 
European  forces,  and  of  the  Princes  his  allies,  esteem  you  as  brothers  in  the 
war.  ...  I  positively  forbid  bloodshed,  when  you  are  not  opposed  in  arms. 
Aged  men,  women,  children,  and  prisoners,  must  be  held  sacred  from  the 
knife  or  hatchet,  even  in  the  time  of  actual  conflict.  ...  In  conformity  and 
indulgence  to  your  customs,  which  have  affixed  an  idea  of  honour  to  such 
badges  of  victory,  you  shall  be  allowed  to  take  the  scalps  of  the  dead,  when 
killed  by  your  fire  in  fair  opposition  ;  but  on  no  account,  or  pretence,  or 
subtlety,  or  prevarication,  are  they  to  be  taken  from  the  wounded,  or  even 
dying.  .  .  .  Should  the  enemy  .  .  .  dare  to  countenance  acts  of  barbarity 
towards  those  who  may  fall  into  their  hands,  it  shall  be  yours  to  retaliate." — 
Speech  of  Lieutenant -General  Burgoyne  to  Warriors  of  the  Iroquois ,  Algonkin, 
and  Ottawa  Indians,  assembled  in  Congress  at  the  Camp  upon  the  River 
Bouquet^  June  21,  1777. 

Burgoyne's  difficulties  now  began. 

The  long  delay  at  Skenesborough,  for  which  he  was  soon  to 
be  so  severely  blamed,  was  caused  by  the  want  of  transport,  and 
by  the  excessive  difficulties  of  the  advance.  Already  by  July  1 1 
he  had  discovered  that  he  had  "  to  clear  roads  and  make  bridges," 
if  he  would  get  to  Fort   Edward.     All  military  movements  were 

527 


528  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

crippled  by  the  numbers  of  men  employed  night  and  day  in 
dragging  bateaux  over  the  carrying-places.  On  July  n  he  writes 
that  his  men  had  been  without  provisions  for  two  days.  He  had 
neither  tents  nor  baggage — there  was  plenty  of  everything  in  the 
ships  on  the  Lake,  but  neither  horses  nor  carts  to  convey  it  to  the 
army.  He  had  counted  on  the  Canadians  as  carriers,  but  they 
did  not  come.  In  private  letters  he  says  that  about  one  hundred 
Provincials  had  joined  him.  And  the  Indians  already  gave  him 
great  anxiety.1  In  spite  of  his  dreadful  speeches  and  threats,  no 
more  humane  officer  ever  wore  a  British  uniform.  He  abhorred 
the  practice  of  flogging,  and  would  do  anything  rather  than  order 
a  soldier  to  be  flogged — rather  would  he  invent  some  other 
ingenious  but  not  cruel  punishment.  He  had  his  reward.  The 
troops  he  led  to  defeat  and  surrender  never  turned  on  their 
General.  They  loved  him  as  an  unfortunate  Commander  is 
seldom  loved.  His  kindness  of  heart,  and  his  personal 
gallantry,  atoned  for  all  his  weaknesses. 

The  toil  of  clearing  a  road  was  incredible.  Sometimes  the 
men  marched  up  to  their  knees  in  water.  Schuyler  had  had  trees 
cut  down  everywhere,  and  their  branches  interlaced.  "  Every 
ten  or  twelve  yards,"  says  Anburey,  "great  trees  are  laid  across 
the  road,  exclusive  of  smaller  ones.  .  .  .  You  would  think  it 
almost  impossible,  especially  when  it  is  considered  what  a  hasty 
retreat  they  made  of  it."  The  road  from  Skenesborough  was 
"a  continuation  of  woods  and  creeks,"  and  besides  these,  the 
"watery  grounds  and  marshes"  were  so  numerous,  that  the 
army  constructed  forty  bridges  to  pass  them — one,  over  a  great 
morass,  was  nearly  two  miles  long.  As  for  the  "  savages,"  their 
assistance  "is  little  more  than  a  name."  They  could  not  be  got 
away  from  the  plunder  of  Ticonderoga.  They  had  to  be  indulged 
in  all  their  caprices,  and,  "like  spoiled  children,"  are  more 
unreasonable  the  more  they  are  indulged.  Eurgoyne  had  said, 
"were  they  left  to  themselves,  they  would  be  guilty  of  enormities 
too  horrid  to  think  of."  Anburey  was  hoping  better  things  from 
the  Ottawas,  now  coming  up  under  St.  Luc  and  Langlade.  They 
were  said  to  be  braver  and  more  tractable,  and  "to  profess  war 
and  not  pillage."  A  good  many  Provincials  had  come  in  at 
Skenesborough,  "professing  themselves  loyalists,"  says  Anburey 
dubiously.  On  the  march  the  enemy  gave  little  trouble — a  few 
straggling  parties  were  easily  repulsed. 

1  In  commenting  on  the  Conduct  of  the  War  in  Canada,  the  King  had 
written  "Indians  must  be  employed,  and  this  measure  must  be  avowed 
directly." — Albemarle's  Life  of  Lord  Jxockifigham. 


THE  INDIANS  529 

Burgoyne's  army  was  of  excellent  material,  but  far  too  small 
for  the  work  required  of  it — and  yet  a  larger  army  would  have 
required  more  provisions  still.  He  had  been  most  reluctantly 
compelled  to  "drain  the  life-blood  of  my  force,"  by  leaving 
behind  General  Powell  and  two  regiments  to  garrison  Ticonderoga, 
and  to  occupy  a  line  of  posts  fifteen  miles  long,  from  Lake 
George  to  Pulteney.  He  tried  to  get  more  men  from  Carleton, 
but  Carleton  had  only  3000*,  and  his  orders  to  keep  them  all 
were  peremptory.  With  real  magnanimity,  Burgoyne  recognises 
Carleton's  inability  to  help  him.  He  had  another  and  still 
greater  reason  for  anxiety  —  he  had  heard  nothing  from 
Howe. 

At  the  rate  of  about  a  mile  a  day,  he  advanced  to  Fort 
Edward.  A  part  of  his  army  crossed  Lake  George,  and 
encamped  on  Mile  Island  (where  they  saw  and  killed  a  great 
number  of  rattlesnakes).1  The  Americans  had  abandoned  Fort 
George.  On  July  31  this  division  reached  Fort  Edward,  and 
saw  the  Hudson,  with  loud  shouts  of  joy.  Here  St.  Luc's 
Indians  joined,  and  caused  the  army  a  pleasant  surprise  by 
bringing  in  a  wounded  Provincial  officer,  alive.  But  their  joy 
was  of  short  duration.  In  a  day  or  two  these  much  belauded 
savages  did  a  deed  which  was  a  greater  misfortune  to  Burgoyne 
than  the  loss  of  a  battle. 

Jennie  McCrea  was  the  daughter  of  a  loyalist  clergyman  near 
Fort  Edward.  She  was  betrothed  to  a  young  Provincial  officer, 
named  Jones,  now  serving  with  Burgoyne.  It  was  long  believed 
that  Jones  sent  some  Indians  to  bring  her  safely  into  camp, 
knowing  that  her  brother  was  about  to  take  her  to  Albany.  But 
this  was  not  the  fact — Miss  McCrea  and  a  Mrs.  Campbell,  also 
a  staunch  loyalist,  a  cousin  of  General  Fraser,  were  seized  by  the 
Indians  in  their  own  house,  just  as  they  were  about  to  start  for 
Albany.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  Indians  intended 
to  bring  her  in  as  a  prisoner,  and  obtain  the  money  paid  for 
prisoners.  Unfortunately,  near  Fort  Edward,  a  party  of  loyal 
Provincials  came  out  to  the  rescue. 

The  Indians  hurried  the  ladies  off  in  different  directions. 
Mrs.  Campbell  was  brought  into  camp  unhurt,  but  Miss  McCrea 
was  never  seen  alive  again,  and  presently  another  party  of 
Indians  brought  in  her  scalp.  The  details  were  never  certainly 
known — some  said  that  a  quarrel  arose  between  the  two  parties 
of  Indians  for  the  possession  of  the  prisoner,  and  that  the 
disappointed  party  shot  her  in  a  rage;  others  said  she  was  shot 

1  Anburey. 
VOL.  I.— 34 


530  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

by   accident   in   the  scrimmage.     The   only   consolation  was   the 
hope  that  she  was  dead  before  she  was  scalped.1 

The  dreadful  story  spread  like  wildfire.  These  were  the 
creatures  with  whose  vengeance  the  British  General  was  always 
threatening  the  rebels  in  his  proclamations  —  creatures  who 
scalped  the  King's  friends  and  his  enemies  alike !  Every  man, 
woman,  and  child  who  heard  the  story  became  the  fierce  enemy 
of  Burgoyne  and  his  army. 

That  unhappy  General  was  furious.  By  this  time  he  loathed 
the  "  savages  "  from  his  very  soul.  He  demanded  the  murderers — 
they  must  be  given  up  to  justice.  But  St.  Luc  promptly  inter- 
vened, and  told  him  the  Indians  would  not  stand  it.  They  were 
already  heartily  sick  of  the  General's  sermons  on  humanity,  and 
of  his  restrictions  on  their  hereditary  privilege  of  plundering — they 
would  desert  in  a  body  if  he  laid  a  finger  on  one  of  them,  and 
would  massacre  everybody,  friend  and  foe,  whom  they  came  across  as 
they  went.  Burgoyne  said  he  would  rather  lose  every  Indian  in 
his  army  than  connive  at  their  enormities ;  but  he  dared  not  drive 
them  to  desperation — he  was  obliged  to  preserve  appearances  by 
saying  he  left  the  murderers  to  be  punished  by  their  own  tribe. 

"The  General,"  says  Anburey,  "showed  great  resentment 
to  the  Indians  upon  this  occasion,  and  laid  restraints  upon 
their  dispositions  to  commit  other  enormities."  Burgoyne  was 
the  more  exasperated,  because  the  Indians  guilty  of  this 
offence  were  the  very  Indians  of  the  remoter  tribes,  whom  he 
had  been  taught  to  look  upon  as  "more  warlike,"  and  less 
barbarous.  "I  believe,  however,"  observes  Anburey,  "he  has 
found  equal  depravity  reigns  through  the  whole  of  them."  The 
Indians  were  no  less  offended,  and  from  this  time  their  tempers 
changed,  and  when  they  found  plunder  was  really  to  be  con- 
trolled they  lost  patience  altogether.  On  the  4th  of  August 
they  announced  their  intention  of  going  home,  and  though  the 
General  remonstrated  with  them,  they  went  next  day,  "  by  scores, 
loaded  with  such  plunder  as  they  had  collected."  The  desertion 
went  on  till  hardly  one  of  them  was  left. 

The  army  was  now  encamped  on  the  heights  above  the  river. 
A  large  quantity  of  stores  and  provisions  had  arrived  from 
Ticonderoga,  but  the  General  had  still  to  wait  for  bateaux. 

But  for  the  look  of  a  retreat,  he  would  even  now  have  gone 

1  Poor  Lieutenant  Jones  never  recovered  the  shock.  He  left  the  army, 
and  wandered  about,  carrying  with  him  the  scalp  of  his  betrothed — adorned 
with  long  and  beautiful  black  hair.  He  fell  into  "a  melancholy,"  and  died 
in  a  year  or  two. 


THE  INDIANS  53 1 

back  and  taken  the  route  by  Lake  George,  and  bitterly  was  he 
reproached  afterwards  for  not  doing  so — but  only  by  the  arm-chair 
critics.  His  army  better  understood  his  dilemma.  The  crossing 
of  Lake  George  by  the  army  would  have  absorbed  all  his  bateaux ; 
and  how  were  his  provisions  to  be  carried?  At  Fort  George 
communication  by  water  ceased :  thence  everything  must  still  have 
been  carried  for  sixteen  miles.  And  those  sixteen  miles  might  well 
have  meant  sixteen  days.1  With  a  heavy  heart  he  sent  back  all 
superfluous  baggage  to  Ticonderoga  (there  was  a  great  deal  of  it, 
and  in  a  General  Order  he  reminded  the  army  that  "  in  the  last 
war  in  America  "  officers  did  with  a  knapsack  for  a  month  together). 
When  it  had  gone,  "  many  had  only  a  little  tent  or  a  valise."  He 
wrote  to  Carleton  that  he  thought  the  enemy  would  fall  back  on 
Saratoga,  "  where  I  mean  to  attack  them  if  they  stand.  /  have  no 
news  of  Sir  William  Howe." 

This  is  the  first  mention  of  Saratoga.  Already  Schuyler  and 
Arnold  were  collecting  an  army  there. 

Burgoyne  had  sent  no  fewer  than  ten  messengers  to  Howe,  with 
promises  of  great  rewards  if  they  brought  back  news ;  but  not  one 
of  them  had  ever  returned.  Burgoyne  knew  absolutely  nothing 
of  Howe's  position  or  intentions.  Little  did  he  dream  that  the 
Commander-in-Chief  had  gone  off  to  take  Philadelphia,  and  was  at 
that  very  moment  tossing  at  sea  off  the  Capes  of  Virginia ! 

He  was  beginning  to  be  most  seriously  uneasy  about  provision- 
ing his  army.  Schuyler  drove  off  nearly  all  the  cattle  —  this 
retarded  him,  but  he  thought  it  could  not  "finally  injure"  him. 
But  he  was  obliged  to  request  Riedesel  not  to  let  his  men  keep  the 
cattle  they  seized,  but  give  them  up  to  the  Commissary,  as  do  the 
British  troops  with  all  they  take,  and  they  complain  of  having  to 
eat  salt  meat  when  they  see  herds  of  cattle  in  the  hands  of  the 
Germans.  There  was  some  friction  between  British  and  Germans 
over  this. 

Burgoyne  had  still  two  great  rivers  to  pass — the  Hudson  and 
the  Mohawk — or,  if  the  Mohawk  should  prove  impassable,  then  to 
ford  the  Schenectady — fordable  except  after  heavy  rains.  Almost 
the  least  the  soldiers  must  carry  was  60  lbs.,  what  with  knapsack, 
provisions,  hatchet,  arms,  and  accoutrements.  The  Germans  went 
heavier  still — in  addition,  they  had  a  cap  "  with  a  very  heavy  brass 
front,"  an  enormous  sword,  a  canteen  "  that  cannot  hold  less  than 
a  gallon,  their  coats  very  long-skirted.     Picture  to  yourself  a  man 

1  Fort  George  was  at  the  head  of  Lake  George.  Fort  Edward  was  sixteen 
miles  from  it,  near  the  angle  formed  by  the  Hudson,  which  there  first  becomes 
navigable. 


532  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

in  this  situation,"  says  Anburey,  "and  how  extremely  well 
calculated  he  is  for  a  long  march."  No  wonder  that  the  men 
could  hardly  be  induced  to  carry  their  own  provisions,  and,  when 
they  thought  they  should  get  fresh  at  the  next  encampment,  some- 
times emptied  their  haversacks  "into  the  mire."  Anburey  had 
often  heard  them  exclaim,  "  Damn  the  provisions  !  we  shall  get  more 
at  the  next  encampment ;  the  General  won't  let  his  soldiers  starve ! " 

More  provisions  must  now  be  brought  forward — but  how  can 
this  be  done  without  carts  ?  And  there  is  only  one  carriage  road 
to  Albany,  and  that  goes  over  "  deep  and  wide  gullies,"  where  the 
bridges  are  broken,  and  the  river  is  on  one  side,  and  a  "  perpen- 
dicular" wooded  precipice  on  the  other,  from  which  the  enemy 
can  throw  things  down  on  us.  There  can  nothing  go  but  what  the 
men  can  carry  on  their  backs,  nor  can  "  the  smallest  ammunition 
tumbril "  be  carried  with  the  army.  It  is  with  the  greatest  difficulty 
that  it  can  be  victualled  from  day  to  day.  "  For  one  hour  that  the 
General  can  devote  in  contemplating  how  to  fight  his  army,  he 
must  allot  twenty  to  contrive  how  to  feed  it!" 

There  were  a  few  ladies  with  the  army.  The  names  of  two  of 
them  will  be  remembered  as  long  as  the  campaign.  The  Baroness 
von  Riedesel  had  braved  the  horrors  (and  horrors  they  were)  of  a 
voyage  to  Canada  with  her  three  young  daughters — the  eldest  only 
five  years  old,  and  had  esteemed  herself  only  too  happy  to  be 
permitted  to  join  her  husband.  When  Burgoyne  moved  down  on 
the  Hudson,  she  feared  she  would  be  left  behind,  but  as  Lady 
Harriet  Ackland  was  allowed  to  go,  she  also  obtained  permission. 
There  were  two  other  wives  of  officers,  and  there  was  a  considerable 
number  of  the  women,  honest  and  otherwise,  who  follow  an  army. 
The  Baroness'  account  of  the  march  enables  us  to  understand  what 
it  really  was  like.  At  first  victory  seemed  certain,  but  gradually 
disquieting  doubts  arose — above  all,  the  Baroness  was  disturbed 
to  find  that  everything  was  known.  The  officers'  wives  knew  all 
about  every  expedition  beforehand.  She  was  the  more  surprised, 
because  she  had  noticed  in  the  army  of  Prince  Ferdinand,  in  the 
Seven  Years'  War,  that  "all  was  kept  so  secret."  But  here,  the 
Americans  knew  everything  too,  "and  were  always  ready  where  we 


came 


"i 


1  "  I  had  the  surprise  and  mortification  to  find  a  paper  handed  about  at  Montreal 
publishing  the  whole  design  of  the  campaign  almost  as  accurately  as  if  it  had 
been  copied  from  the  Secretary  of  State's  letter.  My  own  caution  has  been  such, 
that  not  a  man  in  my  family  has  been  let  into  the  secret.  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  I 
am  confident,  has  been  equally  discreet." — Burgoyne  to  General  Hervey, 
May  19,  1777*  Fonblanque  suggests  that  Germaine,  "who  never  could  keep 
council,"  had  talked. 


THE  INDIANS  533 

The  Baroness  travelled  in  a  large  caliche^  with  her  three  children 
and  her  two  women,  one  of  whom  was  always  bemoaning  her  fate 
in  coming  to  this  terrible  country,  while  the  other  trembled  in 
silence.  For  weeks,  when  on  the  march,  Riedesel  never  slept  in  a 
bed  or  undressed — a  laborious,  conscientious  man,  prudent  and 
secret,  as  became  an  officer  of  Prince  Ferdinand. 


CHAPTER   LXIV 
THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 

"At  this  time  I  knew  nothing  of  his  engagement  being  over  (Baum's).  If 
Colonel  Skeene  knew  it,  I  cannot  conceive  what  his  reasons  were  for  concealing 
it  from  me.  If  I  had  known  it,  I  should  certainly  not  have  engaged  the  enemy. 
I  had  scarce  passed  the  bridge  iooo  yards  when  I  perceived  a  considerable 
number  of  armed  people,  some  in  jackets,  some  in  shirts,  who  were  endeavouring 
to  gain  a  height  which  was  on  my  left  flank.  I  shewed  these  people  to  Colonel 
Skeene,  who  assured  me  they  were  royalists,  and  rode  up  towards  them,  and 
called  out,  but  received  no  other  answer  than  a  discharge  of  fire-arms.  .  .  . 
The  troops  did  their  duty  ...  all  the  ammunition  was  expended  .  .  .  the 
horses  were  all  killed,  and  if  even  one  had  been  left  alive,  it  would  not  have 
been  possible  to  have  moved  him.  In  order  not  to  risque  everything,  as  I  could 
not  return  the  enemy's  fire,  as  soon  as  it  was  dark  I  retired  over  the  bridge, 
which  I  broke  down,  brought  off  as  many  of  the  wounded  as  I  could,  and  in 
company  with  Colonel  Skeene,  arrived  about  12  o'clock  at  Cambridge.  .  .  . 
This  is  the  best  account  I  can  give  of  this  whole  affair.  The  loss  of  my  cannon 
gives  me  the  greatest  concern  .  .  .  could  I  have  saved  my  cannon,  I  would  with 
pleasure  have  sacrificed  my  life." — Lieutenant-Colonel  Breymans  Account  of 
Bennington. 

"...  scouts  came  in  with  the  account  of  the  first  number  swelled  to  2000  ; 
immediately  after  a  third,  that  General  Burgoyne's  army  was  cut  to  pieces,  and 
that  Arnold  was  advancing  by  forced  marches  with  3000  men.  ...  I  begun  to 
suspect  cowardice  in  some  and  treason  in  others.  ...  I  learned  that  200 
(Indians)  were  already  decamped ;  in  about  an  hour  they  insisted  that  I  should 
retreat,  or  they  would  be  obliged  to  abandon  me.  I  had  no  other  part  to  take. 
...  On  my  arrival  at  the  Onondago  Falls,  I  received  an  answer  to  my  letter 
from  General  Burgoyne,  which  shewed  .  .  .  the  treachery  that  had  been  practised 
upon  me  .  .  .  there  was  not  an  enemy  within  40  miles  of  Fort  Stanwix." — 
Colonel  St.  Leger  to  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  Oswego,  Aug.  27,  1777. 

And  now  Burgoyne  was  to  experience  the  fortune  of  war.  To  clear 
the  way  to  the  Mohawk,  he  sent  St.  Leger  to  take  Fort  Stanwix, 
and  having  heard  that  there  were  great  numbers  of  waggons  and 
oxen,  and  quantities  of  stores,  at  Bennington,  twenty-five  miles  off, 
on  the  Connecticut  River,  he  resolved  to  surprise  it.  Colonel 
Baum,  of  Riedesel's  division,  was  sent  with  550  men,  mostly 
Germans,  but  a  few  Indians.1     Riedesel  seems  to  have  been  the 

1  A  few  Indians  seem  to  have  remained  with  the  army  ;  they  are  mentioned 

534 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE  535 

first  to  suggest  this  attempt,  but  was  against  it  when  he  found  so 
few  were  going.  Riedesel  says  that  he  was  never  consulted,  nor 
informed  of  plans — as  no  doubt  he  considered  the  due  of  the 
trusted  officer  of  so  great  a  General  as  Prince  Ferdinand.  Burgoyne 
called  few  or  no  Councils  of  War  during  his  march — as  he  after- 
wards alleged,  because  he  considered  his  orders  to  advance  to 
Albany  so  peremptory  as  to  admit  of  no  discussion.  Riedesel 
drew  up  instructions  for  Baum — all  on  the  side  of  extreme  caution. 
Bennington  was  the  great  depot  of  corn,  flour,  and  cattle  for  the 
American  army  in  the  north.  It  was  guarded  by  militia,  who  were 
changed  every  day.  Burgoyne  had  been  assured  by  "  those  who 
knew  the  country "  that  there  were  many  loyalists.  He  sent  one 
British  corps — the  select  light  corps  of  the  army,  commanded  by 
Captain  Fraser,  the  General's  nephew.  And  that  "famous 
marplot,"  Colonel  Skeene,  went  to  help  Baum  distinguish  between 
loyalists  and  rebels. 

Baum  started,  and  on  the  ioth  of  August  yet  another  regiment 
was  sent  back  to  garrison  Ticonderoga.  Meanwhile  the  army 
had  moved  on  to  "Duer's  House";1  and  there,  on  the  15th, 
Burgoyne  heard  that  Baum  had  been  attacked  near  Bennington 
by  a  superior  force,  and  was  hard  pressed.  Breyman  was  at 
once  sent  to  support  him.  But  the  heavy  cap-pieces  and  huge 
swords  of  the  Germans  kept  them  back — they  were  from  eight  one 
morning  to  four  the  next  afternoon  marching  twenty-four  miles,  and 
arrived  too  late.2 

Quite  by  chance  it  happened  that  the  redoubtable  John  Starke, 
with  900  of  the  Connecticut  Militia,  were  at  Bennington  that  day. 
Reinforced  by  Warner,  and  by  the  Berkshire  Militia,  Starke  stormed 
Baum's  entrenchment,  before  Colonel  Skeene  could  make  up  his 
mind  that  they  were  not  an  army  of  Provincials  coming  over  to  the 
King.     The  battle  began  at  3  p.m.  and  lasted  two  hours.     It  was 

occasionally,  but,  after  the  murder  of  Miss  McCrea,  seldom  as  taking  part  in 
military  operations. 

1  Mr.  Duer  had  married  one  of  Lord  Stirling's  daughters. 

2  Had  my  instructions  been  followed,  or  could  Mr.  Breyman  have  marched  at 
the  rate  of  two  miles  an  hour  any  given  twelve  hours  out  of  the  two  and  thirty, 
success  would  probably  have  ensued — misfortune  would  certainly  have  been 
avoided." — Burgoyne,  State  of  the  Expedition. 

"Yet  those  poor  devils  did  you  pitch  on  for  a  flying  expedition  through  the 
woods.  .  .  .  The  command  of  this  expedition  was  given  to  Colonel  Baum,  a 
brave  man  and  good  officer  in  his  way,  but  just  as  much  qualified  for  this  service 
as  an  Indian  Chief  for  the  command  of  an  army  in  Planders."  —  Matter  of 
Fact,  (A  tract  published  at  the  time  of  the  Enquiry  into  the  Conduct  of  the 
War.) 


536  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

a  hard  fight.  Starke's  men  charged  up  the  hill,  and  pressed  within 
eight  feet  of  Baum's  artillery  to  shoot  down  the  gunners.  Baum  fell 
sword  in  hand,  and  every  man  of  his  force  was  killed  or  taken. 
"  The  Indians  to  a  man,  and  most  of  the  Canadians,  ran  away,  St. 
Luc  and  Langlade  among  the  first,  and,  scarce  stopping  at  the  army, 
fled  on  to  Canada."  Just  as  the  action  was  over,  Breyman  came 
up.  The  militia  were  in  confusion,  and  Breyman  might  have 
avenged  Baum,  but  Warner  came  up  with  fresh  troops,  and  a  second 
action  began,  and  continued  till  night,  when  Starke  was  obliged  to 
cease  pursuing,  lest  his  men  should  fire  on  each  other  in  the  dark. 
Breyman  lost  all  his  cannon ;  there  were  over  500  prisoners ; 
and  900  of  the  famous  swords,  and  1000  stand  of  arms, 
became  the  prey  of  Starke.  Burgoyne  was  awakened  at  daybreak 
of  the  1 6th  by  the  news  that  Baum  had  surrendered — later,  word 
came  that  Breyman  too  was  hard  pressed.  The  whole  army 
prepared  to  move  to  his  aid,  and  was  at  Batten  Kill  when  a  message 
came  that  Breyman  was  returning,  but  Burgoyne  had  already 
forded  the  stream  with  the  47th,  and  he  pushed  on  till  he  met 
the  defeated  force.  It  was  a  great  disaster.  The  whole  loss  in 
killed,  wounded,  and  taken  was  not  much  less  than  1000  men. 
And  he  had  not  even  obtained  any  stores.  And  on  the  heels  of 
this  came  news  of  St.  Leger's  ignominious  failure  before  Fort 
Stanwix. 

Fort  Stanwix — called,  of  late,  Fort  Schuyler — was  built  on  the 
site  of  an  old  French  fort.  It  was  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Mohawk,  where  that  river  becomes  navigable,  and  commanded  the 
carrying-place  between  Upper  Canada  and  the  Mohawk  Valley.1 
It  was  garrisoned  by  about  750  New  York  and  Connecticut  troops, 
under  Colonel  Gansevoort,  a  Dutch  New  Yorker,  who  had  served 
under  Montgomery.  St.  Leger  had  with  him  100  men  of 
the  34th,  200  of  Sir  John  Johnson's  loyalist  corps,  the  Greens, 
and  300  or  400  Germans,  and  was  to  be  joined  by  500  Indians. 
He  started  on  the  1st  of  August,  and  on  the  3rd  appeared 
before  Fort  Stanwix  and  summoned  it  to  surrender.  On  the  5th 
he  invested  it.  The  same  day  General  Herkimer,  the  veteran 
commander  of  the  militia  of  Tryon  County,  sent  word  to  the 
garrison  that  he  was  eight  miles  off,  with  about  a  thousand  militia, 
waiting  to  relieve  them.  The  messengers  were  delayed  in  getting 
into  the  Fort,  and  Herkimer  waited  in  vain  for  the  signal  he  was  to 
receive.  His  officers  became  impatient,  even  insubordinate.  A 
brother  of  Herkimer's  was  with  St.  Leger,  and  one  of  the  officers 
exclaimed  that  the  General  was  either  a  Tory  or  a  coward.  "lam 
1  Evidence  of  Colonel  Kingston  before  the  House  of  Commons,  1779. 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE  537 

neither,"  said  the  old  General.  "  I  feel  towards  you  all  as  a  father, 
and  will  not  lead  you  into  a  scrape  from  which  I  cannot  extricate 
you."  But  he  gave  way,  and  they  marched  without  the  signal  which 
was  to  assure  them  that  the  garrison  knew  they  were  coming. 
Herkimer  was  offended,  and  refused  to  take  the  precautions 
suggested  by  his  officers.  At  ten  in  the  morning  they  came  to  a 
place  where  the  road  descended  into  a  ravine.  Here  the  Indians 
fell  upon  them,  together  with  some  of  Johnson's  Greens,  and  a 
company  of  Rangers  under  the  ruffian  Colonel  Butler.  Brant  led 
the  Indians.1  It  was  a  well-planned  ambuscade — the  Greens  were 
to  attack  in  front,  and  the  Indians  in  rear,  at  the  moment  when 
half  Herkimer's  force  should  have  crossed  the  bottom  of  the 
ravine. 

But  the  Indians  could  not  wait,  with  horrid  cries  they  fired  at 
the  same  moment  as  the  troops,  and  rushed  on,  flourishing  their 
tomahawks.  Herkimer's  rear-guard — not  yet  in  the  ravine — retreated. 
His  main  body,  though  taken  by  surprise,  fought  gallantly,  each 
side  taking  post  behind  trees — an  Indian  battle.  Herkimer  was 
wounded  early— a  ball  killed  his  horse  and  shattered  his  leg.  He 
made  his  men  place  him  with  his  back  to  a  tree,  and  continued 
to  give  orders.  The  regulars  tried  to  charge  with  the  bayonet,  but 
the  Americans  repulsed  them — forming  in  circles  back  to  back.  In 
the  midst  of  it  a  violent  storm  came  on,  with  thunder  and  lightning. 
The  Americans  used  the  lull  in  the  other  storm  to  change  their 
ground,  standing  in  pairs  behind  trees — for  the  Indians'  way 
was  to  wait  till  a  man  had  fired,  and  then  rush  in  and  toma- 
hawk him  before  he  could  re-load.  It  was  a  fierce  fight.  Old 
neighbours  met  there  in  mortal  combat  —  men  were  found 
afterwards  still  grappled  in  death,  with  their  knives  in  each 
other's  hearts.  The  savages  were  seized  with  blind  fury  when 
they  saw  their  Chiefs  fall,  and  many  of  Johnson's  Greens  were  killed 
by  his  own  allies. 

At  last  the  Indians  gave  the  signal  for  retreat  — "  Oonah ! 
Oonah  !  "  and  fled  into  the  woods.  The  Greens  heard  firing  in  the 
direction  of  the  Fort,  and  hurried  back,  and  the  Americans  retreated, 
carrying  their  wounded  with  them,  to  Oriskany,  whence  they  had 
started.  They  had  lost  200  killed — St  Leger  perhaps  more 
still.2 

Herkimer's  messengers  had  reached  the  Fort  between  ten  and 
eleven  o'clock,  and  Gansevoort  had  instantly  fired  the  three  guns 

1  Brant's  sister,  widow  of  old  Sir  William  Johnson,  had  sent  word  to  Brant  of 
Herkimer's  coming. 

2  Herkimer  died  a  day  or  two  after  the  battle. 


538  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

which  were  to  be  the  signal,  while  Colonel  Willett  with  250  men 
went  out  to  make  a  diversion.  He  fell  upon  Johnson's  encamp- 
ment, and  drove  him  and  the  Indians  to  the  river.  He  sacked 
their  camp,  and  loaded  waggons  with  all  he  found — including 
Johnson's  papers — and  re-entered  the  Fort  safely,  just  as  St.  Leger 
came  up  with  a  reinforcement. 

St.  Leger  next  tried  to  frighten  the  garrison.  He  made  his 
prisoners  write  letters  about  the  late  affair,  and  the  impossibility  of 
succour  for  the  Fort — Burgoyne  was  probably  already  at  Albany. 
With  this  letter  St.  Leger  sent  the  usual  threat — the  garrison  had 
better  surrender — if  compelled  to  storm,  he  could  not  control  the 
Indians,  who  had  sworn  fearful  reprisals  for  their  Chiefs  slain  at 
Oriskany.  They  had  sworn  to  slaughter  the  garrison,  and  lay  waste 
the  whole  valley  of  the  Mohawk.  This  failing,  St.  Leger  next  sent 
an  appeal  to  the  inhabitants  of  Tryon  County,  signed  by  Johnson, 
Butler,  and  others,  advising  them  to  send  a  deputation  to  the 
garrison  to  overcome  its  "  mulish  obstinacy  " — otherwise  the  whole 
district  would  be  ravaged.  But  the  garrison  was  neither  to  be 
frightened  nor  persuaded  into  surrender,  it  was  too  strong  to  be 
taken  by  assault,  the  ramparts  were  of  earth,  and  St.  Leger's  artillery 
was  light.  He  began  to  make  regular  approaches.  Then  Major 
Willett  volunteered  to  go  to  Schuyler  for  help.  On  the  10th,  after 
dark,  he  slipped  out  at  a  sallyport,  crossed  the  Mohawk  on  a  log, 
and  on  the  12th  reached  Schuyler's  camp  at  Stillwater.  A  Council 
of  War  was  called.  Most  of  the  officers  thought  the  army  too 
weak — some  even  hinted  that  Schuyler  had  a  treacherous  motive 
in  proposing  to  send  away  a  reinforcement  to  Fort  Stanwix. 
Schuyler,  stung  to  the  quick,  said  he  took  the  responsibility  on 
himself,  and  asked  who  would  lead  the  relieving  force?  "I 
will ! "  said  Arnold,  and  he  set  off  next  day  with  900  volunteers, 
and  caused  a  rumour  to  go  before  him  that  he  was  coming  with 
2000  men. 

St.  Leger's  Indians  were  growing  dissatisfied — they  did  not 
understand  fighting  with  spades,  they  had  had  no  plunder,  and  had 
lost  several  of  their  best  Chiefs.  Now  came  a  report  that  Burgoyne 
had  been  defeated — one  of  Arnold's  spies,  with  his  coat  carefully 
riddled  by  shots,  brought  this  news,  and  told  the  Indians  that  as 
many  Americans  were  coming  as  the  trees  had  leaves.  "  Savages  " 
never  stand  by  a  losing  cause — the  Indians  began  to  desert,  first, 
however,  plundering  the  British  officers.  Most  of  them  made  off 
that  same  afternoon.  Those  who  stayed  threatened  to  go  unless 
St.  Leger  retired — he  must  go  that  very  night.  And  they  seized  the 
officers'  liquor  and  made  themselves  very  drunk.    St.  Leger  did  not 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE  539 

wait  for  night — he  started  at  once,  leaving  behind  his  tents,  artillery, 
and  baggage.  The  garrison  made  a  sortie,  and  pursued  him ;  but 
his  own  Indians  were  the  worst — they  plundered  such  baggage  as 
he  had  saved,  murdered  stragglers,  and  amused  themselves  by 
giving  false  alarms  that  Arnold  was  upon  them.  The  soldiers,  by 
this  time  in  a  panic,  would  throw  down  muskets  and  knapsacks 
and  take  to  flight — on  which  the  Indians  acquired  what  they  had 
flung  away.1  St.  Leger  had  got  to  Onondaga  Falls  before  a  letter 
from  Burgoyne  informed  him  he  had  run  when  no  man  pursued,  for 
when  he  raised  the  siege  in  such  a  hurry  Arnold  was  still  forty 
miles  off!  St.  Leger  could  not  even  rejoin  Burgoyne.  He  went 
back  to  Montreal,  and  thence  to  Ticonderoga,  hoping  to  work 
round  into  Burgoyne's  line  of  march,  but  he  never  got  farther 
south  than  Ticonderoga.  The  remorseless  St.  Leger — the  terror 
of  the  Americans,  as  his  namesake  of  a  century  before  had 
been  of  the  Irish — ended  his  career  of  devastation  by  a  ludicrous 
fiasco. 

The  Indians  were  a  total  failure.  They  had  suffered  severely 
in  the  fight  with  Herkimer,  and  they  highly  resented  the  restraints 
placed  by  Burgoyne  on  their  immemorial  right  to  torture  their 
prisoners.  They  were  in  a  dangerous  temper,  more  terrible  to 
friend  than  to  foe.  For  this  had  Burgoyne  endured  the  humiliation 
of  being  publicly  presented  with  a  hundred  scalps  ! 

In  his  General  Orders  after  Bennington,  Burgoyne  attributes 
that  disaster  in  part  to  the  "credulity  of  those  who  managed 
the  department  of  intelligence."  This  refers  to  Colonel  Skeene, 
who  had  shown  his  papers  to  every  man  who  pretended  to 
be  friendly,  and  thus,  as  Hadden  says,  allowed  the  rebels  to 
know  his  numbers  and  all  about  the  expedition.  There  was 
general  recrimination — Breyman  was  charged  with  purposely  arriving 
too  late,  on   an   old   grudge   against  Baum,   but   there   seems  to 

1  "  A  Letter  from  a  Gentleman  in  Quebec,"  dated  September  6,  1777,  gives  an 
account  of  the  "savages  "  in  St.  Leger's  ambuscade,  and  of  the  fighting  around 
Fort  Stanwix,  which  conclusively  condemns  their  employment.  St.  Leger  was 
four  days  without  food  or  drink  on  his  flight  !  The  savages  had  taken  everything 
— casks  of  liquor,  etc. ,  and  as  they  were  double  the  number  of  the  British,  these 
dared  not  oppose  them.  A  day  or  two  afterwards,  some  of  these  Indians  went 
to  a  house  where  were  a  woman  and  her  daughter,  aged  eighteen,  and  "butchered 
them."  Burgoyne  condemned  them  to  death  by  a  court-martial,  but  the  Chiefs 
"remonstrated,"  and  he  pardoned  them  on  promise  of  amendment  !  In  a  day 
or  two,  however,  all  but  50  went  home.  This  writer  says  1000  savages  went 
with  Baum. 

"  It  is  reported  that  the  Indians  have  begun  scalping  on  the  Ohio,  and  that 
the  Commanding  Officer  at  Detroit  offers  20/.  a  scalp." — Gentleman's  Magazine, 
1776,  p.  234. 


540  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

be  no  real  foundation  for  this  charge  —  it  rests  on  hearsay 
reports  of  words  perhaps  never  uttered,  or  if  uttered,  merely  the 
result  of  momentary  irritation.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose 
malignity  —  fatigue  is  an  ample  explanation.  Those  enormous 
swords,  and  the  whole  martinetish  system  of  the  Germans,  more 
than  account  for  the  slowness  of  Breyman's  advance  —  it  was 
seriously  asserted  that  his  men  halted  ten  times  an  hour  to 
re-dress  their  ranks.  Riedesel  was  against  sending  Breyman  after 
Baum. 

Besides  all  the  other  disastrous  consequences  of  Bennington, 
it  caused  further  delay.  On  the  20th  of  August  Burgoyne  wrote 
the  despatch  which  caused  so  much  surprise  and  disappointment 
in  England — setting  forth  his  troubles — bad  weather,  bad  roads, 
the  horses  not  arrived,  scarcity  of  provisions,  which  had  led  him 
to  make  the  unfortunate  attempt  on  Bennington.  Then  the 
failure  of  that  attempt,  the  death  of  Baum,  the  capture  of  nearly 
200  of  the  Brunswick  dragoons,  and  four  pieces  of  cannon ;  he  was, 
however,  assured  that  the  enemy's  losses  were  double  his  own — 
prisoners  and  deserters  who  had  witnessed  the  burial  of  the  dead 
had  given  him  this  comforting  information.  But  Burgoyne  owns 
that  he  does  not  trust  "  the  professing  loyalists  " — most  were  only 
trimmers.  "The  great  bulk  of  the  country  is  undoubtedly  with 
the  Congress."  "The  Hampshire  Grants,  in  particular  .  .  .  now 
abounds  in  the  most  active  and  most  rebellious  race  of  the  contin- 
ent, and  hangs  like  a  gathering  storm  upon  my  left.  .  .  .  Another 
most  embarrassing  circumstance  is  the  want  of  communication  with 
Sir  William  Howe." 

By  this  time  Burgoyne  knew  that  two  of  his  messengers  had 
been  caught  and  hanged.  Only  one  letter  had  come  to  hand,  no 
operation  had  been  undertaken  in  his  favour,  and  Gates,  "with 
an  army  superior  to  mine,"  was  strongly  posted  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Mohawk  River.  Burgoyne  wished  he  "  had  a  latitude  in  his 
orders" — he  would  then  wait  where  he  was,  or  get  back  to  Fort 
Edward,  where  his  communication  with  Fort  George  would  be 
secure.  But  his  orders  were  positive,  "  to  force  a  junction  with  Sir 
William  Howe"  The  " orders "  were  the  orders  of  Germaine 
himself.  It  is  impossible  that  Burgoyne  could  have  written  thus  to 
Germaine,  if  this  statement  had  been  untrue. 

The  same  mail  (an  armed  transport  from  Quebec)  brought  also 
St.  Leger's  letter,  describing  his  "  complete  "  victory  over  Herkimer.1 
The  next  mail  brought  news  of  his  equally  complete  failure.     The 

1  "  .  .  .  over  whom  the  Indians  had  obtained  the  compleatest  victory,  laying 
above  400  dead  on  the  field,  among  whom  were  almost  all  the  principal  movers 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE  541 

British  public  could  not  understand  it.  Why  were  the  victories 
never  followed  up?  People  began  to  write  to  the  Magazines, 
blaming  and  excusing  Burgoyne. 

Burgoyne  dreaded  the  moment  of  passing  the  Hudson,  because 
from  that  hour  "all  safety  of  communication  ceases.  I  must 
expect  a  large  body  of  the  enemy  from  my  left  will  take  post 
behind  me."  "  I  little  foresaw  that  I  was  to  be  left  to  pursue 
my  way  through  such  a  tract  of  country,  and  hosts  of  foes,  without 
any  co-operation  from  New  York."  Could  he  but  reach  Albany  ! 
He  found  himself  in  a  cruel  dilemma;  whether  he  went  on,  or 
went  back,  he  might  lose  an  army — his  own,  if  he  went  forward, 
Howe's,  if  he  retreated  and  Howe  came  up  to  Albany ! 

Meanwhile  he  was  collecting  supplies,  and  at  last,  on  the  13th1 
of  September  he  crossed  the  Hudson  near  Batten  Kill,  by  a 
"bridge  of  bateaux,"  and  encamped  at  Saratoga.  His  General 
Orders  warned  the  troops  that  they  might  be  required  to  fight 
at  any  moment.  The  army  had  provisions  for  thirty  days.  The 
place  where  they  encamped  was  a  plain,  where  stood  a  fine 
house  belonging  to  General  Schuyler.  On  the  15th  they  moved 
on  to  Dovecot,  and  on  the  17th  they  encamped  "on  advantageous 
ground "  about  four  miles  from  the  enemy,  who  were  strongly 
posted  at  Stillwater,  nearer  to  Albany. 

Everyone  knew  that  an  action  was  imminent.  Phillips  had 
called  the  artillery  officers  together,  and  exhorted  them  not  to 
waste  their  ammunition  by  aimless  firing.  Even  should  the 
commanding  officer  of  a  battalion  give  them  orders,  they  must 
not  carry  them  out  to  the  wasting  of  ammunition,  for  they  could 
not  possibly  get  any  more. 

On  the  1 8th  the  enemy  appeared  in  force,  to  obstruct  the 
men  who  were  repairing  bridges.  The  British  were  now  at  Sword's 
Farm,  two  miles  nearer  the  Americans.  All  their  marches  of 
late  had  been  very  difficult,  all  roads  and  bridges  had  to  be 
mended,  and  very  careful  reconnoitring  was  now  necessary. 
To  make  things  worse,  here  the  Hudson  winds  so  much  that 
the  mountains  are  now  near,  now  far  from  the  stream,  and  so 
the  columns  were  obliged  to  march  both  on  the  plains  and  the 

of  rebellion  in  that  county  ;  that  he  had  nothing  to  apprehend  that  could  retard 
his  progress  in  joining  the  General  but  a  rumour  of  a  reinforcement  of  what  they 
call  their  regular  troops  by  the  Mohawk  river,  and  therefore  praying  a  diversion 
.  .  ." — "  Thus  far  all  goes  well  with  Col.  St.  Leger  ;  but  the  next  news  we  hear 
of  that  commander  is  .  .  .  that  finding  Fort  Stanwix  too  strong  for  him  ...  he 
had  given  over  the  attempt,"  etc.  —  American  News,  Gentleman's  Magasine, 
November,  1777. 

1  Hadden's  Journal  gives  the  13th.     The  14th  is  the  day  most  often  given. 


542  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

heights,  and  were  always  half  an  hour's  march  from  each  other, 
and  often  unable  to  close  up — while  the  woods  were  so  thick 
that  in  the  battle  which  followed  parties  had  sometimes  been 
engaged  for  an  hour,  unaware  that  other  parties  of  their  friends 
were  engaged  close  by. 


CHAPTER   LXV 
FREEMAN'S  FARM 

"  I  think  it  a  duty  of  justice  ...  to  take  upon  myself  the  measure  of  having 
passed  the  Hudson's  River,  in  order  to  force  a  passage  to  Albany.  I  did  not 
think  myself  authorised  to  call  any  men  into  council,  when  the  peremptory 
tenor  of  my  orders  and  the  season  of  the  year  admitted  no  alternative.  .  .  .  The 
General  officers,  from  the  mode  of  fighting,  have  been  more  exposed  than  in 
other  services.  Among  the  rest  I  have  had  my  escapes.  It  depends  upon 
the  sentence  his  Majesty  shall  pass  upon  myjconduct ;  upon  the  judgment  of  my 
profession,  and  of  the  impartial  and  respectable  parts  of  my  country,  whether  I 
am  to  esteem  them  blessings  or  misfortunes." — Burgoyne  to  Lord  George  Germaine, 
Albany,  Oct.  20,  1777. 

Gates  was  now  in  command  of  the  Provincial  Army,  which 
by  the  beginning  of  September  numbered  about  1 0,000  men. 
Morgan  had  arrived,  and  Washington  had  also  sent  artillery. 
Schuyler,  after  assuring  Gates  that  no  personal  feeling  should 
prevent  his  giving  all  the  aid  in  his  power,  had  gone  to  Albany, 
and  was  exerting  his  influence  to  prevent  the  Oneida  Indians 
from  joining  the  British.  Arnold  commanded  Gates'  left  wing,  and 
Gates  and  Arnold  soon  quarrelled.  Their  tempers  were  incom- 
patible— Gates  was  slow  and  cautious,  Arnold  was  daring ;  he 
thought  Gates  had  no  enterprise,  and  Gates  thought  Arnold  had 
no  prudence.  Arnold  did  not  conceal  his  contempt  for  the  new 
Commander-in-Chief;  and  Gates,  a  fussy  martinet,  made  no 
allowance  for  Arnold's  impetuosity. 

Gates  intended  to  await  Burgoyne's  attack.  After  Bennington 
the  whole  country  rose.  Men  came  in  daily,  till  there  was  not 
an  able-bodied  man  left  in  New  England — they  were  all  gone  to 
repulse  Burgoyne. 

As  every  day's  delay  increased  the  danger  of  supplies  failing, 
Burgoyne  resolved  to  force  an  action. 

The   American  army  lay  on  the  ridge  of  hills  called  Bemis' 

Heights.      In     ancient    days,    the    only    tavern     between     Fort 

Edward   and    Albany   stood    there.     Kosciusko    had    fortified   it 

with   entrenchments   three-quarters  of  a   mile  long,  and   redoubts 

543 


544  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

and  batteries  which  commanded  the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  and 
even  the  hills  across  the  river,  here  comparatively  narrow.  Gates 
had  formed  his  army  in  two  lines — the  right  commanded  by 
himself,  and  the  left  by  Arnold.  The  right  wing  occupied  the 
ridge  next  the  river ;  the  left  was  on  a  high  ground  intersected 
by  a  deep  ravine,  with  a  saw-mill  in  the  middle.  Both  positions 
were  covered  by  dense  forest. 

Between  nine  and  ten  on  the  morning  of  Friday,  the  19th 
of  September,  1777,  the  British  army  advanced  in  three  columns. 
The  left  was  in  two  divisions — four  German  regiments,  under 
Riedesel,  and  the  47th  and  the  artillery  and  baggage  under 
Phillips. 

It  marched  through  the  meadows  by  the  river.  The  centre, 
led  by  Burgoyne  in  person,  marched  parallel  with  the  left, 
through  woods,  towards  the  great  ravine;  while  Fraser,  with 
the  right,  supported  by  Breyman,  made  a  circuit,  so  as  to  pass 
the  ravine  without  quitting  the  heights.  The  Canadians,  loyalists, 
and  Indians  went  in  front  and  on  the  flanks.  With  something 
less  than  200  Provincials,  about  80  Canadians,  and  the  remaining 
50  savages — all  that  had  remained — the  army  reckoned  about 
6000  men. 

Riedesel's  advance  by  the  river  was  very  slow — every  moment 
bridges  must  be  made  and  trees  cleared  out  of  the  way.  About 
one  o'clock  he  heard  firing,  which  seemed  to  come  from  the 
direction  of  Burgoyne's  column.  At  half-past  two  the  firing 
was  renewed,  far  stronger.  As  he  had  received  no  message  from 
the  Commander-in-Chief,  Riedesel  sent  an  aide  to  ask  for  orders. 
In  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  the  aide  returned  with  the 
order  to  make  the  best  arrangement  he  could  to  cover  the 
bateaux,  and  then  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  centre,  by  falling  on 
the  enemy's  flank. 

The  centre,  meanwhile,  had  marched  for  about  an  hour, 
when  it  reached  the  great  ravine  with  the  saw-mill.  This  was 
passed  without  opposition,  and  the  opposite  height  was  gained. 
Here  Burgoyne  halted  for  nearly  an  hour,  to  give  Fraser  time 
to  come  up.  During  this  halt,  the  advanced  sentries  exchanged 
shots.  Between  one  and  two  the  signal  for  advance  was  given, 
and  Major  Forbes  advanced  with  the  pickets  and  the  9th,  but 
was  repulsed  with  loss  by  Morgan,  and  the  Canadians  and 
Indians  were  dispersed.  Some  of  the  rest  firing  wildly  and 
killing  some  of  the  fugitives,  Major  Kingston,  to  stop  it,  ordered 
up  Lieutenant  Hadden,  who  was  serving  two  guns  on  the 
left  of  the   62nd  —  "by   which   accident   I   fired    the    first    shot 


FREEMAN'S  FARM  545 

from  the  main  body  of  this  Army."  About  2  o'clock  the  centre 
reached  the  open  space  opposite  Freeman's  Farm,  and  the  rest 
of  the  action  was  a  furious  struggle  to  retain  or  to  regain  this 
position. 

Fraser,  coming  up,  took  possession  of  an  advantageous  height 
on  the  right.  The  centre  now  passed  a  small  bridge,  and  took 
post  in  the  outskirts  of  a  wood  held  by  the  Americans,  who 
immediately  attacked  with  great  vigour,  and  for  three  hours 
the  fight  was  sustained  by  the  20th,  21st,  and  62nd;  Fraser  also 
being  attacked,  and  the  centre  hard  pressed. 

As  soon  as  Phillips  heard  the  firing,  he  broke  up  through 
the  wood  with  four  pieces  of  artillery.  By  this  time  Hadden 
had  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  19  of  his  22  artillerymen.  He 
was  asking  General  Hamilton  for  a  supply  of  infantry,  to  go  on 
working  the  guns,  when  his  cap  was  shot  through.  Hamilton 
referred  him  to  Phillips,  who  sent  Captain  Jones  with  a  reinforce- 
ment. But  in  a  few  minutes  all  these  were  wounded — Jones 
mortally.  The  62nd  had  suffered  terribly,  and  lost  nearly  half 
its  men.  It  now  tried  to  charge,  but  lost  25  prisoners,  and 
began  to  get  into  confusion.  Hadden  tried  to  save  his  guns, 
but  he  and  the  remnant  of  the  62nd  were  swept  off  the  hill. 
At  this  moment  Riedesel  came  up  with  seven  companies,  and 
charged  the  enemy;  the  British  rallied,  and  the  hill  and  guns 
were  recovered.  Phillips  and  Riedesel  charged  again,  and  Riedesel 
believed  that  if  night  had  not  come  on  it  would  have  been  easy 
to  rush  the  American  camp.  Just  as  the  light  closed  the  British 
were  left  masters  of  the  field. 

This  is  the  British  account.  Burgoyne  does  not  mention  his 
losses — they  were  heavy,  especially  in  officers,  whom  Morgan's 
rifles  picked  off  with  fatal  precision.  The  62  nd,  who  left  Canada 
500  strong,  had  only  60  men  and  four  or  five  officers  remaining 
under  arms.  Of  three  officers  of  the  20th  who  were  buried  in 
one  grave,  the  eldest  was  only  seventeen  years  old.  The  dread- 
ful business  of  picking  up  the  wounded  and  burying  the  dead 
is  vividly  described  by  Anburey.  The  night  after  the  battle, 
besides  all  the  other  alarms,  the  camp  was  disturbed  by  a  great 
noise  like  the  howling  of  dogs,  to  the  right  of  the  encampment. 
It  was  supposed  to  be  a  feint  of  the  enemy,  to  draw  off  attention 
from  some  other  attack.  Next  night  the  noise  was  heard  again, 
and  General  Fraser  thought  it  was  the  officers'  dogs,  and  ordered 
them  to  be  confined  to  tents — the  Provost  to  hang  up  any  he 
found  running  loose.  But  on  the  third  night  the  noise  was 
louder  than  ever,  and  a  detachment  of  Canadians  and  Provincials 
vol.  1.— 35 


546  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

was  sent  to  reconnoitre — who  found  that  the  noise  was  the 
howling  of  wolves  as  they  scratched  up  the  corpses. 

The  day  after  the  battle  Burgoyne  took  a  position  nearly 
within  cannon-shot  of  the  enemy,  and  fortified  his  right,  extend- 
ing his  left  to  cover  the  meadows,  "  through  which  the  great  river 
runs,"  and  where  the  bateaux,  hospitals,  and  magazines  were. 
The  47  th  guarded  them,  and  strong  redoubts  were  being  erected 
for  their  protection.  Burgoyne  found  he  had  gained  nothing 
but  honour  by  his  victory;  "the  enemy  working  with  redoubled 
ardour  to  strengthen  their  left;  their  right  was  unattack- 
able  already."  He  had  now  for  some  days  been  obliged 
to  send  out  whole  regiments  to  protect  his  workmen  and 
pioneers. 

At  last,  on  the  21st,  a  messenger  arrived  with  a  letter  in  cypher 
from  Clinton.  It  was  dated  the  10th,  and  said  that  the  writer 
would  start  in  about  ten  days  to  attack  Fort  Montgomery.  This 
was  the  only  messenger  who  had  reached  the  camp  since  the 
beginning  of  August.  He  was  sent  back  the  same  night,  with 
a  letter  in  a  hollow  silver  bullet,  to  tell  Clinton  of  the  situation 
of  the  army,  and  the  necessity  of  a  diversion  to  oblige  Gates 
to  detach  part  of  his  force — Burgoyne  promising  to  "  wait  favour- 
able events,"  if  possible,  till  the  12th  of  October.  The  messenger 
set  off,  and  got  to  Fort  Montgomery — where  Burgoyne  had  made 
sure  that  Clinton  would  be,  and  asking  for  "General  Clinton," 
was  brought  to  him.  But  it  was  the  wrong  General  Clinton — 
the  rebel  General,  late  Provincial  Governor  of  New  York.  The 
unhappy  messenger  swallowed  his  bullet,  but  an  emetic  was 
administered  to  him,  the  despatch  was  recovered,  and  the  bearer 
was  hanged  as  a  spy. 

In  the  course  of  the  two  following  days  two  officers 
in  disguise,  and  other  confidential  persons,  were  sent  by 
different  routes  with  verbal  messages  to  Clinton,  and  Burgoyne 
continued  fortifying  his  camp,  and  watching  the  enemy,  whose 
numbers  increased  daily.  Stronger  and  stronger  parties  had  to 
be  sent  out  foraging — and  there  was  very  little  forage.  Detach- 
ments often  reconnoitred  the  enemy's  right  flank,  but  could 
never  learn  anything.  On  crossing  the  Hudson  Burgoyne  had 
broken  off  all  his  communications,  but  he  received  a  small  piece 
of  bad  news  from  Skenesborough — four  companies  of  the  53rd 
had  been  captured.  His  provisions  began  to  give  in.  On 
October  3  he  issued  his  last  General  Order.  It  began : 
"There  is  reason  to  be  assured  that  other  powerful  Armies 
of  the  King  are  actually  in  co-operation  with  these  Troops  " ;   but 


FREEMAN'S  FARM  547 

as  it  is  desirable  to  be  prepared  for  continuance  in  the  field, 
"without  the  delay  of  bringing  forward  further  Stores,  the  ration 
of  Bread  or  Flour  is  for  the  present  fixed  at  one  Pound."  And 
to  keep  up  their  spirits,  the  same  Order  announced  that  the 
Deputy  Paymaster-General  would  issue  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  days'  forage  money  to  officers.  The  soldiers  submitted  very 
cheerfully  to  the  short  commons.  Whatever  were  Burgoyne's 
faults,  his  troops  loved  him,1  and  never  turned  against  him ;  and 
if  neither  Riedesel  nor  Phillips  liked  him,  for  this  there  was  a 
reason.  Both  these  distinguished  officers  had  served  in  greater 
wars,  and  it  was  doubtless  irksome  to  them  to  be  subordinated 
to  a  General  whose  reputation  was  based  rather  on  personal 
gallantry  than  on  experience  of  large  operations. 

Riedesel  was  against  hazarding  another  engagement.2  He 
was  for  immediate  retreat.  The  position  was  daily  becoming 
more  critical.  Burgoyne  was  counting  the  hours  till  an  unwonted 
movement  in  the  American  camp  should  tell  him  that  news  had 
come  of  Clinton's  advance.  He  never  doubted  that  an  attempt 
would  be  made  to  co-operate  with  him — in  that  assurance  alone 
he  had  risked  his  army.  Could  he  have  known  that  Germaine's 
orders  to  Howe  were  lying  at  that  moment  in  a  pigeon-hole  at 
the  Colonial  Office ! 

Hitherto  Burgoyne  had  called  no  Council  of  War,  but  on 
the  4th  of  October  he  sent  for  Fraser,  Phillips,  and  Riedesel, 
and  laid  before  them  a  plan — to  leave  about  800  men  in  one 
of  the  entrenchments,  to  guard  the  provisions  and  boats,  and 
with  the  rest  of  his  force  to  attack  the  enemy's  rear.  But  the 
Council  decided  that,  as  they  knew  neither  the  roads,  nor  the 
real  position  of  the  enemy's  left  wing,  it  must  be  three  or  four 
days  before  they  could  come  to  an  action,  and  the  danger  of 
leaving  their  depots  so  long  was  too  great.  On  the  evening  of 
the  5th  there  was  another  Council.  Riedesel  now  declared 
plainly  that  the  situation  was  such  that  it  was  impossible  to 
march  on  the  enemy,  attack,  and  decide  the  affair,  all  in  one 
day.  His  advice,  therefore,  was  to  retreat  to  Batten  Kill,  and 
repass  the  Hudson — there  the  army  would  once  more  be  in 
communication  with  Fort  George,  and  could  afford  to  wait  for 
whatever  Sir  Henry  Clinton  might  do. 

It  is  very  doubtful  whether  Riedesel's  plan  would  have  re- 
opened communications  with  Fort  George.  Lincoln's  army  was 
now   besieging    Ticonderoga,    there    was   another    large    body   of 

1  See  the  Testimony  of  Sergeant  Lamb. 

2  See  his  Memoirs. 


548  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  enemy  on  the  heights  opposite  the  ford  of  Saratoga,  and 
2000  more  were  already  assembled  on  the  west  side  to  prevent 
a  retreat  to  Fort  Edward.  The  terrible  difficulty  about  pro- 
visions was  alone  sufficient  to  make  Burgoyne's  situation 
desperate.  It  had  been  the  real  key  to  the  position  all  along 
— he  could  never  get  many  days'  rations  in  hand,  and  in  order 
to  collect  his  thirty  days'  provisions  for  the  thirty  days  that  were 
to  take  him  to  Albany,  he  had  been  obliged  to  wait  a  month  at 
Fort  Miller  and  Saratoga.  Moreover,  since  the  battle  of  the 
19th  Gates  had  been  reinforced.  One  day  the  British  heard 
loud  shouting  in  the  American  lines,  and  learned  that  it  was 
for  General  Lincoln,  who  had  come  in  with  2000  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Militia. 

Fraser  agreed  with  Riedesel.  Phillips  declined  to  give  an 
opinion.  The  unfortunate  Commander,  to  whom  the  thought 
of  retreat  was  hateful,  said  he  would  make  "  a  reconnaissance 
in  force,"  as  near  the  enemy  as  possible,  and  see  if  the  position 
could  be  taken.  If  it  could,  he  would  attack  on  the  8th,  and 
hope  to  finish  with  the  enemy  in  one  day.  If  it  could  not, 
he  would  leave  his  position  at  Freeman's  Farm,  and  retreat  at 
once  behind  the  Batten  Kill.  Riedesel  says  he  did  not  approve, 
but  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  obey.  On  the  6th,  foraging 
parties  went  out,  and  provisions  for  four  days  were  issued.  The 
die  was  cast,  the  decisive  moment  was  at  hand. 

Before  the  eventful  day,  Arnold  had  quarrelled  with  Gates 
so  violently  that  he  had  demanded  and  received  his  passport  to 
go  to  Philadelphia.  Gates  had  not  mentioned  him  in  his  despatch 
about  the  battle  of  the  19th,  and  had  followed  up  this  unpardon- 
able slight  by  letting  Wilkinson — his  satellite — take  Morgan's  rifles 
and  Dearborn's  Light  Infantry  from  the  left  wing.  Arnold  went  to 
Headquarters  to  remonstrate.  There  were  high  words.  Gates  said 
he  did  not  consider  Arnold  a  Major-General — he  had  sent  in 
his  resignation.  Lincoln  would  arrive  in  a  day  or  two,  and  then  he 
would  have  no  further  occasion  for  the  services  of  Brigadier-General 
Arnold,  and  would  give  him  a  pass  for  Philadelphia  as  soon  as  he 
liked.  Arnold  returned  to  his  own  quarters  in  a  rage,  and  wrote  to 
Gates  for  the  pass,  but  by  the  time  it  came  he  had  reflected  that 
there  was  sure  to  be  another  battle  presently,  and  resolved  to  stay 
for  it.  Now  Lincoln  arrived  with  2000  of  his  force,  the  rest  were 
still  besieging  Ticonderoga.  It  was  already  all  but  impossible  for 
Burgoyne  to  retreat.  Some  of  the  General  officers  wanted  to  get 
up  an  address  to  Arnold  to  thank  him  for  his  services  in  the  late 
action,  but  others,  among  whom  was  Lincoln — a  sober,  prudent 


FREEMAN'S  FARM  549 

man — wished  rather  to  reconcile  the  Generals.     So  it  went  on  to 
the  7  th. 

Ever  since  the  19th  of  September  Freeman's  Farm — gained  that 
day  at  so  tremendous  a  cost — had  been  held  by  Fraser  with  the 
Grenadiers,  and  Balcarres  with  the  Light  Infantry.  Balcarres  had 
fortified  his  camp  without  waiting  for  orders,  and  had  made  it  very 
strong,  warning  his  men  that  their  lives  might  depend  one  day  on 
how  they  had  done  that  small  work.  And  so  it  proved,  for  but 
for  the  stand  which  Balcarres  was  able  to  make  at  that  redoubt, 
Arnold  would  have  carried  the  whole  British  camp  by  assault  on 
the  7th  of  October.1 

Burgoyne's  intention,  that  day,  was  to  find  out  what  the 
American  left  was  like,  and  whether  he  could  possibly  turn  it,  and 
so  get  away  to  Albany — his  only  chance,  for  the  right  was  impreg- 
nable. He  left  Hamilton  to  guard  the  camp  at  Freeman's  Farm, 
and  Gall  with  the  2nd  Brigade  of  Hessians  to  cover  the  redoubts 
by  the  river,  the  magazines,  the  hospital,  and  the  bateaux,  and  with 
1500  men — all  he  could  spare  from  holding  his  other  positions — he 
moved  forward  with  Phillips,  Fraser,  and  Riedesel.  It  was  already 
past  eleven.  One  of  his  officers  says  that  he  did  not  mean  to 
begin  too  soon,  as  "  in  case  we  should  not  prove  victorious,  he  had 
the  night  to  favour  his  retreat."  A  secondary  object  was  to  get 
forage — of  which  the  army  stood  in  such  urgent  need ;  and  soon 
the  foragers  were  cutting  straw  in  a  wheat-field,  half  a  mile  from 
Neilson's  house — the  Americans  could  see  them  with  their  tele- 
scopes. At  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  enemy's  line, 
Burgoyne  formed  his  troops,  and  sent  forward  Captain  Fraser's 
Rangers 2  "  to  go  by  secret  paths  in  the  woods,  and  gain  the 
enemy's  rear,  to  hold  him  in  check  while  the  great  attack  was 
made." 

But  that  attack  was  never  made.3  Before  Burgoyne  could 
advance  "a  very  sudden  and  rapid  attack"  was  made  upon  his 
own  left,  where  Ackland  was  posted  with  the  Grenadiers.  As  the 
enemy's  column — Poore  and  Learned's  brigades — came  out  of  the 

1  Lives  of  the  Lindsays. 

5  He  was  a  nephew  of  General  Fraser.  His  corps  of  sharpshooters  was  "  the 
select  light  corps  of  the  army,  composed  of  chosen  men  from  all  regiments." 
(Burgoyne  on  the  affair  of  Bennington,  where  the  Rangers  were  the  only 
British  corps  engaged. ) 

3  Riedesel's  account  (which  was  signed  by  all  the  German  officers)  says, 
"  While  we  were  deliberating  how  we  should  push  the  reconnoissance,  the  enemy 
seized  the  left  wing  of  our  commando,  where  the  English  grenadiers  stood  in  the 
wood,  with  great  force,  and  routed  it."  The  evidence  of  Captain  Bloomfield 
at  the  Enquiry  in  1779  shows  that  the  action  was  lost  in  twenty  minutes. 


55o  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

woods  in  front  and  left,  they  were  received  with  a  very  heavy  fire 
of  grape-shot  from  the  12-pounders  planted  on  a  small  eminence 
in  the  middle  of  a  cleared  space  in  the  wood.  But  the  Americans 
pressed  on — fell  back  behind  the  skirt  of  trees,  re-formed,  and  came 
on  again,  driving  in  the  Germans,  and  throwing  the  whole  Hanau 
regiment  into  confusion.  In  a  few  minutes  the  attack  extended  all 
along  RiedeseFs  front — no  corps  could  be  detached  to  strengthen 
any  other.  Presently  a  large  body  of  the  enemy  was  observed  on 
the  right,  marching  round  Fraser's  flank  to  cut  off  retreat.  It 
was  Morgan.  His  onset  drove  back  even  Fraser  for  a  moment, 
but  Fraser  rallied  his  men,  and  at  once  the  Light  Infantry  and  part 
of  the  24th  were  formed  in  a  second  line,  "  to  secure  the  return 
of  the  troops  to  camp  " — for  to  that  it  had  come  already.  Fraser 
on  his  iron-grey  charger,  in  the  showy  uniform  of  a  British  general, 
was  a  conspicuous  figure — too  conspicuous,  thought  his  aides,  but 
he  would  not  listen  to  them.  Burgoyne,  too,  was  in  the  thickest  of 
the  fight.  Poore's  men  were  charging  among  the  cannon,  with  a 
disregard  of  grape-shot  which  astonished  the  British.  One  gun  was 
taken  and  retaken  four  times.  The  last  time  Colonel  Cilley  leaped 
on  it,  and  waving  his  sword  above  it,  dedicated  it  "  to  the  patriot 
cause." 

The  centre  as  yet  held  firm,  though  Specht  and  the  1st 
German  Brigade  were  hard  pressed.  A  little  beyond  the  enemy's 
left  there  was  an  entrenched  high  ground,  commanding  their  whole 
camp  and  lines.  Could  Burgoyne  have  taken  it,  and  mounted  his 
heavy  artillery  upon  it,  the  rebels  could  not  have  remained  in  their 
camp  an  hour.  Arnold  knew  this,  and  urged  Gates  to  send  a 
stronger  force — in  spite  of  his  injured  dignity,  he  had  been  unable 
to  refrain  from  presenting  himself  that  morning  at  Headquarters, 
and  he  stayed  until  Gates  told  him  bluntly  he  had  no  business 
there.  Arnold  flung  away  with  his  aides,  and  fumed  in  his  tent  for 
an  hour  or  two,  scenting  the  battle  from  afar,  and  every  now 
and  then  sending  his  aides  to  bring  him  word  how  the  day  was 
going.  At  last,  seeing  how  the  British  centre  held,  and  well  aware 
of  the  danger  of  that  high  entrenched  ground  being  occupied, 
he  called  for  his  horse,  declared  he  would  fight  in  the  ranks,  and 
set  off  at  a  gallop  towards  the  front.  Gates  saw  him  go,  and 
despatched  Major  Armstrong,  one  of  his  aides,  to  fetch  him  back — 
"lest  he  should  do  something  rash." 

As  soon  as  the  Americans  saw  Arnold,  there  was  a  great  shout 
all  along  their  line  of  "  Arnold  !  Arnold  !  "  He  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  Learned's  brigade,  and  charged  the  British  centre.  At 
the  second  charge  the  Hessians  broke — the  whole  British  left  gave 


FREEMAN'S  FARM  551 

way,  and  the  Light  Infantry  and  the  24th  only  saved  the  entire  right 
from  being  carried  by  a  quick  movement.  Fraser  was  still  desper- 
ately trying  to  rally  his  battalions — Morgan  feared  he  would 
succeed,  and  told  some  of  his  best  marksmen  that  that  gallant 
officer  on  the  grey  horse  must  die.  A  few  minutes  later  Fraser 
fell  mortally  wounded. 

But  still  Arnold's  berserker  fury  was  not  spent — he  thundered 
all  along  the  line,  on  the  great  black  horse,  urging  the  Americans  to 
charge  once  more. 

Both  the  British  flanks  had  now  been  turned — Burgoyne  saw 
that  all  which  remained  was  to  save  his  camp  itself  from  being 
stormed.  He  sent  word  to  Hamilton  to  man  the  works  in  his  rear 
with  every  soldier  he  could  spare  from  the  front;  and  ordered 
Phillips  and  Riedesel  to  cover  the  retreat,  while  he  himself  pre- 
pared to  defend  the  camp.  Sir  Francis  Clerke  was  mortally 
wounded  before  he  could  give  the  order  for  the  artillery  to  return, 
and  the  six  guns  were  lost.  All  the  horses  had  been  killed,  and 
most  of  the  men  killed  or  wounded.  When  Armstrong,  who  had 
been  for  two  hours  trying  to  overtake  Arnold,  came  up  to  the 
clearing  where  the  guns  were,  a  terrible  sight  met  him.  "In  the 
square  space  of  fifteen  or  twenty  yards,  lay  eighteen  grenadiers  in  the 
agonies  of  death,  and  three  officers  propped  against  stumps  of  trees, 
two  of  them  mortally  wounded,  bleeding,  and  almost  speechless." 
The  officer  not  mortally  wounded  was  Major  Ackland. 

It  was  now  after  sunset,  but  the  battle  was  not  yet  over.  Bur- 
goyne had  not  been  a  moment  too  soon.  Hardly  had  the  troops 
reached  the  camp,  when  Arnold  was  upon  them  again — storming 
the  lines  "  with  great  fury,  under  a  severe  fire  of  grape-shot  and 
small-arms."  And  now  Balcarres'  words  to  his  men  came  true — 
with  his  Light  Infantry  and  such  troops  as  could  throw  themselves 
into  the  redoubt,  he  received  the  attack  of  what  seemed  to  him  to 
be  the  whole  American  army.  His  redoubt  was  stormed  again  and 
again,  but  not  taken,  as  all  the  other  works  were.  The  entrench- 
ments of  the  German  reserve  were  carried  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet ; 
Breyman  fell  fighting  bravely  at  the  head  of  his  battalion.  A 
strong  abatis  had  been  first  carried.  At  the  sally-port  of  Breyman's 
works  there  was  another  furious  hand-to-hand  struggle,  and  Arnold 
ordered  a  general  assault,  and  dashed  in  at  the  sally-port.  The 
Hessians  broke  and  fled,  discharging  a  final  volley  as  they  retreated. 
The  great  black  horse  lay  dead  inside  the  sally-port,  and  as  he 
went  down  a  wounded  German  fired  from  the  ground  point-blank 
at  Arnold,  and  struck  him  above  the  left  knee.  An  American  was 
going  to  bayonet  the  German,  but  Arnold  called  not  to  hurt  him — 


552  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

he  had  only  done  his  duty.     It  was  at  this  moment  that  Armstrong 
came  up  with  Gates'  order  to  Arnold  to  retire. 

Night  came  down.  Burgoyne  had  drawn  off  to  the  heights 
above  the  hospital,  that  the  enemy  might  at  least  have  to  form  new 
dispositions  before  they  attacked  him  again. 


CHAPTER   LXVI 
THE  NIGHT  AFTER  A  DEFEAT 

"I  cannot  sufficiently  commend  the  activity,  zeal,  and  spirit  of  the  officers." 
— Major-General  Phillip  to  Lords  Townshend  and  Amherst,  Albany,  Oct.  22, 
1777. 

The  Baroness  von  Riedesel  has  left  an  account  of  this  awful  day, 
and  of  the  night  and  days  which  followed. 

For  once,  there  was  secrecy.  The  Baroness,  who  had  invited 
Fraser  and  Phillips  to  dine  with  her  that  day,  perceived  at  break- 
fast that  something  was  afoot — there  was  much  movement  among 
the  troops.  "My  husband  told  me  it  was  a  reconnoissance, 
which  I  did  not  like,  because  it  happened  so  often  now."  As 
she  went  to  the  block-house  that  had  been  built  for  her,  she 
was  met  by  "the  wildmen,"  in  war-dress,  and  when  she  asked 
where  they  were  going,  they  cried  "  War !  war ! "  Then  the 
poor  lady  knew  there  was  to  be  another  battle ;  and  very  soon 
she  heard  firing.  It  grew  louder  and  louder — it  became  a  terrible 
cannonade,  till  she  was  more  dead  than  alive.  About  three  in 
the  afternoon,  instead  of  her  guests  coming  to  dinner,  poor 
General  Fraser  was  brought  in  on  a  stretcher,  mortally  wounded. 
The  dinner-table  was  taken  away,  and  a  bed  put  in  its  place. 
The  poor  woman  sat  in  a  corner,  "shaking  and  praying."  The 
noise  got  louder — every  moment  she  expected  to  see  her  husband 
brought  in  like  the  General.  She  heard  the  General  sigh, 
"  Cursed  ambition  !  poor  General  Burgoyne  !  my  poor  wife  !  " 
They  prayed  with  him,  and  he  gave  them  a  message — to  ask 
Burgoyne  to  bury  him  next  day  "on  a  hill  which  was  a  sort 
of  redoubt."  The  whole  floor,  the  whole  house,  was  full  of 
men  sick  of  the  "camp -sickness."  At  last,  towards  evening, 
Riedesel  came — unhurt — and  the  Baroness  forgot  all  her  sufferings. 
He  ate  in  haste,  and  was  off  again.  The  women  had  been  told 
that  the  British  had  the  advantage,  but  the  faces  they  saw  told 
another   tale.     And    before    Riedesel   went    he   whispered   to   his 

wife   that  all   had  gone   very   badly,  and   she  must  hold   herself 

553 


554  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

ready  to  start  at  any  moment — but  must  let  no  one  know  this. 
Suddenly  someone  came  to  tell  Lady  Harriet  Ackland  that 
her  husband  was  mortally  wounded  and  taken.  Night  came 
on  —  Fraser  was  dying;  the  children  —  wrapped  in  blankets 
and  sleeping  in  the  entry  —  woke  and  cried,  and  poor  Fraser 
kept  begging  the  Baroness'  pardon  for  giving  her  so  much 
trouble.  At  eight  in  the  morning  he  died.  They  wrapped 
his  body  in  a  sheet,  and  laid  it  on  a  bedstead,  and  there  it  was 
all  day,  while  every  moment  wounded  officers  came  in,  and 
the  cannonade  was  always  going  on.  Retreat  was  talked  of. 
At  four  in  the  afternoon  the  enemy  was  close  on  them.  At 
six,  Burgoyne,  Riedesel,  Phillips,  and  the  staff  gathered  on  the 
hill,  to  hear  Chaplain  Brudenel  read  the  funeral  service  over 
Fraser;  while  the  cannon-balls  flew  around  that  sad  company. 
After  a  while  Gates  found  out  what  was  going  on,  and  exchanged 
the  cannonade  for  minute  guns. 

The  order  had  been  given  that  the  army  was  to  march 
immediately  after  the  funeral.  Those  of  the  wounded  who 
could  not  move  were  to  be  left  in  the  "Lazareth,"  which  was 
covered  by  a  white  flag.  But  all  who  could  dragged  themselves 
from  their  beds  to  go  with  the  army,  and  Major  Harnich,  shot 
through  the  body  the  day  before,  persuaded  the  Baroness,  for 
the  children's  sake,  to  get  into  the  caliche  with  them,  and  not 
risk  stopping  to  see  what  became  of  her  husband.  Perfect 
silence  was  ordered  —  fires  were  lighted,  and  left  burning,  as 
if  the  camp  was  still  there.  They  marched  the  whole  night. 
Fritzchen  was  frightened  and  wanted  to  cry,  and  her  mother  had 
to  stop  her  mouth  with  a  handkerchief. 

At  six  in  the  morning  they  halted,  and  the  General  had  the 
cannons  arranged  and  counted  —  at  which  everyone  wondered, 
as  it  lost  time.  Riedesel  was  so  exhausted  that  he  sat  in  the 
calkhe  —  the  women  making  room  for  him,  and  slept  three 
hours  with  his  head  on  his  wife's  shoulder.  Other  officers 
brought  her  their  valuables  to  take  care  of.  At  last  the  army 
set  out  again,  but  had  hardly  marched  an  hour  when  there  was 
another  halt — the  enemy  had  been  seen.  But  it  was  only  a 
party  of  about  200,  reconnoitring.  It  rained  —  poured.  Lady 
Harriet  had  her  tent  pitched.  She  was  in  despair  about  the 
Major;  the  Baroness  advised  her  to  go  to  him  in  the  enemy's 
lines.  With  some  difficulty  Burgoyne  consented.  Brudenel 
went  with  her  in  the  boat.  They  crossed  the  Hudson  in  wind 
and  rain,  but  at  last  Lady  Harriet  reached  her  husband,  and 
found  his  wound  was  not  mortal. 


I 


THE  NIGHT  AFTER  A  DEFEAT  555 

The  army  spent  the  whole  of  the  9th  in  pouring  rain,  always 
ready  to  march.  The  "savages"  —  such  as  were  left  —  were 
deserting,  as  rats  leave  a  sinking  ship.  One  of  the  Baroness' 
women  tore  her  hat  off,  let  her  hair  stream  all  over  her  face, 
and  cried  to  her  mistress,  "  It  is  all  very  well  for  you  !  You  have 
your  man — we  have  nothing  but  the  prospect  of  perishing,  or 
losing  all  we  have ! "  Towards  evening  they  came  to  Saratoga — 
only  half  an  hour  from  the  place  where  they  had  waited  a  whole 
day.  They  were  drenched  with  the  rain.  The  Baroness  sat 
by  a  fire,  and  then  lay  down  with  her  children  on  some  straw. 
Phillips  came  to  see  her.  She  asked  him  why  they  did  not 
continue  the  retreat,  while  there  was  still  time,  for  her  husband 
had  pledged  himself  to  cover  it  and  bring  back  the  army. 
"  Poor  woman  ! "  said  Phillips,  "  I  admire  you  !  Wet  through 
as  you  are,  you  have  still  courage  to  wish  to  go  farther  in 
this  weather !  If  only  you  had  been  our  Commander !  Ours 
thinks  he  is  tired,  and  will  stay  the  night,  and  give  us  supper." 

The  Baroness  roundly  asserts  that  Burgoyne  made  merry 
that  night,  spending  it  in  singing  and  drinking,  and  amusing 
himself  with  the  Commissary's  wife,  whose  relations  with  him 
were  notorious,  and  who  was  further  said  not  to  be  averse  to 
champagne.  Next  morning,  to  cover  his  retreat  across  the 
Fish  Kill,  he  ordered  the  burning  of  all  "the  beautiful  houses 
and  villas"  at  Saratoga  (the  property  of  General  Schuyler). 
"The  greatest  misery  and  the  utmost  disorder  reigned  in  the 
army,"  says  the  Baroness.  The  Commissaries  had  forgotten 
to  give  out  rations  to  the  troops !  There  were  cattle  enough, 
but  not  one  was  slaughtered.  Many  officers  were  starving. 
The  Baroness,  who  kept  a  store  of  provisions  in  the  caliche, 
divided  her  tea,  coffee,  and  provisions  among  about  thirty  wounded 
officers,  who  "could  not  hold  out  for  hunger  any  longer."  The 
Riedesels  had  a  cook,  who  was  "an  arch-rascal,"  and  finished 
by  robbing  them  of  everything  at  Albany,  but  he  knew  what 
to  do  in  emergencies,  and  in  the  present  emergency  he  used 
to  slip  across  the  streams  by  night  and  steal  chickens,  sheep, 
and  pigs,  which  he  sold  to  his  masters  at  a  good  price.  The 
Baroness  exhausted  her  stores  on  these  unfortunate  gentlemen, 
but  happening  to  see  Paterson  —  the  Adjutant-General  —  come 
by,  she  could  not  refrain  from  calling  to  him,  "Come  and  see 
these  officers,  wounded  for  the  common  cause  —  in  want  of 
everything  —  it  is  your  duty  to  tell  the  General ! "  Paterson 
did  so,  and  Burgoyne  came  himself,  and  "thanked  me  very 
pathetically    for   reminding   him    of    his   duty.      He    added,    'A 


556  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Chief  was  much  to  be  pitied  who  was  not  obeyed.'"  Then  he 
asked  the  officers  why  they  had  not  come  to  his  kitchen  for 
what  they  needed.  They  replied  that  English  officers  were  not 
accustomed  to  go  to  their  General's  kitchen.  Burgoyne  ordered 
rations  to  be  given  out — which  caused  another  delay.  It  is  evident 
that  after  the  disaster  of  the  7  th  Burgoyne  was  paralysed. 

The  army  crossed  the  Fish  Kill;  and  at  two  o'clock 
that  afternoon  the  cannonade  began  again  —  cannon  and 
musket -shot  rattling  about  their  ears.  Riedesel  made  his 
wife  take  refuge  in  a  house — against  which  the  fire  was  pres- 
ently turned,  as  the  Americans  mistook  it  for  the  British 
Headquarters !  The  women  and  children  now  found  refuge 
in  the  cellars.  There,  crowded  together,  not  daring  to  stir 
out  for  any  purpose  whatever,  a  great  number  of  helpless  and 
wounded  persons  lay  for  six  days  and  nights.  The  Baroness, 
who  kept  her  head  throughout,  got  the  cellars  to  some  extent 
cleansed  on  the  second  day,  "or  we  should  all  have  been 
ill " ;  the  officers  most  dangerously  wounded  were  put  into 
one  of  the  three  great  vaulted  cellars,  and  the  women  in  another. 
Just  as  these  arrangements  were  being  made  "a  new  and 
dreadful  cannonade"  threw  all  into  fresh  alarm.  There  was 
an  ugly  rush  for  the  cellars,  by  people  "who  had  no  right  to 
come."  The  children  might  have  been  crushed,  but  God  gave 
her  strength  to  stand  before  the  door  with  outstretched  arms 
and  keep  them  out.  Eleven  cannon-balls  passed  through  the 
house — those  in  the  cellars  could  hear  them  rolling  overhead. 
Dreadful  things  happened — the  surgeons  had  one  poor  fellow 
on  a  table,  ready  to  take  off  his  leg,  when  a  ball  came  through 
and  took  off  the  other !  The  assistants  scattered  for  a  moment, 
and  returning,  found  the  poor  wretch  had  flung  himself  off 
the  table  in  his  agony,  and  dragged  himself  into  a  corner.  In 
this  awful  situation  the  faithful  Riedesel  contrived  to  send 
his  wife  word  that  he  was  unhurt.  Now  that  Lady  Harriet 
was  with  her  husband,  there  were  only  five  officers'  wives  — 
Madame  von  Riedesel,  Mrs.  Harnich  (her  husband  badly 
wounded),  a  Mrs.  Rennels,  whose  husband  was  killed;  the 
wife  of  the  Commissary,  and  the  wife  of  a  lieutenant  who  had 
shared  his  soup  with  the  Baroness  the  day  before.  These  poor 
women  sat  together,  lamenting.  Somebody  came  in  — "  they 
whispered  together  and  looked  sad.  A  glance  was  thrown 
at  me."  The  Baroness  thought,  "  My  man  is  killed ! "  and  cried 
out.  But  they  made  signs  to  her  that  it  was  the  good  lieutenant 
of  the  soup.     A  ball  had  taken  off  his  arm  above  the  shoulder. 


THE  NIGHT  AFTER  A  DEFEAT  557 

That  night  they  heard  his  moans  re-echoing  through  the  vaults. 
Towards  morning  he  died. 

Three  English  officers,  wounded,  but  resolved  not  to  stay 
behind,  promised  the  Baroness  that  each  should  take  a  child 
on  his  horse  in  case  of  a  hasty  retreat. 

One  of  Riedesel's  horses  always  stood  ready  at  the  door. 
Riedesel  often  thought  of  sending  his  wife  and  children  to  the 
American  lines,  but  she  could  not  bear  the  thought.  Often 
that  night  she  thought  that  perhaps  he  had  marched.  Once  she 
stepped  out  to  see, — she  saw  the  soldiers  lying  round  the  fires 
in  the  cold  night.  She  was  troubled  about  the  valuables 
entrusted  to  her — she  had  got  them  all  sewn  in  her  stays  ! 

At  last,  on  the  morning  of  the  12th,  she  was  able  to  change 
her  linen.  The  three  officers  made  a  corner  and  kept  watch. 
One  of  them  could  imitate  the  mooing  of  a  cow  and  the 
bleating  of  a  calf;  and  when  Fritzchen  woke  in  the  night  and 
cried,  he  quieted  her  thus,  and  made  the  poor  woman  laugh 
for  a  moment.  The  "arch-rascal"  cook  got  them  food,  but 
there  was  so  little  water  that  the  Baroness  had  to  give  the 
children  wine.  The  little  water  they  had  was  brought  them 
by  a  kind  woman,  at  the  risk  of  her  life. 

They  were  not  all  heroes  in  the  cellars — some  there  were 
who  deserved  no  compassion  —  they  were  cowards,  skulking 
among  the  women.  But  afterwards,  "  when  we  were  in  captivity, 
they  strutted  about." 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  the  army  repassed  the 
fords  of  the  Fish  Kill,1  they  found  a  detachment  of  the 
enemy  busily  throwing  up  entrenchments  on  the  heights. 
Burgoyne  took  up  a  position  at  Saratoga — strong  on  the  left, 
towards  the  Fish  Kill,  but  on  the  centre  and  right  quite 
indefensible.  All  the  army  was  in  favour  of  retreat,  and  at 
last  Burgoyne  brought  himself  to  think  of  renouncing  his 
lingering  hope  of  a  junction  with  Howe.  He  sent  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Sutherland  with  two  regiments  (Captain  Fraser's 
marksmen  and  Mackoy's  Provincials)  to  reconnoitre  the  road 
to  Fort  Edward,  with  a  view  to  a  night  march.  At  the  first 
bridge  the  Provincials — left  to  cover  the  workmen — ran  from 
a  very  slight  attack  of  a  small  party  of  the  enemy,  and  left 
the    workmen    to    escape    as    they    could.       Sutherland    got    to 

1  The  Fish  Kill  and  the  Batten  Kill  are  two  small  tributaries  of  the  Hudson, 
and  fall  into  that  river  from  opposite  sides,  very  near  to  Saratoga — the  Fish 
Kill  being  on  the  west  and  the  Batten  Kill  on  the  east  bank— almost  opposite 
each  other.     The  British  army  crossed  very  near  the  confluence. 


558  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

within  an  hour  of  Fort  Edward,  and  was  beginning  to  repair 
the  chief  bridge,  when  he  was  recalled.  The  enemy  had 
appeared  on  the  heights  of  the  Fish  Kill  in  great  force,  and 
showed  a  disposition  to  give  battle.  Gates  did  not  mean  to 
wait  till  Burgoyne  could  make  up  his  mind  —  and  perhaps 
till  succour  might  arrive.  At  two  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
ioth  he  began  a  terrible  cannonade  from  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river — directed  chiefly  on  the  boats  with  the  provisions. 
The  attack  was  continued  on  the  nth,  several  boats  were 
taken  and  retaken;  and  as  they  were  now  much  nearer  the 
main  force  of  the  enemy  than  ours,  the  only  way  to  save  the 
provisions  was  to  land  them,  and  carry  them  up  the  hill  to 
camp.  This  was  done,  under  fire,  on  the  nth,  with  great 
difficulty,  ajid  the  loss  of  an  officer  and  thirty  men,  a  great  part 
of  the  sailors  (made  prisoners),  of  the  boats,  and  of  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  provisions.  The  cannonade  continued  that 
whole  day,  in  front  and  rear,  the  outposts  firing  constantly 
on  each  other;  and  though  the  British  fire  drove  the  Americans 
back  over  the  Fish  Kill,  it  was  only  to  entrench  themselves 
opposite  the  fords. 

That  evening  Burgoyne  sent  for  Phillips  and  Riedesel. 
He  himself  decided  that  it  was  equally  impossible  to  attack 
the  enemy  or  to  remain  in  their  present  insecure  position. 
Riedesel  proposed  to  retire  at  once — that  very  night — taking 
nothing  with  them  but  the  provisions  they  could  carry  on 
their  backs,  and  to  go,  not  to  Fort  Edward,  but  to  a  ford  four 
miles  below,  and  there  to  ford  the  Hudson,  and  go  on  without 
halting  to  Fort  George — this,  he  said,  was  still  practicable, 
because  the  enemy  had  not  yet  occupied  this  road — on  the 
west  side  of  the  Hudson.  But  Burgoyne  could  not  make  up 
his  mind  to  this,  and  next  day  he  still  hesitated.  Meanwhile 
the  Americans  occupied  all  the  posts  as  far  as  Fort  Edward, 
and  extended  their  army  across  the  British  front.  At  three 
in  the  afternoon  of  that  day  there  was  another  Council,  to 
which  Hamilton  and  Gall  were  admitted.  Riedesel  emphatic- 
ally urged  instant  retreat  —  the  least  movement  of  the  enemy 
would  make  it  impossible.  Burgoyne  agreed — and  then  it  was 
found  that  provisions  for  six  days,  which  ought  to  have  been 
given  out,  had  not  been  given.  The  order  was  repeated,  and 
it  was  arranged  that  the  army  should  start  between  ten  and 
eleven  that  night.  Exactly  at  ten  Riedesel  sent  word  to  Burgoyne 
that  all  was  ready,  but  received  the  reply  that  it  was  too  late 
— the  army  must  remain. 


THE  NIGHT  AFTER  A  DEFEAT  559 

The  situation  was  entirely  changed.  The  scouts  had 
brought  word  that  the  enemy  was  strongly  entrenched  opposite 
the  ford,  had  a  camp  in  force  on  the  heights  between  Fort 
Edward  and  Fort  George,  and  parties  along  the  whole  shore — 
"some  so  near  us,  and  on  our  side  of  the  water,  that  the 
slightest  movement  must  be  instantly  discovered."  And  every 
hour  reinforcements  were  pouring  in  to  Gates,  till  he  had  at 
least  16,000  men.  By  the  morning  of  the  13th  the  army 
was  completely  surrounded,  and  to  attack  the  enemy  must 
cross  a  swampy  ravine  and  a  steep  ascent,  and  "get  so  far  from 
the  water,  that  he  could  have  taken  us  in  rear."  The  moment 
for  retreat  was  lost  —  perhaps  it  was  never  really  possible, 
especially  as  provisions  were  already  running  short — there  was 
enough  for  five  days  only ! 

There  was  another  Council  that  day — all  the  commanders 
of  battalions  were  called  to  it,  down  even  to  captains.  Burgoyne 
admitted  the  impossibility  of  a  successful  attack  —  and  even 
if  it  did  succeed,  it  would  be  impossible  to  reach  Fort  George 
for  want  of  provisions.  The  only  chance  for  retreat  was  for 
each  man  to  cut  his  own  way  out,  as  best  he  could,  through 
the  pathless  forest !  But  the  army  could  still  hold  out  the 
five  days;  only,  as  the  centre  and  right  of  our  position  could 
not  be  defended,  the  rout  and  utter  destruction  of  the  army  was 
not  only  probable  but  certain. 

When  Burgoyne  had  laid  their  terrible  situation  before  the 
Council,  he  showed  the  finest  side  of  his  character — the  side 
which  ought  to  atone  for  many  faults.  In  the  most  solemn 
manner,  he  said  that  he  alone  was  answerable  for  the  condition 
in  which  the  army  found  itself,  because  he  had  never  called  a 
Council — conceiving  himself  not  at  liberty  to  depart  from  his 
orders.  Riedesel  heard  this  declaration  with  thankfulness — he 
had  feared  that  the  blame  of  all  would  be  laid  upon  himself, 
and  he  begged  the  English  officers  to  bear  him  witness  if  he 
was  ever  called  to  account. 

Then  Burgoyne  put  these  questions  to  the  Council — 

1.  Was  there,  in  the  history  of  war,  any  example  of  an  army 
in  such  a  position  capitulating? 

2.  Could  a  capitulation  be  avoided  in  such  a  situation? 

3.  Was  it  certain  that  the  situation  was  as  bad  as  it  looked  ? 

To  the  first  question  all  answered  that  the  situations  of 
the  Saxon  army  at  Pirna,  of  General  Fink  at  Maxen,  and  of 
Prince  Maurice  of  Saxony  were  less  hopeless,  yet  no  one  had 
ever    blamed    those    generals,    who    capitulated     to    save     their 


56o  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

armies — for  if  the  King  of  Prussia  cashiered  Fink,  it  was  from 
personal  dislike.  To  the  second  question,  they  answered  that 
a  capitulation  could  not  be  avoided.  To  the  third,  they  all 
declared  that  if  General  Burgoyne  thought  an  attack  possible, 
they  were  ready  to  offer  their  blood  and  their  life.  But  if  not, 
they  thought  it  better  to  save  the  army  by  an  honourable 
capitulation,  while  longer  resistance  was  possible,  than  to  wait 
till  their  provisions  were  exhausted — when  they  must  surrender 
at  discretion,  or,  by  inviting  an  attack  in  that  position,  be 
stormed  and  then  singly  destroyed. 

Then  Burgoyne  produced  the  sketch  for  a  capitulation, 
and  on  its  being  approved  by  the  Council,  sent  a  flag  to  Gates 
to  ask  for  a  parley.  A  conference  was  appointed  for  the 
morning,  Major  Kingston  was  sent  with  Burgoyne's  proposals, 
and  there  was  a  cessation  of  arms.  The  proposals  were  for 
surrender  with  the  honours  of  war,  the  army  not  to  serve 
against  America  in  the  present  war,  or  till  exchanged. 

Gates  replied,  demanding  that  the  army  should  ground 
arms  within  the  encampment.  Burgoyne  replied  that  sooner 
than  submit  to  this  humiliation  the  army  would  proceed  to 
any  act  of  desperation.  It  seemed  as  though  the  treaty  was 
off — hostilities  were  resumed  that  night.  But — possibly  because 
he  had  heard  news  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  advance  —  Gates 
sent  next  morning  (October  15)  to  say  that  the  troops  might 
march  out  with  the  honours  of  war,  and  pile  arms  and  leave 
their  artillery  on  the  verge  of  the  river — arms  to  be  piled  by 
word  of  command  from  their  own  officers.  He  yielded  several 
minor  points,  but  said  that  the  army  must  leave  the  camp 
that  very  day  at  2  o'clock. 

This  sudden  change,  and  the  fixing  of  the  hour,  "  set  them 
thinking."  A  Council  was  called,  and  the  amendment  was 
accepted,  but  it  was  resolved  that  the  time  was  too  short,  as  this 
was  only  a  preliminary,  and  there  were  many  other  articles  to  be 
settled  before  General  Burgoyne  could  sign  the  Convention.  A 
Commission  of  staff-officers  of  both  sides  was  proposed,  and  Suther- 
land and  Craig  were  named.  The  Commission  remained  together 
till  eleven  that  night,  and  separated,  the  Englishmen  giving  General 
Burgoyne's  word  of  honour — which  they  were  empowered  to  do 
— that  the  Convention  should  come  back  signed  in  the  morning. 

That  night — the  first  for  many  a  day — Riedesel  slept  in  a  bed. 
About  one  in  the  morning  he  was  aroused — someone  wanted  to 
speak  to  him.  His  wife  watched  him  reading  the  message,  and 
saw  that  he  was  annoyed.     He  sent  the  man   to  Headquarters, 


THE  NIGHT  AFTER  A  DEFEAT  56I 

and    lay   down   again.      Soon   there   came   a   message   from   the 
Commander-in-Chief,  for  a  Council  very  early  in  the  morning. 

The  messenger  had  brought  news — Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  not 
only  taken  all  the  fortifications  of  the  Highlands,  but  a  week  ago  had 
come  as  far  up  the  river  as  Esopus,  with  his  troops  and  the  fleet, 
and  would  probably  soon  be  at  Albany.  On  this  Burgoyne  and 
several  of  his  officers  were  so  encouraged  that  they  wanted  to 
break  off  negotiations,  and  the  Council  was  called  to  see  whether 
they  could  do  so  with  honour.  A  new  set  of  questions  was  laid 
before  them — 

1.  Can  a  treaty  which  has  been  finally  arranged  by  Commis- 
saries with  full  powers,  and  after  the  promise  of  the  General  to 
sign,  as  soon  as  the  Commissaries  make  all  plain,  be  broken  off 
with  honour? 

2.  Is  the  news  received  certain  enough  to  be  the  ground  of 
breaking  off  an  agreement  so  favourable  to  us  ? 

3.  Has  the  army  spirit  left  in  it,  to  defend  itself  in  the  present 
position  to  the  last  man  ? 

To  the  first  question,  fourteen  to  eight  were  of  opinion  that 
the  treaty  was  already  concluded,  the  enemy  had  granted  all  that 
was  asked,  and  it  could  not  be  broken  off  without  dishonour. 

On  the  second,  votes  were  divided.  The  news  was  only 
hearsay — at  third  hand.  And  even  if  the  messenger  himself  had 
seen  Clinton's  army  at  Esopus,  the  distance  was  so  great  that  he 
could  not  help  us  in  time. 

To  the  third,  all  the  officers  of  the  left  wing  said  "  Yes."  Those 
of  the  centre  and  right  wing  said  that  though  their  men  would 
show  the  greatest  courage,  if  attacked,  they  all  knew  their  position 
was  untenable,  and  it  was  to  be  feared  they  could  not  sustain  an 
attack.  Riedesel  declined  to  answer  for  his  men  in  an  enterprise 
which  had  no  hope  of  success. 

There  was,  however,  one  last  chance  of  gaining  time.  Burgoyne 
had  heard  that  Gates  had  detached  a  considerable  part  of  his 
army  to  Albany,  while  negotiations  were  going  on.  This  would 
be  contrary  to  good  faith,  and  Burgoyne  was  determined  not  to 
capitulate  unless  assured  that  the  enemy's  force  was  at  least  from 
three  to  four  times  larger  than  his  own.  He  wrote  to  Gates  to 
this  effect,  and  asked  that  a  staff-officer  might  be  allowed  to  see 
his  army,  and  judge  if  the  superiority  was  as  great  as  mentioned 
— if  so,  he  would  at  once  sign.  Gates  replied  on  his  word  of 
honour  that  his  army  was  still  of  the  same  strength  as  when  it 
advanced  before  Saratoga — since  that  time  he  had  received  a 
reinforcement  of  one  brigade,  and  during  the  negotiations  it  had 
vol.  1. — 36 


562  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

not  been  lessened  by  so  much  as  a  picket.  To  show  his  army 
was  out  of  the  question.  General  Burgoyne  had  better  think 
well  what  he  did  if  he  broke  his  pledged  word.  Meanwhile  he 
pledged  his  own  honour  that  his  army  was  more  than  four  times 
as  large,  not  counting  the  troops  on  the  other  side  of  Hudson. 
But  he  could  not  wait  more  than  an  hour  for  the  answer. 

Again  the  Council  assembled.  The  eight  who  were  for  breaking 
off  had  changed  their  minds.  Burgoyne  drew  Phillips  and  Riedesel 
aside,  and  begged  their  friendly  advice.  After  a  silence,  Riedesel 
said  that  if  General  Burgoyne  was  called  to  account  in  England,  it 
would  be  for  having  got  his  army  into  this  position,  and  because 
he  had  not  retreated  in  time  to  save  his  communications  with  Fort 
George.  But  now  to  break  off  on  such  uncertain  intelligence 
was  the  most  dangerous  thing  he  could  do.  Hamilton  said  the 
same,  when  asked.  Phillips  declined  to  offer  an  opinion  in  such  a 
situation. 

All  this  time  Wilkinson — who  was  one  of  the  American  Commis- 
saries— was  waiting  by  the  ruins  of  Schuyler's  house,  and  Gates  was 
sending  every  now  and  then  to  know  if  the  matter  was  not  settled. 
The  one  hour  had  become  two,  and  Gates  had  just  sent  word  that 
Wilkinson  must  break  off  the  treaty  if  the  Convention  was  not 
signed  in  half  an  hour,  when  Sutherland  and  Craig  returned  with 
it.     It  was  the  17th  of  October,  1777. 

The  same  afternoon  the  army  marched  out,  and  piled  arms 
by  the  river.  With  extraordinary  delicacy  General  Gates  ordered 
his  army  to  remain  within  their  lines,  that  their  presence  might 
not  add  to  the  humiliation  of  a  brave  enemy. 

Then  Burgoyne  and  all  his  officers  rode  to  the  camp  to  give 
themselves  up. 

Burgoyne  drew  his  sword,  and  presented  it  to  Gates,  who 
instantly  returned  it.  And  now  the  American  army  was  counted — 
it  was  nearly  24,000.  The  British  and  German  troops  who  sur- 
rendered that  day  were  reduced  by  battle,  sickness,  and  desertion 

to  5752. 

Soon  after  this  the  Baroness  received  a  message  from  her 
husband  that  she  might  now  rejoin  him.  As  she  drove  through 
the  American  camp  in  the  calhhe,  she  made  the  comforting 
reflection  that  the  Americans  did  not  seem  to  regard  her  with  ill- 
will — they  greeted  her,  and  "showed  pity  to  see  a  woman  with 
little  children."  As  she  approached  the  lines  "  a  handsome  man 
came  towards  me,  took  the  children  from  the  carriage,  kissed 
them,  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  helped  me  to  get  down.  '  You 
tremble,'  he  said,  *  don't  be  afraid ! ' "     He  took  her   into  Gates' 


THE  NIGHT  AFTER  A  DEFEAT  563 

tent,  where  Gates  was  with  Burgoyne  and  Phillips,  "who  were 
quite  friendly  with  him."  The  Generals  were  to  dine  with  Gates. 
The  gentleman  who  had  received  her,  came  again  and  said,  "It 
would  embarrass  you  to  dine  with  all  these  gentlemen — come  to 
my  tent."     It  was  General  Schuyler. 

Note. — The  terms  finally  agreed  upon  were  that  the  army  should  march  out  of 
camp  with  the  honours  of  war,  and  all  their  artillery,  to  the  verge  of  the  river, 
there  to  leave  arms  and  artillery — the  arms  to  be  piled  by  word  of  command 
from  their  own  officers.  A  free  passage  to  be  granted  to  the  army  to  Great 
Britain,  on  condition  of  not  serving  again  in  the  present  war — to  sail  from  the 
port  of  Boston.  The  troops  to  be  supplied  on  their  march  with  provisions,  at 
the  usual  rates.  Officers  to  retain  carriages,  horses,  and  baggage ;  no  baggage 
to  be  searched,  Lieut. -General  Burgoyne  giving  his  honour  that  no  public 
stores  are  secreted  therein.  All  corps  whatever  of  General  Burgoyne's  army  to 
be  treated  as  British  subjects.  Canadians  to  be  allowed  to  return,  by  the 
shortest  route,  to  the  first  British  post  on  Lake  George,  and  to  be  supplied 
with  provisions.  Passports  to  be  granted  to  three  officers,  not  exceeding  the 
rank  of  Captain,  to  carry  despatches  from  General  Burgoyne  to  Sir  William 
Howe,  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  and  to  Great  Britain  (by  way  of  New  York) ;  Major- 
General  Gates  engaging  the  public  faith  that  these  despatches  shall  not  be 
opened.  Officers  when  at  Boston  to  wear  their  side-arms.  The  army  to  be 
permitted  to  send  to  Canada  for  their  clothing  and  baggage. 


CHAPTER  LXVII 
SIR  HENRY  CLINTON'S  DIVERSION 

"  .  .  .  had  I  known  General  Howe's  situation  or  his  intentions,  I  might, 
instead  of  looking  after  cattle,  have  made  my  arrangements  so  as  to  have 
pushed  a  little  farther  ...  let  his  successes  be  ever  so  great  to  the  south- 
ward, the  principal  object  still  appears  to  me  to  have  been  a  communication 
with  Burgoyne,  and  the  establishing  him  at  Albany.  ...  In  short,  with  about 
4000  Regulars,  half  foreigners,  3000  Provincials  (who  are  eternally  surprised), 
little  artillery,  few  officers  and  men,  no  chasseurs,  no  light  infantry  nor  corps 
d'e'litei  nor  no  cavalry  that  I  am  at  liberty  to  use,  what  can  I  do?  A  great 
extent  of  country  to  cover,  and  a  most  important  place.  This  is  my  hard 
fate,  while  others,  my  juniors,  have  most  brilliant  commands.  I  cannot,  nor  will 
I  submit  to  it,  let  the  consequence  be  what  it  will." — Sir  Henry  Clinton  to 
General  Hervey^  from  King's  Bridge,  Sept.  16,  1777. 

As  Burgoyne's  whole  plan  supposed  the  co-operation  of  an  army 
from  New  York,  he  naturally  believed  that  Clinton  had  been 
instructed  by  Howe  to  make  it  his  own  grand  object.  Clinton 
does  indeed  explain  that  the  silly  incursion  into  the  Jerseys,  early 
in  September,  was  intended  "to  assist  both  armies,  particularly 
his" — meaning  Burgoyne's.  That  expedition  resulted  in  "a 
little  skirmishing  with  the  enemy,"  and  the  collecting  of  about 
400  head  of  cattle,  "including  20  milch  cows  for  the  use  of  the 
hospital,"  some  sheep,  and  a  few  horses.  It  took  place  while 
Burgoyne  was  crossing  Hudson  the  first  time.  Clinton's  letter 
to  Howe,  of  October  9,  speaks  only  of  his  intention  to  attack 
Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton,  etc.,  "with  the  small  force  that 
could  be  spared  from  the  important  post  you  had  left  under  my 
command."  To  General  Hervey,  at  the  War  Office,  he  writes 
of  this  as  "a  desperate  attempt  on  a  desperate  occasion." * 
(Poor  Burgoyne  was  looking  for  him  with  a  victorious  army !) 
Even  before  he  could  venture  to  detach  this  "small  force" 
Clinton  was  obliged  to  wait  the  arrival  of  the  reinforcements,  now 
at  sea  "  in  Dutch  bottoms."  They  arrived,  after  a  three  months' 
voyage,  on  the  25th  of  September,  and  Clinton  at  once  "called 
in   his  guides,"    and    ordered    "hard   bread"   to    be   baked — all 

1  These  letters  are  given  in  Albemarle's  Life  of  Lord  Rockingham. 
661 


SIR  HENRY  CLINTON'S  DIVERSION       565 

which  was  known  to  Putnam  by  the  29th  of  September,  and  word 
sent  to  the  American  General  George  Clinton,  who  hastened  to 
Fort  Montgomery  with  such  force  as  he  could  collect.  His 
brother  James  commanded  at  Fort  Clinton,  within  rifle-shot. 

The  American  frigates  and  galleys  stationed  to  protect  the 
(entirely  futile)  obstructions  in  the  Hudson,  slipped  their  cables 
and  tried  to  escape  up  river.  But  the  wind  was  adverse,  so  their 
crews  set  them  on  fire.  They  are  described  as  making  a  magnifi- 
cent spectacle — "  pyramids  of  fire,"  lighting  up  river  and  mountains 
with  the  glare  of  their  conflagration.  They  were  at  a  part  famous 
for  echoes,  and  when  the  loaded  cannon  went  off  as  the  fire 
reached  them,  the  echoes  reverberated  along  the  rocky  shore. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  made  his  plan  with  extreme  skill ;  but 
even  when  the  reinforcements  came  he  had  to  wait  for  a  wind. 
With  the  galleys  under  Commodore  Wallace,  he  stood  up  the 
Hudson  in  the  first  days  of  October.  Late  on  the  night  of  the 
4th,  a  letter  from  Putnam  told  Governor  Clinton  that  the  ships  of 
war  were  coming  up  the  river,  and  had  got  as  far  as  Tarrytown  and 
landed  troops.  Putnam  had  drawn  back  to  the  hills,  and  now  sent 
to  the  Governor  for  all  the  force  he  could  spare — all  the  defences 
of  the  Highlands  were  weak  at  this  moment,  for  everyone  who 
could  fight  was  gone  to  help  Washington  at  Philadelphia  or  Gates  in 
the  north. 

The  landing  at  Tarrytown  was  a  feint.  The  British  marched  a 
few  miles  into  the  country — then  turned  back,  re-embarked  quickly, 
and  went  on  to  Verplanck's  Point.  There,  on  October  5,  Sir 
Henry  landed  3000  men,  eight  miles  below  Peekskill;  and  early 
next  morning,  under  cover  of  the  fog,  he  crossed  with  2000  of  them 
to  Stoney  Point,  on  the  western  shore  of  Haverstraw  Bay.  He 
left  the  other  thousand  (chiefly  loyalists)  to  seem  to  threaten 
Peekskill.  The  simple  old  soldier  Putnam  had  never  been  able 
to  understand  Washington's  marchings  and  counter-marchings — Sir 
Henry  was  about  to  show  him  the  use  of  such  manoeuvres. 

The  troops  landed  at  Stoney  Point  at  daybreak  of  the  6th,  and, 
led  by  a  Tory,  made  a  devour  of  seven  miles  through  the  forest, 
round  the  base  of  Thunder  Hill.1  Lieut.-Colonel  Campbell  com- 
manded the  regulars,  and  Colonel  Beverley  Robinson  of  New  York 
the  New  York  Volunteers.  General  Vaughan,  with  the  Grenadiers, 
Dragoons,  and  Hessians,  was  to  attack  Fort  Clinton.  The 
Grenadiers  were  led  by  young  Lord  Rawdon,  who  was  afterwards  to 
make  himself  a  name — he  had  with  him  as  aide-de-camp  his  friend 
the  Polish  Count  Grabousky. 

1  The  Donderberg. 


566  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Governor  Clinton's  scouts  brought  him  word  in  time  for  a 
party  with  a  brass  field-piece  to  give  Campbell  a  warm  reception 
in  Bear  Hill  defile.  Sir  Henry,  too,  was  opposed.  The  march 
was  difficult,  and  it  was  five  in  the  afternoon  before  he  was 
at  Fort  Montgomery.  Then  the  two  Forts  were  attacked 
simultaneously.  The  Americans  made  a  desperate  defence — 
Governor  Clinton  hoped  for  reinforcements  from  Putnam,  but  his 
messenger  betrayed  him,  and  Putnam  did  not  know  of  his  straits 
until  he  heard  the  firing.  Then  he  despatched  500  men;  but  they 
had  six  miles  to  go  and  the  river  to  cross,  and  before  they  arrived 
all  was  over.  Not,  however,  without  a  stubborn  defence.  The 
Americans  would  not  surrender — they  were  driven  from  redoubt  to 
redoubt  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  "  fought  their  way  out  as 
many  as  could."  Governor  Clinton  himself  leaped  down  the  rocks, 
and  his  brother  James  slid  down  a  precipice  into  the  ravine.  The 
British  loss  was  considerable — about  250  killed  and  wounded, 
Campbell,  Grabousky,  and  Grant  of  the  New  York  Volunteers 
being  among  the  killed.  On  this  affair  Sir  Henry  Clinton  says 
grimly :  "As  the  soldiers  were  much  irritated,  as  well  by  the 
fatigue  they  had  undergone  and  the  opposition  they  met,  as  by 
the  loss  of  some  brave  and  favourite  officers,  the  slaughter  of  the 
enemy  was  considerable." 

It  is  worth  noting  that  the  pass  by  which  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
marched  was  the  one  which  Washington  had  always  said  should  be 
looked  to,  as  possible  for  a  surprise ;  but  both  Greene  and  Knox 
thought  it  impracticable — and  so  it  would  have  been  if  but  a  small 
force  had  been  there  to  hold  it. 

Governor  George  Clinton,  meanwhile,  was  at  New  Windsor,  not 
far  off,  calling  out  the  militia  to  prevent  assistance  being  sent  to 
Burgoyne.  On  October  9  two  persons  coming  from  Fort 
Montgomery  were  caught  by  Governor  Clinton's  guards  and 
brought  before  him.  One  was  much  agitated,  and  was  seen  to  put 
something  into  his  mouth  and  swallow  it.  An  emetic  was  ad- 
ministered— whereupon  he  brought  up  a  silver  bullet.  Before  he 
could  be  prevented  he  had  swallowed  it  again,  but  on  his  refusing 
a  second  emetic,  George  Clinton  threatened  to  hang  him  and  cut 
open  his  body.  So  he  submitted.1  The  bullet  reappeared — it 
was  small  and  oval,  and  unscrewed.  It  contained  a  thin  slip  of 
paper,  on  which  was  written,  "  Oct.  8.  Fort  Montgomery.  Nous  y 
voici,  and  nothing  between  us  and  Gates.  I  sincerely  hope  this 
little  success  of  ours  will  facilitate  your  operations." 

Poor  Burgoyne  never  received  this  comforting  message,  and  if  he 

1  This  messenger,  too,  was  hanged  as  a  spy. 


SIR  HENRY  CLINTON'S  DIVERSION      567 

had  it  could  not  have  saved  him,  for  Sir  Henry  could  do  no  more, 
and  what  he  had  done  was  not  enough. 

On  October  13  and  14  Sir  Henry  wrote  two   long   letters  to 
General  Hervey.     They  are  highly  confidential,  and  enable  us  to 
follow  the  developments  of  the  situation  as  no  other  account  does. 
They  begin  with  jubilation — Sir  Henry  did  not  really  think  his  a 
"little  success."     He  wrote  to  Hervey,  "this  is  the  severest  stroke 
that  has  ever  been  struck ;  all  their  forts  between  New  York  and 
Albany  destroyed;  all  their  ships  and  vessels  for  150  miles  taken  or 
burnt  ...  at  the  instant  I  write  this,  our  little  fleet  and  army  are 
possibly  within  30  miles  of  Albany.     In  short,  if  Burgoyne  holds 
there,  or  even  is  able  to  make  a  good  retreat  to  Canada,  I  think 
these  people  will  sue  for  peace."     He  encloses  an  intercepted  letter 
from  "  the  rebel  Governor  of  this  State,"  and  adds,  "  you  see  the 
consequence    of    this    stroke."     He   sends   "the    letters   between 
Burgoyne  and  me,  before  I  attempted  it  .  .  .  my  letters,  wrote  in 
cyphers,  describe  the  defenceless  state  I  have   been  left  in,"  and 
how  little  help  I  can  give.     "  Not  a  line  from  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  these   6  weeks."    The  attempt  in   Jersey  was   meant  "to 
assist   both   armies,    particularly   his"   (Burgoyne's).     The    day  I 
landed   there   (September    12),   sent   him   three   lines   in   cypher. 
"  You  know  my  poverty,  but  if  with  2000  men,  which  is  all  I  can 
spare  from  this  important  post,  I  can  do  anything  to  facilitate  your 
operations,  I  will  make  an  attack  upon  Fort  Montgomery,  if  you 
will  let  me  know  your  wishes."     On  the  30th  he  got  an  answer  by 
the  same  messenger.     "  I  have  lost  the  old  cypher.  ...  An  attack, 
or  even  the  menace  of  an  attack,  on  Fort  Montgomery  will  be  of 
use ;  it  will  stir  them  from  before  me,  and  I  will  follow  them  close. 
Do  it,  my  dear  friend,  directly."     A   second  letter  said  that  even 
keeping  the  Fort  besieged  would  help.     "  Lose  no  time."     It  was 
now  that  Clinton  resolved  on  the  "  desperate  attempt  in  a  desperate 
situation  " — he  had  no  hope  of  taking  the  Forts.     He  complains 
that  Burgoyne  never  made  him  acquainted  with  his  real  situation, 
"till  I  was  entering  upon  action."     On  the  night  of  October  5, 
when  he  was  already  at  Verplanck's  Point,   waiting  to  cross  the 
Hudson,  "  a  confidential  messenger  "  arrived  from  Burgoyne,  with  a 
verbal  account  of  the  situation — he  had  lost  his  communications 
with  Canada,  but  had  provisions  to  the  20th — was  in  a  very  strong 
post,  but  so  were  the  rebels.     Did  not  doubt  he  could  face  them 
and  get  to  Albany,  but  doubted  whether  he  could  subsist  when 
there — the  country  there   being  drained;  so  would  not  go  unless 
Clinton    could    open    communications    between    New   York   and 
Albany.     Awaited   Clinton's  orders  whether  he  should  attack  the 


568  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

rebels ;  or  retire  across  the  Lakes,  while  they  are  clear  from  ice.  If  he 
did  not  hear  from  Clinton  by  the  12th  of  October,  would  retire. 
Clinton's  remarks  on  this  letter  prove  his  (and  therefore  Howe's) 
complete  ignorance  of  the  "  plan."  He  is  "  astonished " — and 
indignant — first,  even  a  menace  would  do  all  that  is  wanted — 
"  Now  he  expects  me  with  a  thousand  men  (or  what  I  could  spare 
after  taking  the  posts)  to  penetrate  to  Albany,  which  he  with  7000 
could  not  do." 

Clinton  sent  this  messenger  back  to  say  that,  "not  having 
received  instructions  from  Sir  William  Howe  relative  to  the  operations 
of  the  northern  army,  ignorant  of  the  General's  intentions  respecting 
it  (except  his  wish  that  it  should  get  to  Albany),  he  could  not 
presume  to  order  or  advise,"  but  "  if  my  unexpected  success  (as  the 
river  is  now  open)  decides  him  (Burgoyne)  to  attack  the  rebels  and 
he  can  get  to  Albany,  I  will  do  my  utmost  to  communicate  with  him 
and  give  him  a  supply  of  provisions."  He  has  not  heard  from 
General  Howe  for  six  weeks  (hears  of  his  victories,  "but  not 
confirmed "),  and  does  not  know  where  Washington  is ;  has  left  a 
small  force  in  New  York,  and  has  a  communication  of  140  miles 
between  New  York  and  Albany  to  keep  open,  and  this  important 
post  we  have  now  taken  to  garrison.  "  It  was  rather  too  greatly 
daring,"  but  he  determined  to  venture  1 700  men  under  Vaughan  up 
the  river,  under  convoy  of  Sir  James  Wallace  and  the  galleys,  "  to 
feel  for  General  Burgoyne "  ;  and  he  had  got  ready  provisions  for 
Burgoyne's  army  for  six  months,  in  vessels  small  enough  to  go 
within  a  few  miles  of  Albany,  when  a  letter  reached  him  from  Howe, 
to  say  that  his  victories  were  by  no  means  decisive,  "  and  even  if  I 
had  started  up  the  river,  unless  my  object  was  of  the  greatest 
importance,  and  could  be  accomplished  in  a  few  days,  I  was  to  give 
it  up,  and  send  him  full  6000  men." 

Even  now,  however,  Clinton  does  not  seem  afraid  for  Burgoyne 
— he  thinks  he  has  probably  retreated  across  the  Lakes.  His  chief 
complaint  is  the  being  ordered  to  reinforce  Howe.  It  is  a 
"  mortifying  service,"  "  mortifying  commands."  He  is  sick  of  it. 
"  I  will  do  all  I  can  for  this  campaign,  but  I  will  close  with  it."  If 
he  regrets  his  useless  incursion  into  Jersey,  it  is  not,  however, 
because  he  had  better  have  helped  Burgoyne,  but  because  he  had 
better  have  helped  Howe !  "  Had  I  known  Howe's  situation  or 
intentions,  I  might  have  pushed  on,  instead  of  looking  for  cattle " 
— but  must  be  careful  with  Putnam  and  four  brigades,  and 
numerous  militia  so  near  me.  ..."  We  have  no  certain  accounts 
from  Burgoyne,  but  by  all  I  hear,  he  has  not  6000  men  opposed  to 
him," 


SIR  HENRY  CLINTON'S  DIVERSION      569 

It  is  strange  that  he  still  thought  this.  For  on  the  10th  Captain 
Scott  of  the  53rd  had  reached  him  with  despatches  from  Burgoyne. 
Scott  had  been  thirteen  days  on  the  way,  and  a  dozen  times  had 
most  narrowly  escaped  the  fate  of  the  unhappy  bearer  of  the  silver 
bullet.  He  had  been  compelled  to  waste  whole  days  lying  hidden 
in  woods,  to  avoid  the  rebel  patrols — sometimes  actually  hearing 
the  voices  of  those  who  were  searching  for  him.  He  could  not 
learn  where  Sir  Henry  was,  and  was  going  on  to  New  York,  when 
he  heard  he  was  at  Fort  Montgomery — and  there  at  last  he  found 
him,  three  days  after  Burgoyne  had  fought  his  second  battle. 
Clinton  sent  back  Scott  instantly — not  even  now  fully  realising  the 
imminence  of  the  peril.  But  Scott  never  reached  Burgoyne.  He 
could  find  no  one  to  guide  him.  He  was  assured  by  every  Tory  he 
met  that  the  British  had  already  capitulated ;  very  lucky  he  thought 
himself  to  get  safe  into  New  York  with  the  evil  tidings. 


CHAPTER  LXVIII 
HOW  THE  NEWS  CAME  TO  LONDON  AND  PARIS 

"All  Europe  is  on  our  side  of  the  question,  as  far  as  applause  and  good 
wishes  can  carry  them.  ...  It  is  a  common  observation  here  (in  Paris)  that 
our  cause  is  the  cause  of  all," mankind." — Franklin  to  Dr.  Samuel  Cooper ;  May  I, 

I777- 

"  For  my  part,  I  cannot  think  the  condition  of  the  British  empire  bettered  by 
one  part  of  its  forces  having  lost  several  thousand  men  in  butchering  as  many 
more  of  those  we  vainly  wish  to  call  our  subjects ;  nor  can  I  think  that  any 
victories,  or  any  submission,  can  secure  to  us  the  possession  of  a  country  we 
have  so  unpardonably  injured." — The  Duke  of  Richniond  to  the  Marquis  of 
Rockingham,  Nov.  2,  1777.1 

"  It  does  not  become  your  lordships  ...  to  retire  to  your  country  seats  for  six 
weeks,  in  quest  of  joy  and  merriment,  while  the  real  state  of  public  affairs  calls 
for  grief,  mourning,  and  lamentation.  ...  A  remonstrance,  my  lords,  should 
be  carried  to  the  Throne.  The  King  has  been  deluded  by  his  Ministers." — 
Chatham,  Dec.  11,  1777. 

"  Lord  Amherst  ...  is  clear  that  after  the  disaster  of  Burgoyne  not  less  than 
an  additional  army  ...  of  40,000  men  can  carry  on  with  any  effect  an  offensive 
land  war."—  The  King  to  North,  Jan.  13,  1778. 

For  twelve  months  the  American  Commissioners  in  Paris  had 
received  no  instructions  from  home.  Their  chief  reason  for 
hoping  their  cause  was  not  going  very  ill  was  their  knowledge 
that  the  rate  of  insurance  in  London  against  capture  by  American 
privateers  had  been  as  high  as  60  per  cent. 

Franklin  had  occupied  himself  much  in  attempts  to  alleviate 
the  sufferings  of  American  prisoners.  Through  his  friend  David 
Hartley  he  had,  from  his  own  resources,  relieved  many  of  those 
imprisoned  in  England.  In  February,  1777,  he  and  Deane  wrote 
to  Lord  Stormont  on  the  subject  of  exchanging,  but  the  Ambassador 
returned  no  answer.  In  April  they  wrote  again,  remonstrating 
more  particularly  on  "  the  compelling  men  by  chains,  stripes,  and 
famine,  to  fight  against  their  friends  and  relations,"  and  the 
"sending  American  prisoners  of  war  to  Africa  and  Asia,  remote 

1  Before  the  news  of  Saratoga  came. 
570 


HOW  THE  NEWS  CAME  TO  LONDON  571 

from  all  probability  of  exchange,  and  where  they  can  scarce  hope 
ever  to  hear  from  their  families,  even  if  the  unwholesomeness  of 
the  climate  does  not  put  an  end  to  their  lives."  Such  conduct, 
said  Franklin,  had  no  precedent  to  justify  it,  unless  that  of  the 
"  black  savages  of  Guinea. "  To  this  Stormont  had  replied 
rudely:  "The  King's  Ambassador  receives  no  applications 
from  rebels,  unless  they  come  to  implore  his  Majesty's 
mercy." 

Franklin  sent  this  reply  back  to  Stormont,  with  a  note  in 
which  he  called  it  "the  enclosed  indecent  paper,"  which  they 
had  received  "as  coming  from  your  Lordship,"  and  now  return, 
"  for  your  Lordship's  more  mature  consideration." 

Franklin  drew  up  a  statement  of  the  usage  the  prisoners  had 
received.  He  sent  a  copy  to  Hartley,  with  a  letter  in  which  he 
said  that  in  revising  he  had  "  found  too  much  warmth  in  it,"  and 
had  been  about  to  strike  out  some  parts.  "Yet  I  let  them  go, 
as  they  will  afford  you  this  one  reflection :  '  If  a  man,  naturally 
cool,  and  rendered  still  cooler  by  old  age,  is  so  warmed  by  our 
treatment  of  his  country,  how  much  more  must  those  people  in 
general  be  exasperated  against  us?  And  why  are  we  making 
inveterate  enemies  by  our  barbarity,  not  only  of  the  present 
inhabitants  of  a  great  country,  but  of  their  infinitely  more 
numerous  posterity,  who  will  in  future  ages  detest  the  name  of 
Englishman,  as  much  as  the  children  in  Holland  now  do  those 
of  Alva  and  Spaniard"* ' " 

In  a  letter  of  about  the  same  date  to  Priestley,  Franklin  says, 
"  It  is  now  impossible  to  persuade  our  people,  as  I  long  endeavoured, 
that  the  war  was  purely  ministerial."  An  endeavour  branded  in 
England  as  the  very  climax  of  rebel  hypocrisy. 

Franklin  established  a  little  printing-press  at  his  house  in 
Passy,  and  occasionally  printed  a  tract  or  handbill.  From  this 
press  was  issued  the  Independent  Chronicle,  with  an  account  of  the 
scalps  sent  to  the  British  authorities  in  Canada.  This  account 
was  long  taken  for  a  genuine  document.  Franklin,  however, 
admitted  that  he  wrote  it,  but  declared  that  although  taken  as  a 
whole  it  was  fictitious,  everything  stated  in  it  had  actually  occurred 
in  the  course  of  the  war. 

In  October  the  Envoys  were  privately  told  that  they  asked 
too  much  in  asking  for  the  recognition  of  Independence — it  might 
embroil  Europe.  In  November  de  Vergennes  told  them  that 
perhaps  the  King  would  lend  Congress  a  million  livres,  and  try 
to  persuade  his  good  brother  of  Spain  to  do  the  same.  And 
perhaps  he  would  take  that  ship  off  their  hands,  which  they  were 


572  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

building  in  Holland,  and  could  neither  pay  for  nor  get  safely  to  a 
French  port.  But  more  than  this  was  impossible,  unless  the 
Americans  gained  some  important  military  success. 

The  dearth  of  news  caused  them,  therefore,  all  the  more  acute 
anxiety,  and  on  November  27,  when  the  Envoys  met  at  Passy, 
Lee  was  very  despondent,  but  Franklin  said  America  could  go  on 
even  without  help — and  perhaps  the  less  help  from  Europe  the 
better.  But  the  danger  of  Philadelphia  and  the  early  successes  of 
Burgoyne  were  known,  and  Franklin's  anxiety  became  terrible  as 
autumn  wore  on  to  winter. 

On  the  1  st  of  December  Jonathan  Loring  Austin,  Secretary 
to  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  War,  landed  at  Nantes,  thirty-one 
days  from  Boston.  The  news  of  his  coming  flew  up  to  Paris  before 
him,  and  on  the  4th  all  the  American  Agents  hurried  out  to 
Passy  —  the  two  Lees,  Izard,  Silas  Deane,  Dr.  Bancroft, 
Beaumarchais ;  and  when  they  heard  the  chaise  drive  into  the 
courtyard  they  all  went  out,  and  before  Austin  could  alight, 
Franklin  cried,  "Sir,  is  Philadelphia  taken?"  "Yes,  Sir."  Then 
Franklin  clasped  his  hands,  and  turned  back  to  the  house.  "But, 
Sir,"  cried  Austin,  "I  have  greater  news  than  that — General 
Burgoyne  and  his  whole  army  are  prisoners  of  war!" 

Deane  said  this  news  was  like  a  cordial  to  the  dying.  An 
express  was  sent  to  Vergennes  at  Versailles,  Dr.  Bancroft  set  out 
for  London  (where  no  doubt  he  reported  all  he  knew  to  the 
Government) ;  and  Beaumarchais  drove  to  Paris  at  such  a  rate 
that  the  chaise  upset  and  his  arm  was  dislocated.  In  a  few 
days  all  Europe  had  the  news,  and  almost  all  Europe  rejoiced 
at  it.  England  had  held  her  head  very  high  since  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  and  her  defeated  enemies  were  not  sorry  to  hear 
that  the  tailors  and  cobblers  of  America  were  avenging 
them. 

All  was  now  changed  for  the  American  Envoys.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Council  called  upon  them,  de  Vergennes 
congratulated  them.  They  were  asked  now  to  renew  their 
proposals  for  a  commercial  alliance.  Soon  Gibbon  wrote,  "The 
two  greatest  nations  in  Europe  are  fairly  running  a  race  for  the 
favour  of  America."  Marie- Antoinette  received  Franklin  privately. 
Wherever  he  went  he  had  an  ovation.  At  the  Academy, 
d'Alembert  told  him  he  had  wrenched  the  thunderbolt  from  the 
cloud,  and  the  sceptre  from  tyrants.  Voltaire  and  Franklin  were 
presented  to  each  other — amidst  great  applause  they  took  each 
other  by  the  hand;  it  was  insisted  that  they  should  embrace  in 
French  fashion,  and  the  two  great  old  men  solemnly  kissed  each 


HOW  THE  NEWS  CAME  TO  LONDON  573 

other,  to  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Academicians,  who  cried  that  it 
was  Solon  and  Sophocles.  Through  it  all,  Franklin's  head  was 
not  turned — his  simple,  shrewd,  Quaker  nature  remained  undazzled 
by  all  this  outward  show.  As  he  had  been  the  most  calm  and 
hopeful  in  adversity,  so  he  was  the  least  puffed  up  in  prosperity — a 
venerable  and  dignified  figure,  humorously  aware  of  the  contrast 
he  presented  to  the  gay  gold-fish  of  the  Court,  whom  he,  for  his 
part,  regarded  with  genial  kindness  —  the  same  Dr.  Franklin  in 
Paris  as  in  Philadelphia,  the  wise  and  kindly  philosopher  of 
Commonsense  —  the  wonderful,  indomitable  old  man,  who  at 
seventy-five  helped  to  found  a  nation,  and  never  grew  too  old  to 
laugh. 

In  England  there  had  been  a  growing  anxiety  about  Burgoyne, 
ever  since  his  dismal  despatch  of  August  20,  from  "the  camp 
nearly  opposite  Saratoga" — full  of  bad  news — bad  weather,  bad 
roads,  scarcity  of  provisions  through  the  scarcity  of  horses  and 
oxen — fifteen  days'  heavy  work  giving  only  four  days'  provision  in 
hand ;  the  failure  at  Bennington,  the  death  of  Baum,  and  the 
unfortunate  affair  of  Fort  Stanwix.  After  this  had  come  a  long 
silence.  There  was  an  uneasy  feeling  that  he  was  a  long  while 
getting  to  Albany.1  But  in  November  came  a  report  that  Arnold 
had  surrendered  with  12,000  men;  and  two  days  later  came  news 
of  the  fall  of  Philadelphia. 

Parliament  met  November  18.  Chatham  was  well  enough 
to  move  an  Amendment  to  the  Address — supplicating  his  Majesty 
to  restore  peace  to  America,  by  the  immediate  cessation  of 
hostilities,  and  the  opening  of  a  treaty.  He  denounced  the 
employment  of  Indians — on  which  Suffolk  said  "it  was  perfectly 
justifiable  to  use  all  the  means  that  God  and  Nature  put  into  our 
hands."  This  brought  up  Chatham  again  in  a  fury,  to  ask  whether 
we  were  to  say  God  put  the  scalping-knife  into  our  hands? 
Ministers  said  that  if  they  had  not  secured  the  Indians,  the  rebels 
would  have  done  so — a  statement  notoriously  contrary  to  fact, 
as  the  American  Leaders  had  done  their  utmost  to  persuade 
the  Indians  to  remain  neutral;  and  both  Schuyler  and  Gates 
had  solemnly  warned  the  Six  Nations  in  particular  to  keep 
out  of  this  quarrel.  Ministerialists  then  accused  Chatham  of 
having  used  Indians  himself  in  the  Seven  Years'  War.  But  he 
showed  that  they  were  only  used  as  scouts,  and  to  assist  the  troops 

1  In  November,  1777,  "Capability"  Brown  wrote  to  Lady  Chatham  that  he 
thought  we  were  "  in  great  distress" — the  bad  news  was  well  authenticated,  the 
good  had  no  confirmation.  Amherst  was  cheering  the  Court  with  the  total 
annihilation  of  Washington's  army,  etc. 


574  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

in  laborious  duties — never  for  military  purposes.  And  Lord 
Townshend — who  succeeded  to  the  command  when  Wolfe  fell — 
said  the  same,  and  added  that  they  never  stained  the  British 
arms  by  any  crime. 

Of  course  the  Amendments  were  lost  by  large  majorities. 
On  December  2  Fox  demanded  an  Enquiry  into  the  State 
of  the  Nation,  the  expenses  of  the  War,  the  resources  we 
possess  to  continue  it,  and  what  the  Howes  had  actually  done 
as  Commissioners  for  Peace.  North  was  obliged  to  say  he 
agreed — enquiry  would  show  how  flourishing  we  were.  But  in- 
convenient papers  must  not  be  asked  for.  Fox  enumerated 
the  papers  he  wanted,  and  North  said  he  must  object  to  the 
motion — the  production  of  these  papers  would  lead  to  dis- 
coveries prejudicial  to  the  country.  Sergeant  Adair  suggested 
that  the  Minister  meant  prejudicial  to  Administration,  and  then 
the  whole  of  Opposition  fell  upon  the  unhappy  Minister,  who 
knew  that  to-morrow  the  news  about  Burgoyne  must  be 
known.  Fox  said  that  ever  since  a  certain  noble  lord  (Germaine) 
had  presided  over  American  affairs,  scalping,  tomahawk  measures 
had  been  pursued — bleeding  has  been  his  only  prescription ! 
By  the  great  majority  of  178  to  89  the  House  rejected  the 
Motion  for  Enquiry.  That  night  the  news  of  Saratoga  reached 
London. 

Next  day,  Barre  insisting  on  knowing  the  number  of  troops 
in  America,  Barrington  gave  it  as  55,096 — 14,000  under 
Carleton,  20,000  under  Howe,  and  the  rest — some  of  them 
Provincials — in  different  places.  On  this  Byng  asked  why 
General  Howe  always  attacked  General  Washington  with  an 
inferior  force — yesterday  Howe  had  only  13,000,  now  he  has 
20,000.     Why  did  he  attack  with  only  15,000? 

Germaine  replied  that  20,000  was  counting  the  sick  and 
wounded — and  the  artillery  officers.  He  was  floundering  on 
about  "effective  men  with  arms  on  their  shoulders"  when 
Barre*  rose  again,  and  called  on  him  to  declare,  "upon  his  honour," 
what  was  become  of  General  Burgoyne,  and  whether  he  had  or 
had  not  received  despatches  from  Quebec  to  say  that  Burgoyne 
had  surrendered  himself  and  his  whole  army  prisoners  of  war  ? 

There  was  no  escape — it  was  a  worse  moment  than  Minden. 
The  wretched  Colonial  Secretary  protested  his  constant  readi- 
ness to  tell  all  he  knew,  and  now  he  knew  it  was  his  duty 
to  tell  the  House  that  he  had  received  a  piece  of  very  unhappy 
intelligence — not  yet  authenticated,  to  be  sure — he  hoped  the 
House    would    suspend     judgment — he    was    willing    to    submit 


HOW  THE  NEWS  CAME  TO  LONDON  575 

his  conduct  in  planning  this  most  unfortunate  affair — a  Minister 
ought  always  to  be  ready  to  have  his  conduct  scrutinised. 
Then  he  sat  down,  and  Opposition  poured  forth  the  vials  of 
its  wrath  upon  him — Barre"  telling  him  that  the  plan  was  too 
absurd  for  an  Indian  Chief — "  I  foretold  the  event  from  the 
first."  And  now  the  men  you  used  to  call  cowards  have 
compelled  a  British  General — and  a  very  brave  man,  too — 
to  surrender  a  whole  army !  The  House  was  very  angry,  but 
it  would  have  been  more  angry  still  if  it  had  known  about  the 
despatch  which  was  never  signed  or  sent.1 

In  the  first  moment  of  dismay  there  was  a  general  cry  for 
peace.  Then  the  country  thought  better  of  it,  and  cried 
instead  for  more  troops.  On  the  5th  Hartley  made  a  motion 
on  the  Enormous  Expenses  of  the  American  War — 20  millions 
spent  already,  and  perhaps  20,000  lives.  By  the  end  of  the  next 
campaign  it  will  be  30  to  40  millions.  "  I  told  you,  three  years 
ago,  America  would  turn  out  an  army  of  50,000  men,  and 
you  laughed  at  me.  Franklin  warned  you — you  would  not 
believe  him."  The  motion  was  lost  without  a  division,  and  on 
the  nth  Parliament  went  home  for  six  weeks'  holiday. 
Chatham  protested  in  vain.2  The  Lords  felt  they  had  done 
their  duty — they  had  suspended  Habeas  Corpus.  In  the 
Commons,  North  said  he  was  sure  France  and  Spain  did  not 
mean  to  molest  us,  and  he  could  not  see  the  most  distant 
motive  for  not  adjourning — nothing  will  happen,  and  by  the 
time  you  come  back  we  will  have  thought  out  a  plan  for 
conciliation. 

In  vain  Opposition  warned  him  of  the  ugly  reports  from 
France.  They  went  off  to  keep  Christmas.  Stocks  had  fallen 
from  141  to  120,  and  everybody  was  abusing  the  Howes. 

At  the  end  of  1777  the  complaints  of  the  treatment  of 
American  prisoners  in  England  had  spread  to  France — in 
particular  the  charge  that  some  of  them  had  been  forced,  under 
threats  of  death,  to  enter  for  life  into  the  service  of  the  East 
India  Company.  Those  in  England  were  starving.  The 
persons  who  had  the  contracts  for  feeding  them,  "considered 
their  offices  only  as  lucrative  jobs."    On  the  nth  of  December 

1  In  the  debate,  Wedderburn  expatiated  on  his  own  honesty.  Burke  laughed 
aloud.  The  House  was  silent.  Wedderburn  said  he  would  teach  Burke  manners. 
Burke  walked  out,  and  Wedderburn  thought  he  was  gone  to  send  him  a 
challenge  !     He  wrote  an  apology,  and  afterwards  sent  Fox  with  a  verbal  one. 

2  Suffolk  brutally  told  Chatham  he  only  wanted  the  House  to  sit,  because  he 
would  not  be  allowed  to  give  his  advice  anywhere  else.     (December  II,  1777.) 


576  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Lord  Abingdon  brought  the  case  of  these  poor  prisoners 
before  the  Lords.  Some  of  his  statements  are  almost  incred- 
ible. It  seems  that  most  Americans  had  "religious  objections" 
to  inoculating  for  the  small-pox.  "  In  one  of  the  prisons, 
a  prisoner  was  inoculated;  and  after  the  eruption  appeared, 
the  patient  was  put  into  a  cell  with  five  Americans  who  had 
never  had  the  disorder."  He  moved  for  all  Instructions  to 
gaolers  concerned  with  the  prisoners  of  war,  and  reminded 
their  lordships — in  case  humanity  did  not  move  them — that 
there  was  such  a  thing  as  retaliation.  "You  are  taking  them 
by  fifties  and  hundreds  —  they  are  taking  you  by  whole 
armies."  If  Howe  does  not  shift  his  position,  Burgoyne's  fate 
will  be  his.  After  a  little  wriggling,  Suffolk  pledged  his  honour 
to  give  the  returns.  Abingdon's  motion  was  agreed  to,  and 
the  House  proceeded  to  debate  on  Lord  Oxford's  motion 
for  adjournment  to  the  20th  of  January,  1778.  In  vain 
Chatham  protested  against  adjournment,  "at  a  time  when  the 
affairs  of  this  country  present  prospects  full  of  awe,  terror, 
and  impending  danger."  The  only  army  you  have  in  America 
may  by  this  time  be  no  more.  Most  critical  events  may 
take  place  before  our  next  meeting.  The  King  has  been 
deluded  by  his  Ministers.  The  nation  has  been  betrayed  into  an 
American  war  "  by  the  arts  of  imposition,  by  their  own  credulity, 
by  false  hopes,  false  pride,  promised  advantages."  At  least, 
consider  the  state  of  our  home  defence  !  Suppose  we  have  thirty- 
five  ships  of  the  line  fit  for  actual  service?  Would  that  give  us 
the  command  of  the  Channel  ?  I  am  certain,  if  it  did,  every  other 
part  of  our  possessions  must  be  left  naked  and  defenceless. 

"Here,  and  in  many  other  parts  of  his  speech,  his  lord- 
ship broadly  hinted  that  the  House  of  Bourbon  was  meditating 
some  decisive  and  important  blow  near  home."  Where  shall 
we  procure  men?  Recruits  are  not  to  be  had  here,  and 
Germany  will  give  us  no  more.  "Ministers  have,  I  hear, 
applied  to  the  Swiss  Cantons.  The  idea  is  proposterous ! 
The  Swiss  never  permit  their  troops  to  go  beyond  sea." 

Then  he  came  to  America.  "  My  lords,  we  have  not,  nor  can 
procure,  any  force  sufficient  to  subdue  America.  It  is  monstrous 
to  think  of  it.  I  call  upon  any  noble  lord,  who  is  conversant  with 
military  affairs,  to  say  that  the  military  force  now  in  the  kingdom 
is  adequate  for  defence,  or  that  any  force  to  be  procured  from 
Germany,  Switzerland,  or  elsewhere  will  be  equal  to  the  conquest 
of  America !  You  talk  of  conciliation — and  the  men  who  are 
to  treat  are  the  very  men  who  are  the  authors  of  our  misfortunes  ! 


HOW  THE  NEWS  CAME  TO  LONDON  577 

They  have  used  the  German  bayonet  and  the  Indian  tomahawk, 
and  now  they  propose  to  conciliate  ! " 

Then  he  praised  the  conduct  of  the  Americans  in  the  moment 
of  victory.  They  have  set  Ministers  an  example  of  moderation 
and  magnanimity  which  they  would  do  well  to  imitate  !  And  now 
you  propose  to  adjourn — I  believe  that  before  the  day  to  which 
you  adjourn  the  noble  lord  will  have  cause  to  regret  his  motion ! 

Shelburne  in  the  most  pitiless  manner  showed  up  the  absurd 
conduct  of  the  war.  Howe  was  sent  into  Jersey  "  to  look  Mr. 
Washington  in  the  face,  and  then  turn  his  back  upon  him." 
Burgoyne  was  ordered  to  march  to  New  York  and  effect  a  junction 
with  Howe.  Howe  goes  aboard  his  ships,  and  "  gets  on  the  other 
side  of  Philadelphia."  Meanwhile  General  Burgoyne  is  surrounded, 
and  applies  for  succour  to  General  Clinton.  General  Clinton  is 
in  the  act  of  complying,  when  Mr.  Howe  orders  him  to  send  him 
a  reinforcement  of  4000  men.  If  I  do  not  hear  full  and  sufficient 
reasons  for  all  this,  "I  protest  I  think  Mr.  Howe  would  deserve 
to  be  brought  home  in  chains  ! " 

It  was  all  of  no  use — the  Lords,  by  more  than  three  to  one, 
voted  for  adjournment  to  the  20th  of  January.  And  so  the  last 
chance  was  lost. 

Out  of  Parliament,  something  was  done  for  the  prisoners.  On 
December  24  a  meeting  was  held  in  London  to  raise  a  subscrip- 
tion for  blankets,  shoes,  coats,  linen,  etc.,  for  the  American 
prisoners — then  stated  to  be  in  all  about  five  or  six  hundred. 
^£465  7  was  collected  in  a  few  weeks,  when  the  subscription 
was  rather  suddenly  closed.  The  prisoners  of  Plymouth,  in 
a  petition  to  "certain  noble  lords,"  say  they  are  140  —  "all 
of  us  in  want  of  warm  clothing,  as  well  as  of  almost  every 
other  comfort;  and  many  are  actually  without  a  shoe  or  stocking 
to  their  feet.  A  brutal  overseer  detains  every  charitable  supply 
sent  by  humane  neighbours,  or  sells  it  and  retails  the  money 
at  his  pleasure — in  so  parsimonious  a  manner  as  to  render  it  of 
little  or  no  use."  This  scoundrel  had  cut  off  their  supply  of 
milk,  and  allowed  them  neither  fire  nor  candle.  Five  commanders 
or  masters  of  ships,  a  surgeon,  and  several  sailors  signed  this 
petition. 

As  soon  as  Parliament  rose,  great  private  efforts  were  made  to 
raise  troops.  The  gentlemen  of  Manchester  and  Liverpool  joined 
in  subscribing  for  two  regiments  of  500  men  each.1  In  all,  15,000 
men  were  added  to  the  forces  by  private   means,  and  the  Court 

1  The  more  Jacobite  the  towns  had  been,  the  more  zealous  they  were  now 
for  the  war. 

VOL.  I.— 37 


578  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

talked  big  of  sending  out  26,000  in  April.  But  for  three  years 
there  had  been  a  dearth  of  recruits.  Not  a  man  more  was  to  be 
had  from  Germany — Frederick  had  refused  passage  to  the  last 
consignment  of  Anspachers,  and  he  and  the  Emperor1  had 
determined  that  no  more  Germans  should  be  sent  to  America. 
George  111  was  delighted  with  the  public  spirit  of  his  people,  until 
he  found  that  the  Manchester  gentlemen  wanted  to  have  a  voice 
in  the  appointment  of  officers  and  in  promotions.  This,  he  wrote 
to  North,  would  give  such  a  general  disgust  to  the  army  that  it 
would  be  "  more  disserviceable  than  advantageous."  2 

1  Joseph  11,  son  of  Maria-Theresa. 

2  "  I  hope  Lord  North  will  do  his  utmost  to  prevent  the  forming  any  more 
offers  of  new  corps ;  they  will  .  .  .  only  perplex  and  totally  anihilate  all 
chance  of  compleating  the  regular  forces,  which  alone  in  time  of  need  can  be 
depended  on." — The  King  to  Lord  North,  January  15,  1778. 


CHAPTER   LXIX 
THE  FRENCH  TREATY 

"The  infinite  number  of  addresses  printed  in  your  gazette,  all  approving  the 
conduct  of  your  government  towards  us  .  .  .  the  great  majority  in  Parliament 
.  .  .  and  the  rejoicings  on  occasion  of  any  news  of  the  slaughter  of  an  innocent 
and  virtuous  people  ...  all  join  in  convincing  us,  that  you  are  no  longer  the 
magnanimous,  enlightened  nation  we  once  esteemed  you." — Franklin  to  David 
Hartley,  Oct.  14,  1777. 

"You  will  never  find  any  occasion  of  providing  for  your  children  that  I  shall 
not  be  more  happy  if  possible  than  yourself  to  provide  for  them.  It  has  not 
been  my  fate  in  general  to  be  well  served  ;  by  you  I  have,  and  therefore  cannot 
forget  it." — The  King  to  Lord  North,  March  31,  1776. 

"  I  should  have  been  greatly  hurt  at  the  inclination  expressed  by  you  to 
retire,  had  I  not  known  that,  however  you  may  be  now  and  then  inclined  to 
despond,  yet  that  you  have  too  much  personal  affection  for  me,  and  sense  of 
honour,  to  allow  such  a  thought  to  take  any  hold  on  your  mind." — The  King 
to  Lord  North,  Jan.  31,  1778,  25  min.  pt.  1  p.m. 

There  is  abundant  evidence,  from  the  letters  of  George  in,  that 

as   affairs   in   America   assumed   a    more    serious   aspect   North's 

courage  failed  him.     How  could  it  be  otherwise?     He  was  not, 

like  his   master,  buoyed  up  by  false   hopes  —  the   denunciations 

and  prophecies   of  Opposition   awakened   terrible   echoes   in   his 

heart.     But  in   the   mass   of  public   and   private   correspondence 

preserved   among   the   papers   of  those  who   took   part   in   these 

affairs,  it  is  easy  to  see  why  North  consented   to   remain.     We 

may  allow  something  for  the   influence  of  a  strong  will  over  a 

weak  one;   but  North  had  more  solid  reasons  for  not  breaking 

with  the  King.     Among  the  Abergavenny  Papers  there  is  a  letter 

from   Robinson — Manager   of  the   Bribes  —  to   the    King,   which 

throws  light  on  North's  private  affairs.     Robinson  represents  North 

as  much  embarrassed — does  not  think  his  whole  estate,  including 

Lady  North's,  is   "near  so  much  nett"  as  ^2500  a  year;   and 

"  from  situation  Lord  North  can't  minutely  attend  to  the  economy 

of  it,  so  his  expenses,  he  has  told  Mr.  R.  repeatedly,  have  every 

year  since  he  was  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury  very  largely  exceeded 

his  income."      All  this   "without  any  extravagance,"  but  he  has 

579 


580  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

so  large  a  family.  What  with  money  borrowed,  and  debts  to 
tradesmen,  he  owes  near  ;£  10,000.  At  least  he  has  told  Mr. 
Robinson  frequently  that  that  sum  would  set  him  clear.  Robinson 
gently  hints  that  these  anxieties,  and  "the  perplexities  of  his 
public  situation,"  are  too  much  for  him  to  bear — -though  otherwise 
he  does  not  feel  unequal  in  any  respect  to  the  business  of 
Parliament.  With  a  final  hint  that  Lord  North's  delicacy  and 
natural  reservedness  prevent  his  stating  his  situation  to  his 
Majesty,  and  "  depending  on  your  royal  munificence." 1 

Robinson's  letter  is  dated  September  19,  1777;  and  the  very 
same  day  the  King  wrote  to  North — 

"Kew,  September  19th,  1777,  46  min.  pt.  11  a.m. 

"  Lord  North, — I  have  now  signed  the  last  warrant  for  paying 
up  the  arrears  due  on  my  Civil  List,  and  therefore  seize  with 
pleasure  this  instant  to  insist  on  doing  the  same  for  you,  my  dear 
Lord.  You  have  at  times  droped  to  me  that  you  had  been  in 
debt  ever  since  your  first  settling  in  life  ...  if  12  or  15,000  will 
set  your  affairs  in  order,  nay,  if  ^20,000  is  necessary,  I  am  resolved 
you  shall  have  no  other  person  concerned  in  freeing  them  but 
myself.  .  .  .  You  know  me  very  ill  if  you  do  not  think  that  of 
all  the  letters  I  have  ever  wrote  to  you  this  one  gives  me  most 
pleasure.  .  .  .  Your  conduct  at  a  critical  minute  I  never  can 
forget,  and  am  glad  that  by  your  ability  and  the  kindness  of 
Parliament  I  am  enabled  to  give  you  this  mark  of  my  affection, 
which  is  the  only  one  I  have  ever  yet  been  able  to  perform,  but 
trust  some  of  the  employments  for  life  will  in  time  become  vacant, 
that  I  may  reward  your  family."  2 

From  this  time  Parliament  was  almost  wholly  occupied  with 
the  situation.  Opposition  made  motion  after  motion — "  On  the 
State  of  the  Nation,"  "  On  Clothing  the  New  Levies  raised  without 
Consent  of  Parliament,"3  "On  the  Navy  Estimates,"  "On  the 
State  of  the  Army" — moved  by  the  Duke  of  Richmond  in  the 
Lords,  and  by  Fox  in  the  Commons,  where  it  merged  into  a 
motion,  "That  no  more  of  the  Old  Corps  be  sent  out  of  the 
Kingdom."  This  debate4  excited  so  much  interest  that  "a  vast 
multitude  assembled  in  the  lobby  and  environs  of  the  House," 
and  not  being  able  to  get  in  "  by  intreaty  or  interest,"  forced  their 

1  Abergavenny  Papers ;  p.  18. 

2  Correspondence  of  George  in  with  Lord  North. 

3  In  the  Debate  on  the  Levies,  Burke  told  North  that  he  might  as  well  expect 
his  garter  to  save  him  from  the  gout,  as  his  talking  about  the  Constitution  to 
save  him  from  enquiry. 

4  February  2,  1778. 


THE  FRENCH  TREATY  5$i 

way  to  the  gallery  in  spite  of  the  doorkeepers.  The  House 
"considered  the  intrusion  in  a  heinous  light,"  and  ordered  the 
gallery  to  be  cleared.  The  gentlemen  withdrew,  but  the  ladies 
were  allowed  to  remain ;  till  Governor  Johnstone  said,  if  the  motive 
for  excluding  strangers  was  secrecy,  the  ladies  were  no  more  capable 
of  keeping  secrets  than  the  men  —  whereupon  the  ladies  were 
turned  out  too.1 

Then  Fox  recapitulated  the  Government  measures  since  1774, 
when  that  "most  unfortunate  agreement  with  the  East  India 
Company"  became  "the  immediate  source  of  all  the  troubles 
that  have  since  followed."  Ministers  had  committed  the  capital 
mistake  of  thinking  that  Massachusetts  Bay  was  "the  American 
empire."  They  forgot  Virginia — they  did  not  think  it  possible 
any  other  colony  would  join  Massachusetts — they  thought  they 
were  fighting  one  province,  when  they  were  fighting  thirteen. 
The  Punitive  Acts  made  the  Americans  abhor  our  injustice, 
while  the  Quebec  Act  seemed  intended  to  show  them  what  sort 
of  government  we  meant  to  set  up  instead  of  their  own.  "  From 
the  moment  the  Quebec  Act  passed,  there  was  only  one  party 
in  America;  it  stopt  the  mouths  of  the  moderate  party." 
Another  silly  idea  of  Ministers  was,  that  these  Acts  would  execute 
themselves.  Then  they  discovered  that  the  cause  of  Boston  was 
the  cause  of  America,  so  they  passed  more  laws,  and  sent  out 
a  large  reinforcement  with  three  able  generals.  The  Americans 
thereupon  became  still  more  united;  and  the  armies  that  were 
sent  out  did  more  harm  to  our  friends  the  Tories  than  to  our 
enemies  the  Whigs.  Next,  Ministers  rejected  the  last  effort  of 
the  moderate  party — the  New  York  Petition.  Then  he  described 
the  military  operations — the  result  of  the  first  campaign  was  that 
General  Howe  was  driven  out  of  Boston.  He  took  New  York, 
gained  two  or  three  battles — and  then  came  Trenton.  In  our 
last  campaign  we  have  got  three  towns  instead  of  one — and  we 
have  had  the  affair  of  Burgoyne.  The  question  now  is,  Can  we 
go  on?     Our  credit  is   already  more   shaken   than   it  was   at  the 

1  They  came  to  hear  Fox.  When  the  gentlemen  had  been  turned  out, 
Johnstone,  whose  friends  had  been  banished,  shouted  that  "All  must  go." 
"  A  scene  of  great  agitation  followed.  Amid  the  unusual  flutter  of  lace,  silk 
and  spangles,  demonstrations  of  resistance  were  not  imperceptible.  But  at  last 
the  ladies,  amounting  to  more  than  sixty  in  number,  and  including  Lady  Norton, 
the  wife  of  the  Speaker,  and  the  young  and  beautiful  Georgiana,  Duchess  of 
Devonshire,  were  obliged  to  retire." — {Public  Advertiser  of  February  3,  1778, 
and  Ilatsell's  Precedents,  ii.  172.)  After  Burke's  great  speech,  Johnstone 
congratulated  Ministers  on  having  turned  out  strangers — if  they  had  heard 
the  speech  they  might  have  torn  Ministers  to  pieces ! 


582  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

end  of  a  six  years'  war  with  France.  The  papers  on  the  table 
show  that  it  will  be  very  imprudent  to  send  any  more  troops 
out  of  the  kingdom.  The  peace  establishment  of  Great  Britain 
has  been  17,000.  "I  think  it  too  high;  but  such  it  has  been 
of  late  years;  17,000  for  Great  Britain,  12,000  for  Ireland;  3500 
for  Gibraltar,  and  2300  for  Minorca.  This  makes  altogether 
34,800."  This  is  for  peace.  But  various  reasons  make  us  fear 
war.  Fox  then  showed  from  the  papers  on  the  table  that  the 
whole  number  of  troops  now  in  Great  Britain  did  not  exceed 
15,000,  and  in  Ireland  8000.  "I  think,  Sir,  it  would  be  madness 
to  part  with  any  more  of  our  army." 

"To  the  great  surprise  of  everybody  out  of  doors,"  no  one 
made  the  smallest  reply  to  Fox,  but  his  motion  was  lost  by 
165  to  259. 

On  the  6th  the  Lords  examined  witnesses  as  to  the  Com- 
mercial Losses  occasioned  by  the  American  War.  Alderman 
Woolbridge  gave  the  number  of  ships  taken  or  destroyed  by 
American  privateers  at  559 — their  value,  on  a  very  moderate 
calculation,  at  ,£1,800,633,  18s.  Of  these  ships,  247  traded 
to  the  West  Indies.  He  had  made  his  calculation  with  the  help 
of  "  Mr.  Hake,  secretary  to  the  subscribers  to  Lloyd's  Coffee-house, 
where  a  book,  containing  a  faithful  register  of  all  the  ships  that 
sailed  outward,  or  were  entered  inward,"  from  all  parts  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  is  kept  "with  the  most  minute  correctness." 
Insurance  used  to  be  2  per  cent,  to  America ;  is  now  more  than 
double,  even  with  convoy;  and  without  convoy  is  15  per  cent. 
Seamen's  wages  have  gone  up  from  25  and  28  to  55  and 
65  shillings  a  month.  There  have  been  upon  the  seas  173  sail 
of  American  privateers,  with  at  least  13,000  seamen  and  2000 
guns.  The  American  War  has  caused  many  bankruptcies — 
when  the  Prohibitory  Act  passed,  there  was  about  two  millions 
sterling  due  to  British  merchants  from  America.  In  the  six 
months'  grace  allowed  by  the  Act,  the  Americans  transmitted 
about  ^500,000  worth  of  goods,  in  part-payment — these  goods, 
were  they  now  on  hand,  would  be  worth  two  millions  from 
the  increased  prices.  There  was  still  due  ;£  1,500,000,  which 
debt  was  not  worth  5  s.  in  the  pound — less  where  due  from 
provinces  which  had  been  destroyed  by  sword  and  fire. 
^72,000  was  due  to  the  house  in  which  Woolbridge  had 
lately  been  a  partner — he  would  gladly  sell  the  debt  for  10s. 
in  the  pound. 

William  Crighton  put  the  losses  of  merchants  at  two  millions 
sterling  up  to  last  October — by  now  they  must  be  two  hundred 


THE  FRENCH  TREATY  583 

thousand  pounds  more.  The  Islands  had  been  pillaged  by  the 
privateers — especially  Tobago.  Much  of  this  loss  had  been 
incurred  because  the  merchants  were  not  allowed  to  take  a 
single  pound  of  powder  on  board,  lest  the  rebels  should  be 
supplied. 

Mr.  Olive  showed  the  damage  to  Newfoundland  traders— fifty 
of  their  ships  had  been  taken,  worth  about  ^2000  each,  and 
many  small  vessels;  trade  had  improved  of  late,  as  we  sent 
more  fish  to  Bilbao ;  but  the  fishermen's  wages  had  gone  up  from 
£2>  to  ^14  a  month. 

James  Shoolbred,  of  Mark  Lane,  an  African  merchant  and 
under-writer,  said  the  African  trade  did  not  now  send  out  one- 
fourth  of  the  former  number  of  ships  (200  a  year).  Fifteen 
had  been  taken — average  value,  ^7000  outwards,  and  homeward 
(with  freight  of  slaves)  ^9000.  "Each  slave  was  worth  at 
least  £$$."     The  value  of  the  ships  lost  was  ;£  140, 000. 

Sandwich  said  trade  had  been  diverted,  not  lost,  and  the 
continuance  of  the  war  "was  in  many  respects  advantageous  to 
this  country,  and  will  be  more  so."1 

All  Richmond's  Resolutions  were  negatived  without  a  division. 

The  same  day  Burke  spoke  for  three  hours  and  a  half  on 
the  Military  Employment  of  Indians.  Ministers  had  made  three 
excuses — first,  they  had  said  that  the  rebels  would  have  used 
the  Indians  if  we  had  not.  Of  this  no  proof  had  been  even 
attempted,  while  it  was  certain  the  Americans  had  made  a  treaty 
of  neutrality  with  the  Five  Nations,  which  we  had  bribed  them 
to  violate.  Secondly,  that  the  Indians  were  always  accompanied 
by  troops,  to  prevent  their  "  irregularities."  If  this  had  been  true, 
the  services  of  the  savages  would  have  been  a  jest — their  only 
real  use  was  the  cruelties  we  were  to  restrain.  But  it  was 
impossible  to  restrain  them;  both  in  Burgoyne's  and  St.  Leger's 
expeditions — though  no  pains  were  spared  to  check  them — they 
indiscriminately  murdered  men,  women  and  children,  friends  and 
foes — indeed,  the  slaughter  fell  mostly  on  our  friends,  who  had 
been  disarmed  by  the  Provincials.  As  for  being  accompanied  by 
troops — whole  nations  of  savages  had  been  bribed  to  take  up 
the  hatchet,  without  a  single  regular  officer  or  soldier  among 
them ;  in  particular,  the  Cherokees  were  bribed  to  invade  Carolina, 
and  were  promised  the   support   of  a  large  regular  force,  but  for 

1  "There  never  was  a  speech  like  that  of  Lord  Sandwich's,  to  prove  the 
benefits  arising  from  the  American  war,  in  ignorance,  folly  and  impudence,  in 
parliament  assembled." — Lord  Mahon  to  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  February 
II,  1778. 


584  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

want  of  that  force  were  nearly  exterminated.  Moreover,  on  the 
least  appearance  of  ill -success  they  not  only  abandoned  their 
friends,  but  often  turned  their  arms  upon  them.  And  the  expense 
was  monstrous — one  Indian  cost  as  much  as  five  of  the  best 
European  regulars.  They  had  cost  not  less  than  ;£i  50,000,  and 
yet  there  had  never  been  more  than  seven  or  eight  hundred  of 
them  in  the  field  at  once,  and  that  only  for  a  very  short  time. 
In  this  speech  Burke  spoke  of  the  various  attempts  to  excite 
negro  insurrections  in  Virginia  and  Maryland.  Suppose  the 
negroes  had  revolted  and  massacred  their  masters?  Then  we 
must  have  had  another  war  to  massacre  them  I 

Ministerialists  made  a  shameful  exhibition  of  themselves,  and 
the  House  divided  against  Burke's  motion.1 

On  the  nth  Fox  presented  Twelve  Resolutions  on  the  Number 
of  Troops  in  America,  as  shown  by  the  Returns.  In  1774  so 
many  were  sent,  in  1775  so  many — and  so  on.  In  1777  there 
ought  to  have  been  a  few  over  48,000,  whereas  by  all  the  last 
returns  the  whole  number  of  British  and  Foreign  troops  was  only 
28,000 — whence  he  concluded  we  had  lost  20,000.  And  from 
this,  again,  that  America  could  not  be  subdued  by  arms. 

George  Grenville — eldest  son  of  the  late  Minister — now  made 
"an  animated  speech,"  in  which  he  explained  that  he  had 
supported  the  war  with  but  one  object — revenue.  Principles 
were  become  "merely  matter  of  speculation — expediency  must 
now  be  considered."  He  did  not  believe  the  plan  for  conciliation 
would  succeed.  The  men  who  offered  it  were  execrated  from  one 
end  of  America  to  the  other;  their  best  intentions  would  be 
interpreted  as  "lures  to  ensnare  and  betray."  There  was  one 
way,  perhaps — if  a  man  who  has  served  this  nation  with  honour 
to  himself  and  glory  to  the  country — a  man  of  whom  the  House 
of  Bourbon  stands  peculiarly  in  awe — a  man  who  unites  the 
confidence  of  England  and  America  —  were  to  treat  with 
America.  "There  is  not  one  present  who  is  ignorant  of  the 
person  I  mean.  You  all  know  that  I  mean  a  noble  and  near 
relation.  He  is  the  man  whom  his  Majesty  ought  to  call  to  his 
counsels." 

The  Debate  of  February  13,  on  the  Navy  Estimates,  gives  us 
a  glimpse  of  how  the  North  Administration  did  the  nation's 
business.  Temple  Luttrell  showed  that  Sandwich's  requisitions 
far  exceeded  those  of  any  of  his  predecessors.  Including  the 
present  Estimates  (,£781,911)  the  House  of  Commons  had  given 

1  Barre  offered  to  go  himself,  and  nail  up  Burke's  speech  on  every  church 
door  beside  the  Royal  Proclamation  ordering  a  General  Fast  for  February  27. 


THE  FRENCH  TREATY  585 

him  about  ^2,100,000  for  building,  rebuilding,  and  repairing 
the  ships  and  vessels  of  his  Majesty's  Navy — that  is,  for  the  mere 
hulls,  masts,  and  yards ;  for  besides  this  there  was  near  ^800,000 
for  keeping  them  up  when  out  of  commission;  and  above 
;£6oo,ooo  more  for  extra  stores.  All  this  exclusive  of  what  was 
allowed  to  replace  the  stores  lost  in  the  fire  at  Portsmouth 
dockyard,  and  of  considerable  demands  for  timber.1  More  money 
had  therefore  been  voted  the  noble  lord  on  the  Extraordinary 
estimate  alone  than  would  have  built  100  men-of-war,  and 
equipped  them  for  sea.  And  even  this  did  not  include  ordnance. 
And  what  is  there  to  show  for  it  ?  Fifty  ships  of  the  line  fit  for 
sea  in  case  of  a  foreign  war.  When  Lord  Hawke  left  the 
Admiralty,  there  were  80  in  good  condition,  and  59  fully  manned 
for  war.  Then  Luttrell  went  into  the  details  of  the  money  spent 
on  repairs — more  than  would  have  built  new  ships  !  The  JVamur, 
^39)335  m  tne  last  four  years;  the  Defence,  ^"29,500.  Then 
the  Dragon  (a  74) — in  1771  the  Admiralty  came  to  Parliament 
f°r  ^5°°°  to  repair  her;  in  1772  for  ^7000  more;  in  1773 
^"4000  more;  1774  ^4000  more;  1775  ^7000  more — in  all, 
,£27,000,  besides  £10,273  for  her  stores.  But  the  last  sentence 
of  his  speech  was  the  most  startling.  He  asked,  Does,  or  does 
not,  that  very  ship  still  remain  untouched,  "  in  a  most  rotten  state, 
above  Portsmouth  harbour,"  and  nothing  done  to  her  to  this  day  ? 

Lord  Mulgrave2  admitted  it!  "Not  one  shilling  had  been 
laid  out  in  repairing  those  ships."  But  the  money  had  been 
spent  for  naval  purposes — not  "  put  into  a  bag  by  the  First  Lord, 
or  into  his  own  pocket."  The  estimate  was  the  usual  mode  of 
raising  money,  but  was  never  meant  to  state  the  purpose,  and 
if  this  was  a  crime,  it  had  been  done  ever  since  the  reign  of 
James  11 ! 

Luttrell  retorted  that  in  1 711  the  House  addressed  Queen 
Anne  on  abuses   exactly  similar — they  were  then  called  atrocious 

1  Welbore  Ellis  interrupted  Luttrell  to  explain  that  the  expense  was  caused 
by  the  badness  of  the  timber  "imported  from  abroad."  Luttrell  asked  why 
they  bought  so  much  if  it  was  bad?  In  a  former  speech  (November  26,  1777) 
he  had  commented  very  disadvantageously  on  the  "  Staten  oak" — he  had  been 
told  that  the  Mars,  repaired  with  this  timber,  found  it  "so  spongy  and 
unserviceable,"  that  she  had  to  "quoin"  or  wedge  her  guns,  to  prevent  the 
bolts  from  drawing  out ;  and  used  as  planks  for  decks,  the  rain  penetrated 
"through  its  pores"  even  to  the  hammocks.  To-day  Luttrell  said  that  "if 
the  last  fire  in  the  dockyards  had  made  a  providential  sweep  of  all  your  oak 
from  Stettin,"  he  believed  it  would  have  more  than  compensated  for  the  other 
damage  ! 

2  Constantine  Phipps. 


586  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

crimes  in  Ministers  —  and  the  Queen  promised  ample  redress. 
Burke  exclaimed  that  it  was  an  insult  to  present  the  House  "  with 
a  fine  gilt  book  of  estimates,  calculated  to  a  farthing,"  for  purposes 
to  which  the  money  was  never  meant  to  be  applied.  "  In  the 
warmth  of  his  indignation,"  he  threw  the  book  of  estimates  at  the 
Treasury  Bench,  "  which,  taking  the  candle  in  its  way,  had  nearly 
struck  Mr.  Ellis'  shins."     The  ^781,911  was  then  agreed  to. 

On  the  1 6th  the  Earl  of  Thanet  communicated  to  the  Lords 
a  letter  he  had  received  from  General  Gates.1  Viscount  Town- 
shend  said  it  ought  not  to  be  read — it  was  from  a  person  at  the 
head  of  a  rebel  army — although  he  had  been  very  humane  to 
General  Burgoyne,  he  was  a  very  unfit  person  for  that  House  to 
correspond  with.  Gower  feared  it  might  contain  things  "very 
improper  for  their  lordships  to  hear."  Richmond  thought  it 
ridiculous  to  refuse  information;  and  as  Thanet  was  very  hoarse, 
Lord  Rockingham  read  the  letter.  It  was  written  from  Albany, 
and  was  a  request  that  Lord  Chatham  and  Lord  Camden  ("  who 
never  bowed  their  heads  to  Baal " )  should  be  allowed  to  arrange 
terms.  By  withdrawing  her  fleet  and  army,  England  could  yet 
secure  the  friendship  and  the  commerce  of  America.  Let  England 
seek  her  greatness  and  happiness  in  a  commercial  alliance,  "for 
there  only  you  must  expect  to  find  it."  It  is  a  curious  touch, 
that  Suffolk  impudently  complimented  Rockingham  "on  his 
candour,  for  having  read,  with  so  much  distinctness  and  firmness 
of  voice,  that  part  of  the  letter  which  speaks  so  highly  of  Lord 
Chatham."  Rockingham  replied  coldly  that  he  read  the  letter 
because  he  was  anxious  to  give  the  House  information,  which 
the  King's  servants,  on  every  occasion,  wilfully  withheld;  and 
he  wished  to  attend  to  General  Gates'  proposals,  "because  he 
was  determined  to  serve  his  country  by  making  peace  at  any 
rate."  In  spite  of  Grafton,  Richmond,  Manchester,  and  Bristol, 
the  Lords  refused  even  to  let  the  letter  lie  on  the  table.  Then 
they  went  into  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Nation,  and  of 
the  forces  in  America;  and  Weymouth  called  war  with  France 
"a  subject  so  foreign  from  the  question"  that  he  wondered  the 
noble  Duke  (Grafton)  introduced  it.  "Nothing  could  be  more 
pacific  than  the  professions  of  the  Court  of  Versailles;  he  would 
not,  however,  hold  himself  answerable  to  be  called  upon,  should 
a  war  happen  to  break  out  shortly."  He  admitted  that  France 
"was  arming  herself."  Camden  reproached  the  Lords  with  their 
long  adjournment  —  "a  recess  of  six  weeks,  at  so  awful  and 
important  a  crisis,"  and  now,  when  it  is  too  late,  they  come  with 
1  The  Earl  of  Thanet  and  Gates  had  been  friends. 


THE  FRENCH  TREATY  587 

a  proposal  to  Parliament !  He  had  lately  seen  an  extract  of  a 
letter  from  Dr.  Franklin,  which  said  that  a  proposition  tending 
to  peace  would  then  have  been  accepted;  but  that  now  it  was 
too  late.  Camden  had  received  many  intimations  of  a  treaty 
between  France  and  America.  If  the  Minister  knew  this — and 
knew  that  the  inevitable  consequence  must  be  war  with  France — 
what  a  mockery  of  the  nation  will  be  his  proposition ! 

Richmond  went  minutely  into  the  number  of  men  in  America. 
He  showed  that  there  were  now  36,731  (including  officers). 
The  whole  number  sent  out,  with  the  small  force  there  already 
in  1774,  was  61,648.  From  this  he  estimated  our  total  loss, 
by  death,  desertion,  captivity  or  sickness,  at  24,9 17.1  It  would 
take  a  reinforcement  of  11,885  men)  °f  °ld  troops,  to  make  the 
present  army  in  America  equal  to  what  it  was  during  the  last 
campaign.  He  moved  Resolutions  confirming  these  undeniable 
statements — but  they  were  all  negatived. 

The  air  was  thick  with  rumours  of  a  French  Treaty  when, 
on  February  19,  Lord  North  proposed  his  new  Conciliatory  Bill, 
in  what  was  perhaps  the  silliest  speech  ever  made  by  a  Minister. 
His  appearance  was  pitiable.  "He  spoke  with  deep  dejection 
in  his  countenance,  and  tears  in  his  eyes.2  He  protested  he  was 
from  the  beginning  disposed  to  peace,  but  the  coercive  Acts 
he  made  seemed  necessary  at  the  time — though  in  the  event  they 
produced  effects  he  never  intended.  As  soon  as  he  found  this, 
he  tried  conciliation "  —  but  his  proposal  was  made  to  appear 
obscure,  "by  a  variety  of  discussions,"  so  it  "got  damned  to 
America";  and  Congress  represented  it  as  a  scheme  for  sowing 
division,  and  "introducing  a  worse  form  of  taxation  than  the 
former."  He  always  knew  "American  taxation  could  never  pro- 
duce a  beneficial  revenue."  "The  Stamp  Act  was  the  most 
judicious  that  could  be  chosen"  —  but  he  did  not  believe  it 
would  have  produced  much — nothing  at  all  if  they  had  chosen 
to  go  on  without  stamps.  But  he  never  proposed  any  tax  on 
America  —  he  found  them  taxed  when  he  unfortunately  came 
into  Administration.  But  as  he  did  not  lay  it,  he  did  not  think 
it  advisable  for  him  to  repeal  the  Tea-tax — "nor  did  he  ever 
think  of  any  particular  means  of  enforcing  it."  He  could  not 
see   why   the   Americans   complained   of  it — "it  was   a   relief  to 

1  In  a  former  debate  Barrington  had  said  that  only  1200  had  been  killed 
in  the  three  years'  war.  But  he  was  obliged  to  add  that  this  did  not  include 
those  who  died  "natural  deaths,"  or  were  disabled  by  wounds  or  sickness 
from  further  service,  or  deserted,  or  were  captured. 

2  Albemarle's  Life  of  Rockingham. 


588  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

them,  instead  of  an  oppression" — but  the  ill-affected  represented 
it  as  a  monopoly.  One  of  the  present  Bills  was  meant  to  quiet 
America  on  the  subject  of  taxation ;  but  he  could  not  repeal  all 
Acts  since  1763,  because  some  passed  in  1769  were  beneficial. 
The  Charter  Bill,  and  the  Fisheries  and  Prohibitory  Acts  should 
cease,  and  Commissioners  should  go  out  to  talk  over  the  rest. 
To  remove  the  difficulty  of  there  being  nobody  to  treat  with, 
he  would  give  these  Commissioners  power  to  treat  with  the 
Congress  as  if  it  were  a  legal  body ;  and  they  should  treat  with 
any  of  the  Provincial  Assemblies  in  the  present  civil  capacities, 
or  military  commands — with  General  Washington,  or  any  other 
officer.  If  he  was  asked  why  he  did  not  do  this  before — it  was 
because  he  was  waiting  for  a  victory.  He  thought  Sir  William 
Howe's  victories  had  been  more  decisive.  When  he  found  they 
were  not,  the  first  thing  that  occurred  to  him  was  to  raise  more 
men;  but  he  had  since  reflected  that  events  are  uncertain — he 
had  been  so  much  disappointed  —  and,  "in  the  case  of  the 
utmost  success,"  the  terms  now  proposed  must  still  be  offered 
— so  he  would  offer  them  at  once.  The  war  had  turned  out 
very  differently  from  his  expectation — not  that  he  meant  to  call 
in  question  the  conduct  of  our  commanders.  Sir  William  Howe 
was  always  much  superior  to  the  American  army  opposed  to 
him;  and  until  the  affair  at  Bennington,  General  Burgoyne's 
army  was  near  twice  as  strong  as  General  Gates'.  All  these 
things  had  happened  in  a  manner  very  contrary  to  his  expectations. 
But  he  had  never  made  a  promise  that  he  did  not  perform — 
he  said  a  great  fleet  and  a  great  army  should  be  sent  out — 
and  they  were;  there  were  upwards  of  60,000  men.  He  said 
they  should  be  provided  with  supplies — and  they  had  been,  and 
might  be  for  years  to  come;  and  "if  the  House  was  deceived, 
they  had  deceived  themselves."  We  could  go  on  much  longer 
— we  had  many  more  men  to  send,  and  the  navy  never  was 
stronger,  and  the  revenue  very  little  sunk,  and  he  could  raise 
the  supplies  for  next  year;  and  he  submitted  the  whole,  and  his 
own  conduct,  to  the  judgment  of  the  House. 

This  deplorable,  appalling  exhibition  was  listened  to  with 
"profound  attention  but  without  a  single  mark  of  approbation 
from  any  man  in  the  House";  and  when  he  sat  down,  there 
was  "a  dull,  melancholy  silence  for  some  time." 

"Astonishment,    dejection,   and    fear    overclouded    the   whole 
assembly."1     What   did    his   hints    at    resignation    mean?     What 
had  happened?     Was  the  French  Treaty  signed? 
1  Parliamentary  History. 


THE  FRENCH  TREATY  589 

At  length  Fox  rose.  He  would  not  refuse  assent  to  the 
propositions — they  did  not  differ  materially  from  those  of  his 
friend  Mr.  Burke,  three  years  ago — the  minority  then  used  the 
same  arguments  and  almost  the  same  words  as  the  noble  lord 
had  just  used.  But  if  these  concessions  came  too  late,  what 
punishment  would  be  sufficient  for  those  who  adjourned  Parlia- 
ment, and  waited  till  France  had  concluded  a  treaty  with  the 
independent  States  of  America?  He  had  sure  information  of 
this.  Did  Ministers  know  it?  Was  there  a  treaty  which  would 
make  this  Bill  as  useless  as  it  was  humiliating  ? 

It  was  long  before  North  replied.  When  he  did,  he  could 
only  say  that  he  did  not  know  from  authority  that  the  treaty 
was  signed.  "  It  was  possible,  nay,  too  probable ;  but  not 
authenticated  by  the  Ambassador." 

Leave  to  bring  in  the  Conciliation  Bill  was  granted  without 
a  division. 

On  the  2nd  of  March,  in  moving  the  Third  Reading  of  the 
Bill  to  appoint  Commissioners,  Sir  Grey  Cooper  expressed  his 
certainty  that  these  offers  would  bring  to  our  side  every  moderate 
man,  and  every  man  of  property,  "  who  is  not  too  far  embarked." 
"  Now  that  the  terror  of  taxation  by  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain  is  removed,"  and  "they  compare  our  mild  and  equal 
government"  with  what  they  have  now,  "the  affections  and 
charities  of  former  relation"  will  be  revived.  The  French 
Alliance  is  most  unnatural  — "  and  can  only  be  dictated  by 
despair."  It  is  the  alliance  of  "a  high-spirited  free  people  with 
a  despotic  government;  the  religion  of  the  severest  Protestants, 
with  a  great,  powerful,  and  ambitious  Catholic  state;  the  plain 
and  simple  manners  of  the  Americans,  with  the  fashions  of  a 
high-polished  and  luxurious  nation."  After  paying  the  Americans 
these  compliments,  Cooper  went  on  to  describe  the  miseries  we 
had  inflicted  on  them  as  marks  of  our  esteem  —  he  lamented 
them  as  much  as  anybody,  but  their  leaders  brought  it  on 
them. 

This  day  Wilkes  brought  a  frightful  indictment  against 
Ministers  for  their  use  of  Indians.  He  contrasted  our  conduct 
with  that  of  the  Americans.  After  the  capitulation  at  Saratoga, 
General  Gates  had  shown  "  a  refined  sense  of  honour,  unparalleled 
in  European  armies." l  Burgoyne  had  been  treated  with  respect — 
he  "  had  dined  with  the  American  hero  "  ;  nothing  unkind  was  said 
to  him,  except  asking,  "  how  he  could  find  it  in  his  heart  to  burn 

1  This  referred  to  his  not  allowing  his  own  troops  to  be  present  while  the 
British  piled  arms. 


590  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

the  poor  country  people's  houses  wherever  he  passed?"  And 
Burgoyne  had  answered,  "It  was  the  King's  orders."  All 
Burgoyne's  letters  showed  that  the  Canadian  campaign  "  originated 
from  the  closet  of  the  King  " ;  and  the  employment  of  Indians 
was  "  among  the  primary  ideas."  Colonel  Butler  was  directed  to 
distribute  the  King's  bounty  among  the  savages  who  joined  the 
army — and  after  he  had  given  the  presents  he  asked  for  ^4011 
"  York  currency  "  more.  Wilkes  read  from  Butler's  letters x — on 
the  table  of  the  House.  In  one,  he  says,  "  I  flatter  myself  you 
will  not  think  the  expense,  however  high,  to  be  useless."  In 
another — of  July  28,  from  Ontario — "The  Indians  made  a  shock- 
ing slaughter  with  their  spears  and  hatchets.  The  success  of  this 
day  will  show  the  utility  of  my  endeavours  to  conciliate  so  service- 
able a  body  of  allies."  Wilkes  declared  that  in  some  parts  nearly 
as  many  women  and  children  "expired  under  the  torture  of  the 
tomahawk  and  the  scalping-knife  "  as  men  were  slain  in  fight.  He 
read  Burgoyne's  letter  of  June  22,  1777,  in  which  the  General  said 
he  "met  the  Indians  yesterday  in  congress,  and  gave  them  a 
war-feast  according  to  their  custom " — of  which  war-feast,  said 
Wilkes,  we  know  the  most  solemn  ceremony  to  be  the  "  drinking 
human  blood  from  the  skulls  of  their  enemies."  And  Bur- 
goyne consented  at  that  conference  to  their  taking  the  scalps  of 
the  dead ! 

To  all  this  there  was  no  reply. 

Ministers  reckoned  on  these  Conciliatory  Bills  being  lost — 
Opposition  would  reject  them  because  they  gave  too  little,  and 
their  own  extremists  because  they  gave  too  much.  But  they 
were  disappointed.  No  one  could  endure  the  Conciliatory  Bills ; 
but  when  the  Speaker  said,  "The  Ayes  have  it,"  though  three- 
fourths  of  the  House  were  against,  no  one  dared  say  "  The  Noes 
have  it."  So  the  Bills  passed  the  Commons  on  the  2nd  of  March, 
and  the  Lords  on  the  9th,  without  a  division,  though  to  them,  too, 
"  it  was  the  cup  of  humiliation." 

That  day  the  Duke  of  Grafton  told  them  that  Mr.  Fox  had 
private  information  that  the  French  Treaty  was  signed — and  he 
himself  was  as  sure  of  it  as  though  the  whole  Cabinet  told  him. 
Weymouth  confessed  he  had  heard  "  an  out-door  report,"  but  he 
knew  nothing;   and  he  asked   their   lordships   to   remember  that 

1  "  Colonel  Butler's  letter  to  Sir  Guy  Carleton  of  July  28th  says,  *  Many  of 
the  prisoners  were,  conformable  to  Indian  custom,  afterwards  killed.'  Has 
the  Secretary  at  War  (Lord  Barrington)  yet  thanked  the  savages  in  the  King's 
name  for  their  alacrity  ?  " — Mr.  Wilkes  on  Lord  North's  Conciliatory  Bills, 
March  2,  1778. 


THE  FRENCH  TREATY  591 

on  the  5th  he  had  stood  up  in  his  place,  and  declared  he  knew 
nothing  of  any  such  treaty  being  either  in  contemplation  or  ex- 
istence !  Appealed  to  by  Grafton,  he  again  declared  he  knew 
nothing.  That  day,  too,  Rockingham  commented  strongly  on 
the  language  adopted  "since  the  commencement  of  the  present 
reign,"  about  such  and  such  being  "  the  King's  measures."  Now 
the  King's  friends  venture  a  step  farther — instead  of  calling  the 
war  the  war  of  Parliament,  or  of  the  people,  it  is  "the  King's 
war,"  "his  Majesty's  favourite  war."  This  is  most  insolent  and 
unconstitutional.  "The  King  can  have  no  interests,  no  dignity, 
no  views  whatever,  distinct  from  those  of  his  people." 

On  the  nth  the  Lords  enquired  into  the  Transport  Service, 
and  why  the  Treasury  paid  so  much  more  for  freight  than  the 
Navy  Board — Effingham  said  the  difference  amounted  to  ^178,000. 
Atkinson  was  examined  as  to  this.  He  explained  that  so  many 
transports  were  wanted,  he  had  had  to  send  to  every  ship-builder 
in  the  kingdom,  and  even  to  Holland.  The  ship-owners  preferred 
a  contract  with  the  Navy  Board — they  said  that  in  the  Board's 
service  ships  lay  in  port,  and  were  not  wearing  out  their  tackle, 
etc.,  as  they  did  when  employed  by  the  Treasury  in  continual 
voyages  to  America !  Questioned  by  Richmond,  Atkinson  owned 
his  commission  used  to  be  2  per  cent,  but  last  July  the  Lords 
of  the  Treasury  sent  for  him,  and  asked  if  he  could  not  do  it  for 
less,  and  since  then  had  only  given  him  i£  per  cent.  Effingham 
exclaimed  that  on  the  lowest  computation  ^150,000  of  public 
money  had  been  wasted — the  transaction  was  a  job — a  contract 
made  in  the  dark  with  a  favourite  contractor !  And  Shelburne 
pointed  out  that  Atkinson  only  agreed  to  take  less  when  he  knew 
his  contract  was  being  looked  into. 

And  now  all  the  denials  and  subterfuges  of  Ministers  were 
swept  away  at  a  stroke.  On  March  13  de  Noailles,  French 
Ambassador  in  London,  informed  Lord  Weymouth  that  his 
Government  had  signed  a  Treaty  of  Amity  and  Commerce  with 
the  United  States  of  North  America;  and  on  the  17th  the 
King  informed  both  Houses  that  he  had  recalled  Lord  Stormont. 

Hutchinson  now  notes  in  his  Diary :  "  Everybody  where  I  go 
is  out  of  temper."  Welbore  Ellis  had  even  advised  him  to  keep 
out  of  sight  as  much  as  he  could — "  there  is  scarce  a  day  but 
someone  has  a  fling  at  you  in  the  House." 

On  the  21st  Franklin  and  the  other  Envoys  were  presented 
to  Louis  xvi  at  Versailles.  Louis  did  not  like  it — after  all,  the 
Americans  were  rebels.  But  all  his  people  were  for  them,  and  his 
Ministers  told  him  that  now  was  the  time  to  avenge  the  Seven 


592  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Years'  War.  The  Lees  and  Silas  Deane l  decked  themselves  out 
in  lace  and  powder,  but  Franklin  only  wore  the  suit  of  Manchester 
velvet  which  he  had  on  the  day,  five  years  ago,  when  Wedderburn 
held  him  up  to  the  execration  of  the  Privy  Council  for  publishing 
Hutchinson's  Letters. 

Next  day  the  King  sent  down  a  Message  on  the  Treaty,  so 
angry  that  it  was  almost  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war.2  In 
the  Lords,  Effingham  made  a  remarkable  speech,  which  recalls 
the  days  of  the  Grenville  Administration.  Ministers,  he  said, 
were  totally  incapable.  He  knew  not  who  had  better  succeed 
them,  but  there  should  be  one  rule — they  must  be  men  who  would 
not  be  subservient  "to  an  invisible  power."  This  was  the  root 
of  all  the  evils  which  had  poured  in  upon  us  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  reign.  Whoever  resisted  "this  secret,  con- 
cealed impulse,"  was  proscribed,  however  able ;  whoever  obeyed 
it,  was  patronised,  however  weak,  ignorant,  or  incapable.  To 
drag  this  secret,  undermining  power  into  the  face  of  day  ought 
to  be  the  first  great  object.  Till  that  is  done,  a  change  of  men 
will  avail  nothing — the  same  measures  will  continue.  The  only 
way  to  detect  this  influence  is  to  destroy  the  distinction  between 
"an  ostensive  and  efficient"  Cabinet.  He  had  heard  a  noble 
and  learned  lord  (Mansfield)  acknowledge  he  was  once  a  member 
of  that  "  efficient "  Cabinet. 

Nobody  seems  to  have  dared  ask  Effingham  what  he  meant. 

The  debate  was  really  to  decide  whether  we  should  go  to 
war  with  France  for  acknowledging  the  United  States.  Abingdon 
exclaimed,  "  This  is  madness !  it  is  desperation,  it  is  folly !  No, 
my  lords,  it  is  neither — it  is  wickedness  ! "  Twelve  days  ago, 
Ministers  assured  us  there  was  no  treaty,  and  there  would  be 
peace — now  they  tell  us  there  is  a  treaty,  and  a  message  from  his 
Majesty  calls  on  us  to  go  to  war ! 

A  bellicose  reply  to  the  King's  Message  was  carried  by  68 
to  25. 

In  the  Commons  the  Debate  on  the  Message  occasioned  a 
very  important  statement  by  Governor  Pownall.  Sir  George 
Yonge   had    said    that    the    treaty    was    two    years    negotiating. 

1  Even  before  the  Conciliation  Bills  passed,  Paul  Wentworth,  Agent  of  the 
British  Government,  had  privately  promised  Deane  everything  but  Independence. 

2  On  the  same  21st  of  March,  1778,  Lord  George  Germaine  writes  to  Sir 
Henry  Clinton — "Most  Secret" — expressing  the  King's  indignation  at  the 
"offensive  proceedings  of  the  French  Court,"  and  his  intention  of  an  immediate 
attack  on  the  French  possessions  in  the  West  Indies,  for  which  instructions  are 
given,  though  no  place  is  mentioned. — Hist.  MSS.  Report  XI V,  App.  10, 
p.  461. 


THE  FRENCH  TREATY  593 

Pownall  denied  this — it  was  only  about  six  months.  He  pro- 
duced a  Memorial  which  the  American  Commissioners  in  Paris 
had  handed  to  the  French  Ministry  last  August.  He  read  it  to 
the  House.  It  urged  the  French  Government  to  secure  the 
friendship  and  commerce  of  America,  before  Great  Britain  offered 
terms — it  was  certain  that  Britain  would  soon  make  a  great  effort 
at  reconciliation.  "The  first  resistance  of  the  Colonies,"  said 
the  Memorial,  "was  not  to  obtain  independency,  but  a  redress 
of  their  grievances."  A  majority  have  now  "put  in  for  the  prize 
of  independency,"  but  they  did  so  in  confidence  that  France 
would  support  them.  If  they  find  themselves  disappointed,  they 
may  be  inclined  to  accept  such  terms  as  Britain  may  offer.  Lord 
George  Germaine  had  lately  said  that  his  hope  of  ending  the 
war  this  year  rested  on  this  disappointment  of  aid  from  France. 
The  Memorialists  reminded  the  French  Government  of  the 
humiliations  of  the  Seven  Years'  War — this  was  the  most  favour- 
able opportunity  ever  offered  of  humbling  "a  powerful,  arrogant, 
and  hereditary  enemy."  Moreover,  Britain  is  already  incensed 
at  the  help  already  given,  and  most  likely,  when  peace  comes, 
she  will  seize  the  sugar-islands  to  make  up  for  her  losses,  and  to 
punish  France. 

The  Memorial,  continued  Pownall,  had  no  effect.  On  the 
contrary,  seeing  that  America  began  to  be  hard  pressed — news 
had  arrived  that  Burgoyne  had  re-taken  Ticonderoga  —  the  French 
Ministry  tried  to  drive  her  to  despair,  that  she  might  surrender 
her  interests  to  France  without  conditions.  There  was  almost 
an  open  breach;  and  the  Commissioners  wrote  to  Congress, 
setting  forth  the  situation.  Here,  said  Pownall,  was  the  moment 
for  Great  Britain  to  step  in  and  offer  terms,  and  though  independ- 
ence was  to  be  a  sine  qua  non,  the  Americans  promised  that 
everything  should  be  so  done  as  to  save  Britain's  honour.  "I 
betray  no  confidences  —  I  am  authorised  for  all  I  say."  He 
received  a  letter  from  Paris  last  September,  which  represented 
that  the  French  Government  were  keeping  the  Commissioners 
in  "a  very  perplexing  state  of  uncertainty,"  and  seemed  more 
anxious  than  ever  to  avoid  a  war  with  England.  If  the  English 
Ministry  had  the  wisdom  immediately  to  acknowledge  independ- 
ence, a  treaty  might  be  made  which  would  put  Britain  in  a 
"happier  and  more  flourishing  situation"  than  she  could  arrive 
at  by  any  other  way.  Pownall  had  at  once  communicated  this 
letter  to  Ministers.  The  reply  was,  "that  the  ground  was 
inadmissible  in  the  first  instance."  "There  the  matter  dropped 
— this  one  opportunity  was  lost  for  ever." 
vol.  1. — 38 


594  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

In  a  remarkable  passage  Pownall  told  the  House  that  the 
Americans  "are,  and  must  be,  independent."  Every  step 
we  take  to  put  them  back  from  it,  only  convinces  them  of 
the  necessity  of  going  forward.  He  bade  them  look  into 
their  "four  great  acts  of  State"  —  the  Declaration  of  Rights, 
in  1774;  the  "Manifesto  to  all  the  world";  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  the  Act  of  Confederation.  By  these 
they  had  established  "a  great  republican  empire."  And  now 
France  has  acknowledged  them — and  Spain  and  Holland  will 
follow.  To  suppose  they  will  now  give  up  all  this  —  pull 
down  their  own  new  governments  to  receive  our  provincial 
ones,  "  is  nonsense,  not  even  to  be  listened  to ! "  We  must 
treat  with  them  now  as  independent  States.  But  the  French 
Treaty  is  not  yet  ratified  by  Congress  —  "we  may  yet  be  in 
America  with  our  propositions  before  it  is  ratified."  He 
proposed  a  federal  treaty,  "offensive,  defensive,  and  com- 
mercial." If  less  than  this  is  to  be  offered,  our  Commissioners 
had  better  not  go.  The  French  Treaty  is  not  exclusive — the 
ground  is  open  to  us,  if  we  are  not  too  proud  to  tread  upon 
it.  Whether  we  do  so  first  or  last,  we  must  acknowledge 
their  independence. 

The  words  of  wisdom  fell  on  deaf  ears.  The  debate  went 
off  into  defiance  of  France.  Again  North  talked  of  standing 
by  the  ship  "untill  he  should  have  brought  her  safe  into  port." 
He  saw  no  foundation  for  alarm  —  the  dread  of  invasion  was 
a  bugbear — and  even  if  it  happened,  there  was  very  little  reason 
to  fear  the  consequences !  Our  navy  was  never  so  flourishing ; 
and  when  the  new  Levies  are  completed,  we  shall  have  30,000 
men  for  the  defence  of  the  kingdom.  And  his  Majesty  is 
resolved  to  call  out  the  militia.1  So  the  Commons  rejected 
the  Amendment  (calling  for  the  removal  of  Ministers)  by  113 
to  263,  and  went  into  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Nation. 

On  the  19th  of  March  came  on  the  Debate  on  the  Failure 
of  Burgoyne's  Expedition.  Fox  said  the  sole  design  in  sending 
Burgoyne  to  Canada  was  that  he  might  force  his  way  to  Albany, 
and  there  make  a  junction  with  Sir  William  Howe.  "  But  orders 
were  given  only  to  one  party — the  other  party  was  left  ignorant 
of  the  design."  This  appears  from  the  Minister's  letters  to 
the  Commanders,  and  the  Commanders'  letters  to  each  other. 
Two  men  were  to  meet  at  one  place,  but  only  one  was  told  to  go 

1  The  panic  was  great  enough  for  indirect  overtures  to  be  made  to 
Rockingham,  through  Coutts  the  Banker.  But  Rockingham  steadily  refused 
any  sort  of  coalition. — Albemarle. 


THE  FRENCH  TREATY  595 

there.  Thus  thirteen  provinces  were  lost.  He  announced  his 
intention  of  moving  a  Resolution  of  Censure  upon  Lord  George 
Germain  e. 

Ministerialists  were  sorely  put  to  it — Germaine  must  be  saved, 
but  they  did  not  know  on  which  General  they  had  better  throw 
the  blame.  North  protested  that  Germaine  had  done  nothing 
without  the  concurrence  of  the  Cabinet.  Germaine,  for  all 
defence,  repeated  this  statement.  Dunning  retorted  that  he 
had  promised  to  send  General  Howe  the  same  orders  as  General 
Burgoyne,  "  but  never  did  send  them."  Dunning  positively 
asserted  this,  and  Germaine  made  no  reply. 

After  a  long  debate  the  Committee  divided.  For  the 
Resolutions,  44;  against  164.1  Then  Fox  rose  in  wrath, 
declared  he  would  not  make  another  motion,  took  the  Resolution 
of  Censure  from  his  pocket,  tore  it  up,  and  left  the  House. 

On  the  23rd  Burke  objected  to  the  charge  for  Scalping- 
knives  in  the  Army  Estimates.  He  moved  to  disallow  the 
sum  of  ;£i  60,837  in  Sir  Guy  Carleton's  account — which  seemed 
to  have  been  spent  "to  carry  on  a  Savage  War,  contrary  to 
the  usage  of  civilised  nations."  Also  the  sum  of  ^16,000 
spent  for  the  same  purpose  in  the  south;  and  the  sum  of 
^5000  spent  on  a  war  of  insurgent  negroes  against  the 
inhabitants  of  Virginia;  and  whatever  was  paid  for  "100 
Crosses,  and  five  gross  of  Scalping-knives,  the  said  expenditure 
being  disgraceful  to  religion  and  humanity."  There  seems  to 
have  been  no  discussion.  The  Amendment  was  lost  by  21  to 
56 ;  and  the  House  passed  to  Colonel  Barre's  Motion  for 
an  enquiry  into  Public  Expenditure. 

Barre  began  by  commenting  on  the  enormous  sums  granted 
for  Army  Extraordinaries  during  the  last  three  years.  He  read  out 
the  sums,  the  particular  services,  the  names  of  the  contractors.  He 
compared  the  expenses  of  "the  late  glorious  war"  with  those 
of  the  present  disgraceful,  ruinous,  and  inglorious  one.  When 
we  had  near  half  Europe  to  contend  with,  our  expenses  were 
not  near  so  great.  "  Here  he  took  a  particular  view  of  agents, 
contractors,  splitting  of  profits,  etc.,  particularly  of  the  contracts 
and  agencies  of  Harley  and  Drummond,  on  the  Spanish, 
Portugal,  and  British  gold  coin;  and  the  self-denying  Mr. 
Atkinson,    relative    to    his    rum    contract,    and    agency    for    the 

1  Fox  moved  three  other  Resolutions— That  the  Expedition  was  ill- 
concerted  ;  That,  from  the  measures  adopted,  it  could  not  have  succeeded : 
and  That  the  instructions  sent  to  General  Howe  were  not  such  as  to  ensure 
General  Burgoyne's  success. 


596  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

transports."  In  Harley  and  Drummond's  account  there  were 
no  vouchers  for  ;£  80,000.  For  three  years  now  we  have 
been  promised  the  vouchers  next  year — they  always  tell  us 
they  have  not  clerks  enough.  Better  make  Mr.  Atkinson, 
"the  precious  agent  and  contractor,"  auditor  —  he  could  be  in 
his  own  person,  all  the  clerks,  surveyors  and  commissioners 
that  are  wanted.  He  made  us  pay  full  50  per  cent,  too  much 
for  the  rum,  and  on  the  transports  we  have  lost  20  per  cent. 
And  even  the  waste  is  not  all — the  money  is  permitted  to  lie 
for  fifteen  or  twenty  years  in  the  hands  of  favourite  place-men, 
favourite  agents,  favourite  contractors,  while  "  this  ruined, 
distressed  nation"  is  borrowing  at  more  than  5  per  cent. 
There  is  Mr.  Gordon,  inspector  of  provisions  at  Cork,  on 
;£  10,000  a  year!  And  the  noble  lord  in  the  blue  ribbon 
is  so  criminally  ignorant  as  not  to  know  currency  from  sterling ! 
Here  North  rose  "in  great  warmth,"  and  said  he  was  pretty 
sure  the  price  for  the  rum  was  sterling.  He  was  so  angry 
that  he  was  called  to  order  by  the  Speaker.  Then  Barre 
went  on  about  the  items  of  the  Extraordinaries  —  ^108,000 
for  sheep  and  cabbages;  and  ^"40,000  paid  to  Lord  Cornwallis 
without  account — doubtless  spent  in  bribing  Tories  ! 

At  last,  for  very  shame,  North  was  obliged  to  say  he  had 
no  objection  to  a  Committee — "but  not  upstairs" — he  wanted 
a  Select  Committee. 

Then  came  more  debates  on  the  State  of  the  Navy,  till 
Sandwich  said  he  heartily  wished  the  enquiry  had  never  begun 
— it  was  telling  France  where  she  might  attack  us.  The  Duke 
of  Bolton  said  he  was  convinced  France  had  the  most  minute 
account  of  our  navy  —  it  was  from  Parliament  that  the  noble  lord 
wished  to  conceal  its  condition !  He  brought  up  a  disgraceful 
business  at  Greenwich  Hospital.  The  debate  became  exceed- 
ingly angry,  and  at  last  —  while  Effingham  was  saying  that  if 
Ministers  would  not  tell  the  public  how  their  money  was  spent, 
he  would — the  Lord  Chancellor  left  the  woolsack,  declaring 
he  must  support  the  honour  of  the  House.  Effingham  had 
spoken  of  "a  servile  majority"  —  the  Chancellor  had  never 
heard  so  indecent  a  charge !  As  for  himself — would  any  lord 
venture  to  say  he  was  under  influence?  Ministers  knew  his 
place  was  no  tie  upon  him  ! 

Poor  Ireland's  voice  was  now  heard.  On  April  2  Earl 
Nugent  told  the  House  that  the  present  situation  made  it 
necessary  to  revise  the  trade  laws — "  as  impolitic  as  unjust." 
The  concession    he    asked   was    that    Irish  manufactures   might 


THE  FRENCH  TREATY  597 

be  exported  direct — in  British  ships — to  any  British  plantation, 
or  any  settlement  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  It  was,  in  fact,  an 
attempt  at  free  trade  within  the  Empire.  Several  members — 
all  of  whom  "wished  well"  to  Ireland — expressed  fears  that 
England's  trade  would  be  ruined.  Ireland  would  undersell  us — 
taxes  being  so  low  and  labour  so  cheap  in  Ireland.  Lancashire 
would  lose  ;£  100,000  a  year  "  by  the  article  of  checks  alone," 
if  Ireland  were  thus  "indulged."  Lord  Beauchamp  replied 
that  Irish  taxes  were  "many  and  high,"  and  that  kingdom  was 
reduced  by  oppressive  laws  to  "a  wretched  situation."  Thomas 
Townshend  said  he  would  do  more — he  would  grant  such 
"  indulgencies "  to  Irish  Catholics  as  should  attach  them  to 
our  government.  North,  in  one  of  those  flashes  of  his  true 
self,  which  show  what  he  might  have  been  as  a  Minister  in 
better  times,  supported  Nugent's  proposal.  Let  the  House  do 
what  is  in  its  power — relax  the  trade  laws,  but  let  the  Irish 
Parliament  grant  indulgence  to  the  Catholics — he  was  sure 
they  would,  "for  there  was  not  anywhere  a  people  of  more 
liberal  sentiments  than  the  Irish."  The  Penal  Laws  were  passed 
under  the  influence  of  fear  —  "  which,  however  groundless, 
always  adopted  the  most  cruel  and  severe  policy.  The  Irish 
complained,  and  complained  with  justice." 

But  though  the  Bill  had  far  more  supporters  than  opposers, 
it  was  so  much  petitioned  against  that  most  of  its  provisions 
were  dropped  "for  the  present,"  though  the  House  was  warned 
that  it  was  dangerous  to  excite  hopes  and  disappoint  them. 
A  curious  incident  shows  how  much  foundation  there  was 
for  the  cry  that  justice  to  Ireland  meant  ruin  to  England. 
By  a  mistake,  Burke  brought  in  a  Bill  to  allow  the  importa- 
tion of  Irish  sail-cloths.  It  raised  a  storm  of  petitions 
— it  would  ruin  English  sail-makers.  But  when  everyone  had 
been  duly  frightened,  it  was  discovered  that  this  ruinous  liberty 
of  importing  Irish  sail-cloth  had  long  been  established  by  law ! 


CHAPTER   LXX 
CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH 

"  I  solemnly  declare  nothing  shall  bring  me  to  treat  personally  with  Lord 
Chatham." — The  King  to  Lord  North,  Queen's  House,  March  16,  1778, 
28  min.  pt.  8  a.m. 

"  Lord  North,  I  am  grieved  at  your  continually  recurring  to  a  subject  on 
which  we  can  never  agree.  Your  letter  is  certainly  personally  affectionate  to 
me,  and  shows  no  signs  of  personal  fear ;  but,  my  dear  Lord,  no  consideration 
in  life  shall  make  me  stoop  to  opposition.  I  am  still  ready  to  accept  any  part 
of  them  that  will  come  to  the  assistance  of  my  present  efficient  Ministers ;  but 
whilst  any  ten  men  in  the  kingdom  will  stand  by  me,  I  will  not  give  myself  up 
into  bondage." — The  King  to  Lord  North,  Queen's  House,  March  17,  1778, 
25  min.  pt.  II  a.m. 

"  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  represent  to  his  Majesty  the  general  dismay  which 
prevailed  among  all  ranks  and  conditions,  arising,  as  I  apprehended,  from  an 
opinion  that  the  Administration  was  not  equal  to  the  times  ;  an  opinion  so 
universal,  that  it  prevailed  among  those  who  were  most  dependent  on  and 
attached  to  his  Ministers,  and  even  among  the  Ministers  themselves." — Lord 
Barrington,  Life,  p.  186. 

"  May  not  the  political  exit  of  Lord  Chatham  incline  you  to  continue  at  the 
head  of  my  affairs  ?  " — The  King  to  Lord  North,  April  8,  1778. 

The  thoughts  of  many  beside  George  Grenville  the  Younger 
turned  to  Chatham,  the  one  man  who  might  save  the  country 
even  yet.  North,  quailing  before  approaching  disaster,  was 
imploring  permission  to  resign,  and  the  King  was  alternately 
commanding  and  entreating  him  to  remain  —  not  to  "desert" 
him,  as  Grafton  did — to  stay  if  only  to  the  end  of  this  session. 
Some  doubt  hangs  over  the  details  of  the  attempted  negotiation 
with  Chatham.  The  statement  of  Dr.  Addington 1  and  the  denials 
of  Sir  James  Wright  and  Lord  Bute  will  be  received  according 
to   the   degree   of  credit  we   may  be   disposed   to  give   to  each, 

1  "  I  have  read  the  narrative  of  what  past  between  Sir  James  Wright  and  Dr. 
Addington,  and  am  fully  convinced  of  what  I  suspected  before,  that  the  two  old 
Earls,  like  old  coachmen,  still  loved  the  smack  of  the  whip,  and  that  Sir  James 
Wright,  to  appear  a  man  of  consequence,  has  gone  beyond  his  instructions ; 
certainly  it  would  have  been  wiser  if  no  messenger  had  been  sent." — The  King 
to  Lord  North,  July  12,  1778. 


CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH  599 

and  the  degree  of  ambiguity  we  may  think  lurks  in  the 
language.  Addington  says  the  proposals  came  from  Wright — 
Wright  says  they  came  from  Addington ;  but  no  one  has  attempted 
to  deny  that  Chatham,  if  he  really  was  asked  to  form  a  Cabinet 
with  North,  or  with  Bute,  gave  a  peremptory  refusal.  The 
King's  angry  references  to  "that  perfidious  man,"  to  "Lord 
Chatham  and  his  crew,"  his  protests  that  he  will  "sooner  risk 
his  crown  than  become  a  slave — they  shall  have  another  King" 
— show  that  whatever  was  the  truth  as  between  the  two  physicians, 
the  King  could  make  nothing  of  Chatham.  The  Rockinghams 
did  actually  try  for  Chatham's  alliance,  but  Chatham  would  never 
yield  on  Independence. 

The  7th  of  April,  1778,  is  a  day  that  will  never  be  forgotten 
in  the  history  of  Parliament.  That  day  Chatham  spoke  for  the 
last  time  in  the  House  he  had  so  much  better  never  have 
entered.  The  debate  was  on  the  Duke  of  Richmond's  motion 
for  an  Address  to  the  King  on  the  State  of  the  Nation.  The 
Address  itself  was  a  terrible  indictment.     It  told  the  King — 

That  in  1774,  the  land  forces  in  America  were  6884  men; 
in  1775,  they  were  11,219;  m  I776,  45,865;  in  1777,  48,616. 
These  forces  had  the  assistance  of  a  very  great  and  well- 
appointed  train  of  artillery.  Besides  these,  83  men-of-war  and 
armed  vessels  had  been  employed,  with  a  complement  of  22,337 


men 


After  three  years,  we  have  only  got  two  open  towns,  difficult 
to  be  maintained,  and  a  few  islands  on  the  coast.  All  the 
continental  parts  of  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  whole  provinces  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  the  three  Counties  of  the  Delaware,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  still  remain 
to  be  subdued. 

The  loss  of  men  by  death,  desertion,  or  otherwise,  amounts 
to  19,381,  besides  5336  prisoners.  The  loss  in  the  navy  is 
about  4314;  so  in  all  there  have  been  lost,  by  these  returns, 
about  29,031  men,  exclusive  of  4639  sick. 

The  value  of  the  captures  made  by  the  American  privateers 
from  the  merchants  of  Great  Britain  amounts  to  upwards  of 
^2,000,000. 

The  African  trade  is  almost  annihilated  —  diminished  by 
^1,400,000  per  annum. 

The  West  India  Islands  are  much  distressed.     The  expenses 

1  Richmond  said  that  in  all  6o,ooo  land  forces  had  been  sent  from  Great 
Britain. 


600  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

of  the  war  will  be  ^"24,000,000,  if  peace  is  instantly  concluded — 
even  one  more  campaign  will  probably  cost  another  9  millions. 

The  state  of  public  credit  is  truly  alarming  —  hardly  10 
millions  of  the  National  Debt  paid  off  in  fifteen  years  of  peace  ! 
It  has  increased  by  100  millions  within  the  memory  of  many  of 
us.  The  want  of  public  confidence  appears  from  the  low  state 
of  the  Funds,  and  the  discredit  of  the  new  loan,  which  sells 
considerably  under  par,  though  the  terms  given  this  year  for  6 
millions  are  higher  than  those  given  for  12  millions  in  1761,  in 
the  seventh  year  of  a  war  with  the  House  of  Bourbon. 

Under  all  these  circumstances,  "we  can  give  his  Majesty  no 
better  advice  than  instantly  to  withdraw  his  fleets  and  armies 
from  the  thirteen  revolted  provinces,"  and  to  effect  conciliation 
with  the  Colonies  on  such  terms  as  may  preserve  their  goodwill. 

After  a  foolish  speech  from  Weymouth,  Chatham  rose.  He 
had  been  ailing  since  the  end  of  January,  and  he  came  to  the 
House  that  day,  "leaning  upon  two  friends,1  lapped  in  flannel, 
pale  and  emaciated.  The  peers  stood  to  receive  him.  Within 
his  large  wig,  little  more  was  to  be  seen  than  his  aquiline  nose 
and  his  penetrating  eye.  He  looked  like  a  dying  man;  yet 
never  was  seen  a  figure  of  more  dignity;  he  appeared  like  a 
being  of  a  superior  species." 

He  rose  from  his  seat  with  slowness  and  difficulty,  leaning 
on  his  crutches,  and  supported  under  each  arm  by  his  two 
friends.  "He  took  one  hand  from  his  crutch,  and  raising  it, 
cast  his  eyes  towards  heaven,  and  thanked  God  he  was  able  to 
come  there  that  day,  to  perform  his  duty.  'I  am  old  and 
infirm ;  have  more  than  one  foot  in  the  grave.'  Perhaps  I  shall 
never  again  speak  in  this  House  ! 

"  At  first,  he  spoke  in  a  very  low  and  feeble  tone ;  but  as  he 
grew  warm,  his  voice  rose,  and  was  as  harmonious  as  ever; 
oratorical  and  affecting,  perhaps  more  than  at  any  former  period ; 
both  from  his  own  situation,  and  from  the  importance  of  the 
subject.  He  gave  the  whole  history  of  the  American  war ;  of  all 
the  measures  to  which  he  had  objected;  and  all  the  evils  which 
he  had  prophesied,  in  consequence  of  them;  adding  at  the  end 
of  each,  '  And  so  it  proved  ! ' "  2 

The  rest  of  his  speech  was  a  passionate  protest  against  giving 

1  His  son-in-law,  Lord  Mahon,  and  his  son  James. 

2  See  the  "Account,  taken  by  memory  from  the  conversation  of  a  Friend, 
who  was  in  the  House  at  the  time,  and  saw  the  whole  transaction." — Seward's 
Anecdotes  of  Distinguished  Persons,  vol.  ii.  p.  383.  (Quoted  in  the  Parlia- 
mentary History,  vol.  xix. ) 


CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH  60 1 

up  the  struggle.  He  would  never  consent  to  resign  American 
dependency.  He  would  rather  be  in  his  grave  than  see  the 
lustre  of  the  British  throne  tarnished,  the  dignity  of  the  Empire 
disgraced,  the  glory  of  the  nation  sunk,  as  it  must  be  when  the 
dependency  of  America  was  given  up.  Then  he  spoke  of  France. 
The  great  war-minister  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  like  an  old 
war-horse  scenting  the  battle  from  afar,  recalled  the  days — only 
fifteen  years  ago,  when  we  were  "the  envy  and  admiration  of 
all  the  world" — when  England  dictated  to  all  Europe.  Now, 
we  are  afraid  of  a  French  invasion !  What,  are  we  changed  ? 
Are  we  not  Englishmen?  Does  not  the  same  blood  run  in  our 
veins?  How  many  invasions  have  we  stood — how  low  have  we 
been  brought,  and  risen  again !  The  Danish  invasion,  the 
Scottish  inroads,  the  Norman  Conquest,  the  Spanish  Armada, 
the  Dutch  invasion  —  and  some  Lords  (here  he  looked  at 
Mansfield)  may  remember  a  Scotch  invasion !  And  shall  we 
now  sit  down  in  ignominious  tameness,  and  say,  "Take  from 
us  what  you  will,  but  in  God's  Name  let  us  be  at  peace  ! " 
Shall  we  give  up  all  without  a  blow?  If  France  and  Spain 
are  for  war,  why  not  try  an  issue  with  them?  Any  state  is 
better  than  despair.  If  we  must  fall,  let  us  fall  decently,  like 
men! 

As  he  spoke,  "the  reverence — the  attention — the  stillness  of 
the  House  was  most  affecting:  if  anyone  had  dropped  a  hand- 
kerchief, the  noise  would  have  been  heard." 

When  he  sat  down,  Temple  said  to  him,  "You  forgot  to 
mention  what  we  talked  of — shall  I  get  up?"  Chatham  replied, 
"No,  no,  I  will  do  it  by  and  bye."  Then  Richmond  spoke 
again1 — beginning  by  answering  Weymouth.  When  he  came  to 
Chatham,  he  said  with  the  deepest  respect:  "The  name  of 
Chatham  will  ever  be  dear  to  Englishmen";  but  even  the  name 
of  Chatham  cannot  perform  impossibilities  —  the  present  state 
of  the  country  is  not  what  it  was  when  he  directed  our  councils  ; 
"the  influence  of  the  Crown  had  not  yet  got  to  the  alarming 
height  it  has  since  arrived  at."  And  we  were  then  for  the 
most  part  only  contending  with  France — for  by  the  time  Spain 
came  in,  "  France  was  exhausted  to  the  lowest  ebb,"  her  navy 
almost  annihilated,  and  her  principal  colonies  in  the  New  World 
wrested  from  her.  Above  all,  we  had  America  for  us;  now, 
America  is  against  us.  "Instead  of  Great  Britain  and  America 
against  France  and  Spain,  it  will  now  be  France,  Spain,  and 
America  against  Great  Britain."  No  one  present  wishes  more 
1  Chatham  had  told  Richmond  he  should  oppose  his  motion. 


602  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

than  I  that  America  should  continue  dependent  on  this  country. 
But  as  I  am  convinced  that  this  is  now  totally  impracticable,  I 
want  to  retain  them  as  allies,  because  if  they  are  not  our  friends, 
they  will  necessarily  throw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  France. 
What  prospect  of  success  have  we?  We  lost  11,000  men  in  the 
last  campaign.  Our  peace  establishment  is  nearly  6000  short. 
After  all,  are  we  compelled  to  resent  the  action  of  France? 
Queen  Elizabeth  for  a  series  of  years  openly  abetted  the  revolt 
of  the  Spanish  Netherlands  with  both  men  and  money,  but 
Philip  of  Spain  scarcely  seemed  to  take  the  slightest  notice  of 
it.  His  hands  were  already  sufficiently  full.  Yet  he  was  then 
the  most  powerful  prince  in  Europe. 

While  Richmond  was  speaking,  Chatham  had  looked  at  him 
"with  attention  and  composure."  He  now  rose  to  reply,  but 
his  strength  failed  him  —  he  fell  backwards.  He  was  instantly 
supported  by  those  near  him  —  especially  by  his  youngest  son, 
James.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  Temple,  and  other  lords 
carried  him  out  to  the  Prince's  Chamber,  where  a  physician 
attended  him.  Then  he  was  carried  to  "Mr.  Sergent's  house  in 
Downing  Street,  where  he  was  accommodated  with  every  kind 
and  friendly  attention,  both  at  this  time  and  on  a  preceeding  day 
some  weeks  before."     Thence  he  was  taken  home  to  Hayes.1 

When  the  confusion  had  a  little  subsided,  the  Duke  of 
Richmond — after  giving  a  warm  testimony  to  the  great  political 
abilities  and  integrity  of  Lord  Chatham — assured  the  House  that 
though  the  Earl's  illness  was  violent,  he  had  reason  to  hope  it 
was  but  temporary — occasioned  by  weakness  and  "the  excessive 
heat  of  the  House."  It  would  be  better  to  adjourn.  So  the 
House  adjourned,  without  another  word.  But  Chatham  never 
replied  to  Richmond. 

Chatham's  life  since  1766  was  a  tragedy,  and  a  tragedy  ended 
it.  Was  it  not  a  tragedy  that  the  Minister  who  had  brought  the 
country  through  the  great  Seven  Years'  War  should  end  by 
imploring  his  countrymen  to  continue  ruining  themselves  in  a 
miserable  quarrel  with  their  own  children  across  the  sea?  It 
was  all  the  more  tragic,  because  if  Chatham's  counsels  had  been 
heeded  the  country  would  never  have  come  to^this  pass.  Those 
who  are  able  to  perceive  that  Richmond's  was  the  better  way, 
should  remember  the  double  bitterness  with  which  Chatham 
must  have  seen  all  his  work  undone — the  great  edifice  of  empire, 

1  It  was  observed  that  Lord  Mansfield  sat  still,  and  showed  no  feeling  on 
this  occasion. 


CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH  603 

which  he  had  reared,  shattered  by  folly ;  the  hearts  of  Englishmen 
failing  them  before  enemies  they  had  wantonly  raised  up  to 
themselves.  There  was  no  man  in  England  to  whom  this  could 
be  so  bitter;  there  was  no  man  in  England  who  had  done  more 
to  avert  such  a  catastrophe.  His  despair  was  no  unworthy  anger 
at  loss  of  dominion — he  asked  for  reconciliation,  not  submission ; 
the  union  of  freemen  in  a  free  empire,  not  the  subjection  of 
Englishmen  beyond  the  sea  to  Englishmen  at  home.  If,  at  the 
last,  the  old  fighting  spirit  awoke  in  him,  and  he  would  not  see 
that  it  was  too  late,  what  wonder?  He  who  said  with  his  dying 
lips  that  he  would  never  consent  to  American  independence,  was 
the  man  whose  single  influence  had  held  America  united  to 
England  for  years  after  the  quarrel  began — the  man  for  whose 
sake  America  had  refused  to  believe  that  the  British  people  were 
consenting  to  the  policy  of  the  British  Government. 

There  was  for  a  generation  a  disposition  to  speak  of  Chatham 
as  merely  a  great  orator;  but  a  great  orator  could  not  have 
conducted  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  it  takes  more  than  oratory 
to  influence  the  destinies  of  two  nations,  as  Chatham  did.  His 
work  was  spoiled,  and  his  career  cut  short,  by  a  faction  which 
gathered  up  into  itself  all  the  worst  features  of  the  system  which 
it  had  cost  civil  war  and  revolution  to  put  down  in  England — the 
system  of  secret  juntos  carrying  out  the  will  of  a  King,  of  Ministers 
of  State  responsible  to  the  King  alone,  of  open  resort  to  the 
cupidity  of  men,  of  gigantic  peculations  winked  at  by  a  Sovereign 
who  rated  subserviency  to  his  will  above  all  other  virtues  in  a 
subject.  It  is  a  terrible  consideration  that  faction  and  George  in 
were  able  to  destroy  the  great  statesman  who  first  conceived  the 
idea  of  a  British  Empire.  He  conceived  it  nobly.  With  him 
there  was  no  base  scheme  for  exploiting  natives.  The  thought 
of  mankind  was  never  far  from  him — his  views  were  not  bounded 
by  the  empire  he  had  made — he  could  thank  God,  in  the  name 
of  mankind,  that  America  had  resisted.  His  last  speech  is  no 
shriek  for  vengeance  on  the  colonists — it  is  a  defiance  to  France. 

If  we  think  Chatham's  last  words  his  least  wise  ones,  we 
must  remember  that  he  asked  no  slavish  submission  of  America. 
He  thought  that  if  we  acknowledged  we  had  been  in  the  wrong, 
and  renounced  the  right  to  tax,  America  would  return  to  us.  He 
would  not  believe  it  was  too  late.  And  if  it  is  of  the  essence 
of  tragedy  to  show  us  the  hero  overcome  by  circumstance,  this 
scene  in  the  House  was  a  great  moral  tragedy — when  the  great 
statesman  and  patriot,  who  had  seen  the  danger  from  afar,  and 
had  warned,  counselled,  implored,  denounced,  all   in  vain,  now 


604  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

at  this  twelfth  hour  spent  his  last  breath  in  one  last  despairing 
effort  to  avert  the  catastrophe  he  had  foretold.  Here  is  deeper 
tragedy  than  when  the  hero  falls  on  the  lost  field  of  an  actual  battle. 

In  the  adjourned  debate  next  day,  Shelburne  reiterated 
Chatham's  views  in  the  most  unworthy  speech  he  ever  made. 
Long  after  it  was  remembered  against  him.  He  said  that 
"  England's  sun  was  set "  if  she  acknowledged  the  independence 
of  America.  After  some  weak  allusions  to  the  private  interests 
that  would  suffer  —  those  of  the  heirs  of  Penn  and  of  Lord 
Baltimore,  of  the  loyalists,  and  the  merchants  of  London — he 
adverted  to  the  fears  entertained  by  some  that  even  Independence 
would  not  satisfy  America.  Perhaps  they  will  demand  St.  John's 
and  Cape  Breton.  Then  "away  goes  the  fishery  and  20,000 
seamen."  And  the  West  Indies  will  follow,  and  perhaps  Ireland, 
till  nothing  will  be  left  us  but  this  island.  The  Duke  wants  us 
to  grant  independence  in  order  to  avoid  war  with  France — he 
asks,  Where  are  the  men,  where  is  the  money  to  resist  France? 
"I  answer,  I  see  the  bar  full  of  men — there  are  three  or  four 
hundred  now  in  this  House.  The  streets  of  London  are  full  of 
men.  I  see  men  every  day  pass  in  crowds  on  the  Bath  road — 
which  was  one  continued  street  almost,  till  the  late  distress 
thinned  it.  Look  round  on  every  side,  and  see  what  a  scene  of 
population  and  opulence  presents  itself.  Look  into  Hyde  Park, 
St.  James'  Street.  Look  into  the  City — there  is  money  enough 
there."  Only  let  the  present  blundering  Ministry  resign,  and  we 
shall  be  able  to  raise  any  loan  we  require.  And  suppose  war 
ensues?  The  French  are  much  degenerated  from  what  they 
were  —  infinitely  more  degenerated  than  we  are  —  I  believe  our 
women  would  suffice  to  drive  out  the  French  if  they  invaded  us ! 
If  other  men  were  at  the  helm,  France  would  not  dare  to  act  in 
this  way — I  have  it  on  good  authority  that  de  Vergennes  has 
said  as  much.  Moreover,  "I  know  France  and  Spain  both  to 
be  vulnerable  in  many  places.  Four  years  ago,  a  revolt  might 
have  been  easily  fo?ne?ited  in  Brittany ;  the  inhabitants  were  ripe 
for  insurrection."  Spain  is  equally  vulnerable.  "  I  know  a  particular 
part  of  that  kingdom.  .  .  ." 

Not  content  with  these  abominable  suggestions,  Shelburne 
compared  the  acknowledgment  of  American  Independence  to  a 
scene  in  a  comedy  between  a  duke  and  a  sharper — "the  Duke 
gives  the  sharper  20  guineas — the  sharper  returns  21 — this  kind 
of  exchange  goes  on  till  at  length  the  sharper  runs  away  with 
the  whole."  And  as  to  forbearing  to  resent  the  insult  offered  us 
by  France— if  Spain  did  not  declare  war  with  us,  the  assistance 


CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH  605 

given  to  revolted  subjects  was  equal  on  both  sides — for  Spain 
was  fomenting  disturbances  in  Ireland. 

Shelburne  did  better  when  he  rebuked  the  "confidence  and 
insolence"  of  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  It  was  the  duty 
of  the  other  House  to  call  such  men  to  account.  But  what  is 
the  other  House?  Can  public  justice  ever  be  procured  through 
so  foul  and  polluted  a  channel?  Can  impeachments  be  expected 
from  pensioners,  contractors,  and  needy  dependants?  The  other 
day,  on  the  enquiry  about  the  transports,  Ministers  sent  the  very 
contractors,  clerks,  and  dependants,  whose  conduct  was  being 
called  in  question,  to  insult  this  House  with  made-up  tales  to 
cover  their  own  iniquities.  "Before  the  country  recovers,  that 
corrupt  House  must  be  new  modelled.  It  is  at  present  the 
source  of  all  corruptions  and  misfortunes." 

After  the  division  had  been  taken,  and  Richmond's  Address 
to  the  King  had  been  rejected  by  50  to  33,  the  Earl  of  Abingdon 
got  up  and  said,  "These  dead  majorities  will  be  the  ruin  of  the 
nation.  Be  the  question  what  it  will — though  the  salvation  of 
the  country  may  depend  upon  it,  if  it  is  moved  by  the  minority 
it  is  sure  of  a  negative."  We  are  told  this  is  the  only  way  in 
wThich  his  Majesty  will  receive  our  counsel — but  it  is  not  the 
only  way  in  which  we  have  a  right  to  give  it.  "We  are  the 
hereditary  counsellors  of  the  Crown,  and  have  a  right  to 
audience  of  his  Majesty  at  all  times."  He  moved  that  the 
Minority  wait  on  his  Majesty  with  the  noble  duke's  Address — 
"it  contains  information  worthy  the  royal  ear."  Twenty -one 
lords  signed  a  protest  against  the  continued  attempt  to  deceive 
the  Sovereign  as  to  the  true  state  of  affairs. 

Next  day  in  the  Commons  Hartley  moved  that  an  end  be 
put  to  the  American  War.  He  recapitulated  the  dismal  story, 
and  urged  the  folly  of  going  on.  "  Give  us  peace  with  America, 
and  we  shall  be  ourselves  again.  Give  us  again  the  American 
Family  Compact,  and  I  shall  be  the  last  to  fear  the  House  of 
Bourbon."  If  you  make  peace  on  fair  and  equal  terms,  trade 
will  return,  and  foreign  Powers  will  stand  in  awe  of  us — instead 
of  despising  us.  Our  dishonour  comes  from  those  who  advised 
the  King  not  even  to  give  an  answer  to  the  petition  of  all 
America.  The  Bills  you  have  just  passed  unanimously  give 
neither  more  nor  less  than  what  Congress  asked  in  that  last 
petition,  three  years  ago.  We  cannot  have  peace  on  the  same 
terms  now — our  rule  seems  to  be  always  to  refuse  the  terms 
offered,  until  it  is  too  late.  I  myself  told  Administration  before 
Christmas   that   there  was  an  opening  to  treat — we   might   have 


6o6  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

prevented  the  French  Treaty.  The  Americans  were  disgusted 
with  France.  I  said  then,  "  Do  it  before  you  sleep " — but  you 
adjourned  for  two  months !  And  now  I  know  you  will  not 
consent;  and  I  know  the  time  will  come  when  you  will  think  it 
a  good  bargain  to  make  peace  simply  on  terms  of  independence. 
Seek  the  alliance  and  friendship  of  America  —  we  are  derived 
from  the  same  stock,  we  have  the  same  religion,  the  same 
manners,  the  same  language,  the  same  love  of  liberty  and 
independence.     "Give  up  an  irksome  and  sterile  dominion." 

Abingdon's  motion  does  not  seem  to  have  been  even  put. 

On  the  ioth,  supporting  Powys'  motion,  That  the  Com- 
missioners  be  empowered  to  declare  Independency,  Fox  asked 
how  Britons  with  their  eyes  open  could  wilfully  give  the 
executive  so  great  an  addition  of  strength  as  the  power  of 
appointing  to  offices  in  America?  Had  we  not  appointments, 
douceurs,  sinecures,  pensions,  titles,  baubles,  and  secret-service 
money  enough  already?  Did  not  the  creatures  of  Government 
swarm  in  every  department?     Must  we  add  to  their  number? 

The  indomitable  Opposition  next  brought  forward  a  Bill  to 
exclude  Government  Contractors  from  sitting  in  the  House  of 
Commons.1  Sir  Philip  Jennings  Clerke,  who  moved  it,  cited 
many  of  the  instances  already  noticed.  Presently  the  contractors 
in  the  House  began  to  defend  themselves.  Harley  declared  he 
wished  for  an  enquiry — his  contracts  would  bear  the  closest  examina- 
tion. Baker  complained  that  contractors  were  treated  as  if  they 
were  monsters,  and  not  fit  for  human  society — his  contracts  had 
all  been  honest.  He  had  often  voted  against  Ministers — had  voted 
for  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  North  wished  gentlemen  would 
suspend  their  opinion  till  the  Select  Committee  had  sat.  The 
contracts  he  had  made  he  made  for  the  public  benefit — if  they 
turned  out  otherwise  it  was  not  his  fault. 

That  extraordinary  personage,  Lord  George  Gordon,  spoke  for 
the  motion.  He  uttered  some  home  truths,  as  usual.  He  called 
North  "the  greatest  of  all  the  contractors — he  was  a  contractor 
for  men — a  contractor  for  your  flock,  Mr.  Speaker,  a  contractor 
for  the  representatives  of  the  people ! "  He  had  offered  a  noble 
duke  a  place  of  ;£  10,000  a  year,  if  the  duke  would  prevail  on  the 
most  insignificant  member  of  the  House  to  vacate  his  seat.  The 
noble  duke  had  rejected  the  villainous  proposition.  He  appealed 
to  North  to  save  his  country  "and  his  own  life,"  by  "calling  off 

1  The  Bill  merely  excluded  close  contractors— as  Mr.  Turner  said,  "for 
being  private  plunderers,  in  a  conspiracy  with  a  corrupt  administration  to 
plunder  their  country." 


CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH  607 

his  butchers  "  from  the  Colonies.  It  will  be  supposed  that  North 
indignantly  denied  that  he  had  tampered  with  the  Duke  of  Gordon 
— but  no ;  he  only  denied  that  the  proposition  was  "  villainous  " — 
a  highly  unparliamentary  word !  More  surprising  still,  leave  was 
given  to  bring  in  the  Bill,  and  on  May  1st  it  was  read  a  first  time. 
North  opposed  no  argument — he  trusted  to  the  number  of  the 
"flock."  But  he  was  again  disappointed,  for  the  Bill  passed  the 
Second  Reading,  though  by  a  smaller  majority.  On  the  Third 
Reading  a  greater  effort  was  made.  In  a  crowded  House,  Lord 
George  Gordon  called  the  motion  a  cleansing  of  the  Augean 
Stable — "  this  dunghill  of  contracts,"  which  had  given  an  ill  air  to 
our  whole  proceedings.  "  Our  constituents  begin  to  smell  a  rat ; 
they  nose  us  in  the  lobby,  and  call  us  taylors  and  shoemakers; 
colliers  and  cabbage-salters,  potatoe-forestallers,  sour-crout  makers, 
and  swine  contractors."  Our  fair  name  is  "  sinking  in  porter  and 
salted  cabbage."  An  hon.  member,1  "  one  of  the  most  ancient  con- 
tractors within  these  walls,"  has  said  that  contracting  in  this  House 
is  the  very  spirit  of  trade — the  noble  lord  in  the  blue  ribbon  may 
find  it  so — a  day  may  come  when  a  few  of  his  steady  friends  may 
contract  for  the  black  cloth  and  scaffolding  for  their  patron's 
execution !  There  would  have  been  a  small  majority  against  the 
Third  Reading,  but  Pownall  warned  them  how  indecent  this  would 
look,  so  the  Bill  was  shelved  decently  by  being  referred  to  a  Com- 
mittee that  day  two  months,  and  the  contractors  breathed  again. 

Sir  George  Savile's  attempt  to  get  the  Quebec  Act  repealed 
failed.  Germaine  had  now  had  his  way — Carleton  was  recalled, 
and  General  Haldimand  was  appointed  Governor  of  Canada. 

On  the  5th  of  May  the  King's  Message  for  a  Vote  of  Credit 
brought  up  the  whole  question  of  Supply.  As  soon  as  the  Vote 
of  Credit  (for  a  million)  was  moved,  Opposition  began  on  the 
national  defences.  The  militia  had  been  called  out,  but  were  with- 
out arms,  and  were  encamped  without  tents.  A  navy  neither  manned 
nor  victualled  lay  at  Spithead.  The  French  fleet  (twelve  ships 
of  the  line)  had  sailed  from  Toulon  on  the  13th  April;  Ministers 
did  not  know  it  till  the  26th,  and  nothing  had  been  done  to  oppose 
its  sailing.  Rebel  privateers  were  pillaging  our  coasts,  and  Spain 
had  returned  the  salute  of  one  of  them.  Fox  asked  who  would 
vote  a  single  shilling  to  such  an  Administration?  Germaine 
owned  appearances  were  against  Government,  but  "  a  full  enquiry  " 
might  place  their  case  in  a  different  light.  He  had  called  Ministers 
together  as  soon  as  he  could.  He  hoped  our  affairs  would  take  a 
happier  turn.     It  was  not  safe  to  send  the  home  fleet  after  d'Estaing 

1  Mr.  A.  Bacon. 


608  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

till  we  knew  where  he  was  going.  Fox  retorted  that  Ministers  had 
admitted  the  navy  was  inadequate  to  defend  the  Empire.  Now  they 
had  let  the  French  go  to  destroy  our  army  in  America  !  Burgoyne's 
disgrace  would  be  followed  by  Howe's.  Had  a  fleet  been  sent  after 
d'Estaing  even  yet  ?  Germaine  replied  that  he  wished  orders  could 
have  been  sent  to  Spithead  quicker ;  but  our  navy  was  formidable, 
and  growing  more  formidable  every  day — there  were  the  fairest  hopes. 
At  such  a  time  the  painful  pre-eminence  of  office  was  little  to  be 
envied,  and  if  any  gentleman  of  talents  wished  to  take  his  place 

It  is  refreshing  to  turn  from  this  exhibition  to  Sir  George 
Savile's  Bill  for  the  Relief  of  Roman  Catholics.1  It  was  to 
relieve  them  from  penalties  and  disabilities  under  an  Act  of 
William  in — for  where  Catholics  are  concerned  the  English  people 
visit  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  to  the  tenth 
generation.  Savile  truly  said  that  all  persecution  ought  to  be  wholly 
adverse  to  the  principles  of  the  Protestant  religion — "  it  ill  became 
us  to  practise  that  with  which  we  reproach  others."  He  said  he 
"  did  not  meddle  with  the  vast  body  of  the  penal  code,  but  selected 
that  Act  on  which  he  found  most  of  the  persecutions  had  been 
founded,  and  which  gave  the  greatest  scope  to  informers  and 
interested  relations."  The  Act  made  it  felony  in  foreign  priests, 
and  treason  in  natives,  to  teach  or  officiate  in  this  country;  it 
forfeited  to  the  nearest  Protestant  heir  the  estates  of  Catholics 
educated  abroad;  it  allowed  a  Protestant  heir  to  take  away  the 
estate  of  his  Catholic  father,  and  deprived  papists  of  the  power  of 
acquiring  any  legal  property  by  purchase — by  which  was  meant 
property  acquired  by  any  other  means  than  inheritance.  A  popish 
priest  was  liable  to  imprisonment  for  life  for  officiating  in  the 
services  of  his  religion.  It  had  not  always  been  put  in  practice, 
but  it  always  could  be.  Savile  referred  to  a  late  very  humble  and 
loyal  Address,  just  presented  to  the  King  by  the  Catholic  Peers 
and  Commoners,  praying  for  relief,  and  assuring  his  Majesty  that 
they  held  no  opinions  adverse  to  his  Government,  or  repugnant  to 
the  duties  of  good  citizens. 

It  is  some  small  alleviation  of  the  shame  with  which  every 
consistent  Protestant  must  remember  this  Act,  to  know  that  the 
repeal  passed  both  Houses  without  opposition  ;  and  so  the  wrongs 
of  ages  began  to  be  redressed. 

On  the  evening  of  the  nth  of  May,  Barr£,  with  great  emotion, 
informed  the  House  of  the  death  that  morning  at  Hayes  of  the 
Earl  of  Chatham,  and  moved  that  the  great  statesman  should  have 
a  public  funeral. 

1  May  14,  1778. 


CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH  609 

For  many  a  year  Chatham's  name  had  hardly  been  mentioned 
at  Court.  A  great  public  demonstration  was  much  dreaded  by 
Ministers,  and  would  have  been  extremely  disagreeable  to  the  King 
— for  though  Chatham's  last  speech  pleased  him,  he  never  forgave 
"  that  trumpet  of  sedition  " — now  happily  silent  for  ever.  So  Rigby 
suggested  that  a  monument  would  be  better  than  a  funeral — where- 
upon Opposition  declared  there  must  be  both,  and  added  the 
words  to  the  motion.  At  this  moment  North  arrived — in  such 
haste  that  he  was  out  of  breath.  He  came  to  vote  for  the  motion, 
and  to  express  a  hope  that  it  would  pass  unanimously. 

Five  days  later  Lord  John  Cavendish  moved  an  Address  to 
the  King  for  an  annuity  for  Chatham's  family — ^4000  a  year 
to  go  with  the  Earldom  of  Chatham  for  ever,  and  the  late  Earl's 
debts  to  be  paid — ^20,000.  The  Bill  passed  the  Commons 
without  a  dissentient  voice ;  but  in  the  Lords  eleven  peers  voted 
against  it.  The  Duke  of  Chandos  objected  to  the  perpetuity — the 
people  were  so  heavily  taxed.  (Richmond  asked  if  he  was  serious  ? 
If  so,  why  did  he  not  propose  an  enquiry  into  sinecures  ? — he  had 
heard  Lord  North  was  shortly  to  have  the  sinecure  of  the  Cinque 
Ports — ^"5000  a  year.)  Lord  Chancellor  Bathurst  thought  Lord 
Chatham's  services  had  been  sufficiently  rewarded.  Ravensworth 
said  Chatham's  "daring  spirit  of  enterprise"  had  been  a  very 
great  misfortune  to  this  country  —  his  military  successes  were 
ruinous;1  the  enormous  debt  incurred  in  them  was  the  cause  of 
our  present  situation.  He  came  into  Parliament  with  him,  upwards 
of  forty  years  ago,  and  was  acquainted  with  him  when  in  the  full 
possession  of  all  his  powers  of  oratory,  and  was  ready  to  confess 
his  great  abilities  as  a  public  speaker.  But  though  he  could  not 
deny  that  they  convinced  the  majority,  both  within  and  without 
doors,  they  never  convinced  him  that  Chatham  was  properly 
qualified  as  a  statesman  to  direct  the  affairs  of  this  country.     "  In 

1  "  I  have  been  much  abused,  my  lords,  for  supporting  a  war,  which  it  has 
been  the  fashion  to  call  my  German  war.  But  I  can  affirm,  with  a  clear 
conscience,  that  that  abuse  has  been  thrown  on  me  by  men,  who  were  either 
unacquainted  with  facts,  or  had  an  interest  in  misrepresenting  them.  That  I 
did  in  parliament  oppose  to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  engaging  in  a  German 
war,  is  most  true.  .  .  .  But  when  I  was  called  upon  to  take  a  share  in  the 
administration,  that  measure  was  already  decided  ...  the  first  treaty  with  the 
King  of  Prussia  was  signed,  and  not  only  ratified  by  the  Crown,  but  approved 
of  and  confirmed  by  a  resolution  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament.  It  was  a  weight 
fastened  upon  my  neck  ...  the  honour  of  the  Crown  and  the  honour  of  the 
nation  were  equally  engaged.  Plow  could  I  recede  from  such  an  engagement  ? 
.  .  .  What  other  foreign  power  would  have  sought  our  friendship?  What 
other  foreign  power  would  have  accepted  of  an  alliance  with  us  ?  " — Speech  of  Lord 
Chatham,  Nov.  22,  1770.  (On  Richmond's  motion  on  the  Falkland  Islands.) 
VOL.  I.— 39 


610  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

fine,  they  came  into  Parliament  together,  and  sat  in  the  other  House 
for  14  years,  and  he  was  persuaded  it  would  have  been  happy  for  this 
country  if  he  had  never  aspired  to  a  public  station — for  though 
not  the  mediate,  he  was  the  immediate  cause  of  all  our  subsequent 
misfortunes."     So  the  ministerial  cur  barked  at  the  dead  lion. 

Lyttleton,  after  reminding  the  House  how  often  he  had  opposed 
Chatham  in  debate,  reminded  them  also  how  Chatham  "had 
gone  through  offices  which  generally  served  to  enrich  his  prede- 
cessors," without  making  a  shilling.  There  was  "the  usual  per- 
quisite" on  the  King  of  Sardinia's  subsidy,  amounting  to  more 
than  ^20,000.  Mr.  Pitt  refused  to  touch  it.  The  whole  sum  was 
found  in  the  bank  years  afterwards,  and  again  offered  to  Chatham 
as  his  right ;  and  again  he  refused  it,  and  the  money  was  applied 
to  the  public  service.  Radnor  brought  up  the  Embargo — an 
infringement  of  the  right  of  Parliament.  Camden  said  a  famine 
was  threatened.  Does  not  Locke  say  that  there  are  times  of 
emergency  when  Ministers  must  act  at  once,  and  trust  that  Parlia- 
ment will  absolve  them  ?  And  if  there  was  an  error,  the  error  was 
his — Camden's — he  took  the  responsibility — he  gave  his  legal 
opinion  for  it. 

The  Annuity  Bill  passed  by  42  to  n.  Chandos,  Bathurst, 
Paget,  and  the  Archbishop  of  York  signed  a  Protest  against  "  the 
unwarrantable  lavishing  away  of  the  public  money,  at  a  time  when 
the  nation  groans  under  a  heavy  load  of  debts,  and  is  engaged  in  a 
dangerous  and  expensive  war."  People  said  that  the  Archbishop 
was  taking  his  revenge  for  Chatham's  having  likened  Dr.  Markham 
to  Dr.  Sacheverell. 

On  the  9th  of  June  Chatham's  body  was  laid  to  rest  in  the 
Abbey.  The  City  of  London  wished  him  buried  in  St.  Paul's, 
and  were  so  angry  that  they  resolved  not  to  go  to  the  funeral. 
Gibbon  says  it  was  "meanly  attended" — few  but  the  Opposition 
went.  Burke,  Savile,  Dunning,  and  Thomas  Townshend  were  pall- 
bearers, and  the  chief  mourner  was  young  William  Pitt.1 

In  the  Debate  "  on  the  Sailing  of  the  French  fleet,"  the  Duke 
of  Richmond  said  that  accounts  of  the  armaments  going  on  at 
Toulon  reached  Lord  Weymouth  early  in  January,  and  regularly 
afterwards.  On  April  17  it  was  public  news  in  the  streets  of 
Paris  that  the  Toulon  fleet  had  sailed.     But  we  did  not  know  it 

1  The  King  expresses  himself  as  "  rather  surprised  "  that  the  Commons  voted 
a  public  funeral.  He  told  North  that  he  hoped  the  vote  was  worded  as  a 
testimony  of  gratitude  for  what  Chatham  did  in  the  last  war,  as  "this  compli- 
ment, if  paid  to  his  general  conduct,  is  rather  offensive  to  me  personally."  This 
explains  why  the  lords  did  not  attend  the  funeral. 


CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH  611 

till  the  29th — a  space  of  ten  days,  during  which  "a  man  might 
have  hopped  from  Paris  to  London  "  !  The  naval  force  of  France 
and  Spain  was  64  or  65  ships  of  the  line,  with  a  proportionate 
number  of  frigates.  What  have  we  to  oppose  to  this  ?  The  whole 
of  our  fleet  may  be  33  ships.  And  the  excuse  is  that  we  have 
lost  the  supply  of  seamen  we  used  to  have  from  America ! 

Sandwich  said  he  was  no  more  answerable  than  any  other 
member  of  Administration.  He  declared  we  had  49  ships  fit 
for  service.  Bristol  pursued  Sandwich  from  ship  to  ship,  com- 
paring him  with  Hawke — who  in  1771  had  81  ships  fit  for  service, 
14  building,  12  repairing,  7  foreign  ships  bought.  All  this,  not 
counting  32  more  "in  a  doubtful  state."  Sandwich  had  had  three 
and  a  half  millions  sterling  and  more  for  building  and  repairing, 
and  he  confesses  he  has  only  got  49  fit  for  service.  What  is 
become  of  the  ships,  and  what  is  become  of  the  money  ? 

The  wretched  Sandwich  was  left  undefended,  until  at  last 
Lord  Dudley  got  up  to  tell  how  he  had  gone  with  the  First  Lord 
"  in  one  of  his  marine  excursions,"  and  how  "  one  Wells,  a  builder," 
refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  noble  earl,  because  he 
was  so  hard  in  the  contracts  he  made  with  builders  that  they  lost 
by  him. 

In  the  Commons  James  Luttrell  asked  what  was  Lord  Howe's 
situation?  Would  he  ever  imagine  that  we  had  let  a  French 
fleet  escape  from  Toulon  to  attack  him?  North  said,  as  for  the 
French  making  a  descent  on  our  coasts,  a  house  or  village  might 
be  burnt — that  would  be  all — he  "  was  sure  conquest  could  never 
be  the  consequence  of  such  a  descent."  As  for  our  depend- 
encies— they  were  so  scattered  it  was  impossible  to  defend  them 
all,  but  he  "trusted  something  might  be  done."  He  had  reason 
to  believe  the  French  fleet  was  ill-manned  and  ill-found,  and  was 
gone  back  to  Toulon.  Then  he  talked  about  continental  con- 
nections. "  It  was  very  difficult  to  understand  whether  he  thought 
them  useful  or  not.  He  said  they  cost  Great  Britain  a  vast  deal, 
and  the  return  they  made  was  not  adequate  to  the  expense — 
Great  Britain  was  strong  enough  without  them."1  With  more 
foolish  and  contradictory  talk  about  battles  won  by  our  allies 
being  won  to  us.  Then  the  "  flock  "  voted  as  usual,  and  Ministers 
went  home  to  consider  whether  perhaps  they  could  defend  some 
part  of  our  scattered  dependencies. 

Before  Chatham  was  laid  in  the  grave,  the  unfortunate 
Burgoyne  arrived  in  England  on  parole.  He  waited  at  once  on 
Germaine,  but  the  King  refused  to  see  him,  and  sent  to  tell  him 
1  Parliamentary  History. 


612  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

his   presence    at    Court    would    be    dispensed    with.      Burgoyne 
demanded   an   enquiry,   and  a   Board    of    General    Officers   was 
appointed,  but  they  reported  that  they  could  not  take  cognisance 
of  the   conduct   of  a  prisoner   on   parole.      A   court-martial  was 
refused  him  on   the  same  ground.      It  was   even   suggested   that 
he  was  incapable  of  speaking  or  voting  in  the  House.     When  he 
appeared   there    nobody   spoke   to   him,   nor  did  he  venture   to 
speak,  till  the  23rd  of  May,  when  Mr.  Vyner  moved  for  a  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole  House  to  Inquire  into  the  Convention  of 
Saratoga,  and  into   the   Conduct  of  General   Burgoyne.     On   the 
26th  "a  vast  concourse  of  gentlemen  assembled  in  the  gallery — 
whereupon  Mr.   Gascoyne   moved  that  the  House  be   cleared."1 
Burgoyne  made  a  very  long  speech.     He  referred  to  the  Indians. 
He  had  ever  considered  "  the   Indian  alliances "  a   necessary  evil 
— their  services   were  over-valued,  "sometimes  insignificant,  often 
barbarous,  always  capricious."     He  had  done  his  utmost  to  keep 
them   under  control.      Except  the   case  of  Miss  McCrea — which 
was  an  accident,  not  premeditated — the  stories  told  of  him  were 
fabricated.     The  Proclamation,  he  owned,  was  penned  by  himself — 
it  was  meant  "  to  speak  daggers,  but  use  none."     The  Americans 
had  shown  him  respect  for  it.     A  gentleman  had  been  in  London 
great  part  of  the  winter  "who  I  wish  had   been  called   to  your 
bar" — but  only  for  the  sake  of  truth,  "for  he  is  not  my  friend." 
It  is  St.  Luc  le  Corne,  a  distinguished  partisan  of  the  French  in 
the  last  war,  now  a  leader  of  Indians  in  the  British  service.     He 
owes  us  something,  for  he  formerly  scalped  many  hundred  British 
soldiers   on   the   very  ground   where  we  employed   him   last  year. 
"  He  is  artful,  ambitious,  and  a  courtier."     He  owes  me  a  grudge 
for  controlling  him  in  the  use  of  the  hatchet  and  scalping-knife. 
I  was  near  putting  that  man  to  an  ignominious  death,  especially 
on   account   of  the  murder   of  that  unhappy  lady  Miss  McCrea. 
He   has    often    been    closeted   with    a    noble    lord    in    my   eye 
(Germaine),  and  I  wish  to  tell  the  House  what  he  has  presumed 
to  say  about  my  conduct  to  the   Indians.     I  know  he  has  said 
they  might   have   done   great   service,  but   they  were   discharged. 
"Sir,  if  to  restrain  them  from   murder  was  to  discharge  them,  I 
take   the   blame   with   pride."      Otherwise    I    should  say  that  the 
Indians,  with  Mr.  St.  Luc  at  the  head  of  them,  deserted  ! 

As  to  the  burning  of  the  country,  I  only  recollect  one  accident 
by  fire.     There  was  no  fire  by  my  order  except  at  Saratoga ;  and 

1  This  was  done  so  rigidly  that  the  Speaker  excluded  his  own  son — "none  but 
Mr.  Garrick  escaped,  who  was  afterwards  suffered  to  remain  by  consent  of  all 
parties." 


CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH  613 

General  Schuyler,  whose  house  I  burned,  said  that  the  occasion 
justified  it — it  was  the  rules  of  war — or  to  that  effect.  He  gave 
me  hospitality,  and  presented  me  to  his  family  at  Albany.1 
(Burgoyne  seemed  to  feel  this  as  a  tribute  to  himself,  instead  of 
an  instance  of  Schuyler's  magnanimity.) 

As  to  the  situation  of  the  army  at  Cambridge,  he  had  made  a 
report  "so  voluminous"  that  it  took  three  clerks  constantly  at 
work  to  copy  it  by  last  Saturday.  The  troops  are  detained  by  a 
resolve  of  Congress,  "  expressing  that  there  are  causes  of  suspicion 
that  the  Convention  is  designed  to  be  broke  on  our  part " ;  and 
that  therefore  they  are  justified  in  suspending  the  embarkation 
till  the  Convention  is  ratified  by  the  Court  of  Great  Britain. 

It  is  asked,  how  it  is  I  am  here  ?  I  asked  Congress  to  allow 
me  to  return  on  parole,  to  settle  my  accounts,  and  to  tell  the 
Government  important  truths,  which  I  cannot  communicate  by 
other  means.  Here  he  read  Washington's  letter  to  himself,  in 
reply  to  his  request  for  leave  to  go  to  England.  He  next  spoke 
on  the  delicate  subject  of  desertions.  Some  have  deserted,  "in 
the  worst  sense  of  the  word" — but  they  are  few — the  scum. 
And  now  he  uttered  the  unfortunate  sentence  which  probably  had 
as  much  to  do  as  anything  in  making  Congress  doubt  our  bona 
fides.  "The  greater  part  who  have  absconded,  have  had  no 
intention  to  abandon  the  service,  and  if  an  epithet  of  honour  could 
at  any  time  be  applied  to  a  fault,  theirs  might  be  called  an  honour- 
able desertion"  Some  had  left  letters  to  say  they  would  rejoin 
the  army  when  the  time  of  embarkation  was  settled ;  others  tried 
to  get  through  the  woods,  to  join  Sir  William  Howe  or  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  and  "  it  is  believed  some  of  them  succeeded.  The  whole 
of  the  absentees  is  about  five  or  six  hundred." 

He  now  came  to  his  military  conduct.  All  the  papers  had  not 
been  laid  before  the  House — some  were  kept  back,  others  were 
designed  to  cast  suspicion  on  him,  as  though  he  had  courted 
command  to  the  prejudice  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton.  And  a  very 
secret  paper  has  been  produced — my  "Thoughts  on  Conducting 
the  War  from  Canada."  So  the  plan  has  been  laid  to  me,  though 
it  was  changed  and  garbled  by  the  Minister.  My  plan  had  only 
one  object — the  forcing  a  passage  to  Albany.  It  is  pretended 
that  the  words  which  are  called  "  the  saving  clause  " — "  you  are 
to  act  as  exigencies  may  require  " — were  specially  dictated  by  me. 
That  clause  has  been  understood  by  Sir  William  Howe  and  every- 
body else  to  refer  to  exigencies  after  the  army  should  have  reached 

1  This  passage  was  "delivered  separately  upon  a  second  call  of  Mr.  Wilkes," 
but  the  Parliamentary  History  inserts  it  here. 


614  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Albany.  Burgoyne  continued  to  protest  that  his  orders  were 
"positive,  peremptory,  and  indispensable" — he  had  no  latitude 
allowed  him.     Passionately  he  insisted  on  this. 

Germaine  said  the  mixing  up  of  the  letters  was  an  accident 
for  which  he  was  very  sorry.  Mr.  St.  Luc  introduced  himself  as 
a  man  who  had  performed  great  services  "at  the  head  of  the 
savages."  He  told  Germaine  that  Burgoyne  was  "a  fine  officer 
for  regulars,"  but  he  did  not  seem  to  like  Indians — "he  was  a 
brave  man,  but  as  heavy  as  a  German."1 

After  the  motion  for  papers  had  been  rejected,  there  was  a 
scene.  Temple  Luttrell  attacked  North.  Whenever  his  mis- 
management is  arraigned,  the  Minister  says  he  is  only  the 
instrument  of  the  Privy  Council.  He  only  prides  himself  on  one 
thing — having  recommended  to  his  Sovereign,  as  war-minister,  a 
man  who  was  condemned  by  a  court-martial,  and  disgraced  by 
King  George  n.  And  now  General  Burgoyne  is  arraigned  for 
obeying  his  orders  ! 

Germaine  rose  "in  heat,"  and  appealed  to  the  House.  He 
would  not  endure  this  wanton  abuse.  Old  as  he  was,  and  young 
as  Luttrell  was,  he  would  meet  him !  The  House  "  became 
tumultuous  " ;  some  cried,  "  Chair  !  "  others,  "  Order  !  "  Fifty 
members  were  on  their  legs  at  once.  Fox  vainly  tried  to  speak 
to  order.  At  last  the  Speaker  rose  and  took  off  his  hat,  and  the 
House  sat  down.  But  neither  of  the  gentlemen  would  apologise. 
A  motion  was  made  to  take  Luttrell  into  custody — he  seconded 
it  himself,  rather  than  give  up  his  privilege  of  Parliament,  "of 
delivering  his  sentiments  on  a  public  character  in  a  public  trust." 
At  length  each  made  some  sort  of  apology.  It  was  perhaps  the 
publication  of  this  debate  which  caused  the  complaints  in  the 
House  next  day.  Luttrell  said  he  now  understood  the  reason  for 
excluding  strangers — he  had  suspected  it  before.  The  very 
existence  of  the  Constitution  depended  on  the  people  knowing  the 
conduct  of  their  representatives. 

Burgoyne  spoke  again  next  day  on  Hartley's  motion  for 
stopping  the  war,  and  against  prorogation.  Hartley  said  the 
House  ought  to  be  sitting  when  the  Commissioners  (who  had  already 
sailed)  sent  in  their  report.  He  was  persuaded  the  terms  would 
be   rejected.     It   must  now  be   independence — "do   not   deceive 

1  The  last  speaker  in  this  debate  seems  to  have  been  Lord  George  Gordon. 
He  attacked  Ministers  with  his  usual  violence,  and  said  that  the  murder  of  Miss 
McCrea  would  be  an  indelible  stain  on  the  religion  and  humanity  of  Great  Britain, 
when  Queen  Mary's  massacre  of  Protestants  in  England,  and  King  Charles'  per- 
secutions of  Presbyterians  in  Scotland  were  forgotten. 


CHATHAM'S  LAST  SPEECH  615 

yourselves."  Burgoyne  gave  as  another  reason  for  not  proroguing 
that  Howe  and  Carleton  were  expected  every  day.  He  urged 
Government  to  send  Admiral  Keppel  against  the  French  fleet. 
For  himself,  he  defied  Government  to  do  its  worst — he  knew  he 
was  a  marked  man,  a  scapegoat — but  he  intended  to  do  his  duty 
in  Parliament.  Thus  he  announced  his  intention  to  go  into 
Opposition. 

This  was  on  the  2nd  of  June.  The  same  day  Sir  James 
Lowther  moved  for  an  Address  to  the  King  to  defer  prorogation. 
Sir  J.  Clerke,  who  seconded,  said  that  since  he  came  down  to 
the  House  he  had  been  informed  the  Brest  fleet  had  been  seen  a 
few  leagues  off  Plymouth.  Nugent  moved  the  Orders  of  the 
Day.  But  this  did  not  save  Ministers  from  another  most  import- 
ant piece  of  intelligence  being  divulged.  The  Hon.  Richard 
FitzPatrick  said,  as  the  Minister  had  declined  information,  he 
would  tell  the  House  that  ten  days  before  he  sailed  from 
Philadephia,  copies  of  the  Conciliatory  Bills  were  brought  there. 
The  army  received  them  with  inexpressible  indignation — some  of 
the  officers  in  his  presence  tore  their  cockades  from  their  hats 
and  flung  them  into  the  street — they  had  expected  20,000  men, 
and  instead  they  had  the  Conciliatory  Bills !  These  were  not 
sent  to  Congress  or  to  General  Washington,  but  were  distributed 
about  the  country  by  individuals,  and  so  found  their  way  into  the 
American  army.  There  they  were  received  still  worse  than  in 
the  British  army — they  were  kicked  about,  torn,  even  burnt  by 
the  hangman.  They  were  looked  on  as  intended  to  spread 
discord — it  was  even  said  that  Parliament  knew  nothing  of  them ; 
and  when  FitzPatrick  assured  them  the  Bills  were  genuine,  the 
Americans  said  if  Chatham  had  offered  them  they  might  have 
received  them,  but  they  would  never  listen  to  any  proposals  from 
the  men  who  had  brought  on  the  war. 

Germaine  said  he  would  not  attempt  to  contradict  what  the 
honourable  gentleman  said  he  had  seen.  But  there  was  no 
promise  of  20,000  men,  and  if  the  Americans  rejected  these 
terms,  it  showed  they  would  reject  any  terms. 

FitzPatrick  retorted  that  reinforcements  were  promised — and 
instead  the  army  heard  d'Estaing  was  coming,  and  General 
Howe's  force  was  so  weak  it  could  only  act  on  the  defensive.  It 
was  scandalous  how  Sir  William  was  abused  here !  Hereupon 
Burgoyne  asked  whether  any  steps  had  been  taken  to  release  his 
gallant  army — which  would  be  worth  twice  their  number  in  the 
field,  "  having  been  accustomed  to  hardships,  lying  without  tents, 
living  on  slender  meals,  and  being  well  used  to  fire."     Officers  who 


616  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

knew  all  about  the  expedition  had  never  been  examined,  while 
St.  Luc  was  caressed,  and  a  menial  discharged  servant  of  his  own 
was  heard  with  attention.  Fox  ridiculed  the  notion  that  the 
Americans  would  treat  with  us,  when  the  King  on  his  birthday 
had  bestowed  "  cinque  ports  and  blue  ribbons  "  on  the  men  who 
had  plunged  the  countries  in  war. 

Lowther's  motion  was  lost,  and  next  day  the  King  prorogued 
Parliament.  So  ended  one  of  the  most  angry  sessions  of  our 
history. 

Note.  —  "By  the  beginning  of  May,  a  considerable  force  was  assembled  at 
Portsmouth.  Admiral  Keppel  had  every  prospect  of  being  shortly  at  sea,  when  he 
received  an  order  to  place  nine  of  his  ships  of  the  line  under  the  command  of  Vice- 
Admiral  Byron,  who  was  then  at  Plymouth,  and  about  to  proceed  to  Gibraltar,  to 
prevent  Monsieur  d'Estaing's  fleet  sailing  from  Toulon.  .  .  .  Admiral  Keppel's 
fleet,  which  had  been  so  hastily  gathered  together  to  protect  this  kingdom  from 
invasion,  was  stripped  of  men,  stores,  and  provisions,  to  supply  another 
expedition.  Such  was  the  scarcity  of  stores,  that  even  the  tacks  and  sheets  of 
the  Valiant  and  other  cordage  rove  in  that  ship  and  in  the  Ramillies,  then 
under  Keppel's  command,  were  unrove  and  given  to  Byron's  ships." — Life  oj 
Admiral  Keppel. 

About  six  weeks  before  this  borrowing  of  Peter  to  pay  Paul,  Lord  North 
had  declared  that  "  the  navy  was  never  in  greater  strength  "  ;  and  at  the  end  of 
April  General  Conway,  having  applied  to  Lord  Sandwich  for  a  frigate  to  guard 
Jersey  and  Guernsey  (he  was  Governor  of  Jersey),  was  told  by  the  First  Lord  of 
the  Admiralty  that  there  were  but  three  frigates  at  disposal,  and  that  he  had 
borrowed  one  of  them  to  send  against  Paul  Jones.  A  few  days  before,  Lord 
Sandwich  had  assured  the  House  of  Lords  that  there  were  nineteen  frigates  at 
home. — Correspondence  of  George  III  with  Lord  North,  vol.  ii.  178,  note. 


CHAPTER   LXXI 
THE  ARMY  OF  THE  CONVENTION 

"  They  are  at  present  detained  by  a  resolve  of  the  Congress,  expressing  that 
there  are  causes  of  suspicion  that  the  Convention  was  designed  to  be  broke  on 
our  part,  and  therefore  they  are  justifiable,  without  breach  of  public  faith,  to 
suspend  the  embarkation  of  the  troops  till  the  Convention  is  ratified  by  the  Court 
of  Great  Britain." — Speech  of  General  Btirgoy  tie  on  the  Motion  for  an  Enquiry 
into  the  Convention  of  Saratoga,  May  26,  1 778. 

"  Instead  of  suspending  the  obnoxious  Acts,  let  us  be  open,  and  repeal  them. 
The  noble  lord  avows  an  intention  finally  to  repeal  them,  why  not  do  it  at  first  ? 
America  does  and  will  suspect  you  of  designs,  if  that  is  not  your  first  measure. 
We  are  not  in  a  condition  to  haggle  :  we  have  lost  an  empire." — Mr.  Joliffe  on 
Lord  North's  Conciliatory  Bills,  Feb.  23,  1778. 

"  They  have  no  confidence,  Sir,  in  any  of  our  professions  or  promises." — 
Mr.  Wilkes  on  Lord  North 's  Conciliatory  Bills,  March  2,  1778. 

All  went  wrong  with  the  Convention.  It  was  found  that  the 
number  of  bayonets  did  not  correspond  to  that  of  the  muskets,  nor 
of  the  muskets  to  that  of  the  men; — at  least  1000  short,  and 
all  the  muskets  were  unfit  for  service.  There  were  only  638 
cartouch  boxes.  The  quantity  of  powder  and  cartridges  was 
very  small — "15  barrels  grained,  and  2  barrels  mealed,  and  the 
quantity  of  fixed  ammunition  very  inconsiderable."  Congress 
asked  for  an  explanation  of  all  this,  and  what  had  become  of  the 
colours  of  the  regiments,  of  the  military  chest  and  medicines,  the 
scabbards  and  belts,  of  the  bayonets  and  cutlasses?  Did  any 
destruction  of  arms  take  place  between  the  1 3th  of  October,  when 
the  first  proposal  for  surrender  was  made,  and  the  17th?  Gates 
was  to  make  enquiries.  But  it  was  resolved  that  the  embarkation 
was  not  to  be  delayed  on  account  of  these  queries,  if  the  transports 
arrived  before  the  answers  came.  As,  however,  the  important 
part  of  the  Convention  was  that  the  troops  should  not  serve  against- 
America  during  the  war,  General  Heath,  who  commanded  at 
Boston,  was  directed  to  take  the  names,  places  of  abode,  and 
full  description  of  every  private  soldier  and  non-commissioned 
officer,  and  the  name  and  rank  of  every  officer.  Burgoyne  refused 
to   allow    this,   on   the   score   that   Carleton   had   not   taken   the 

617 


618  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

descriptions  of  the  prisoners  in  Canada,  in  1776.  (But  Carleton  did 
take  their  names  and  places  of  abode.)  This  refusal,  however, 
was  not  all — although  if  the  British  meant  to  observe  the  Convention, 
there  was  no  reason  for  refusing  the  identification  of  the  troops. 
But  nine  days  before  his  refusal  Burgoyne  had  most  imprudently 
written  to  Gates,  "the  public  faith  is  broke" — because  the 
officers  had  not  been  as  well  accommodated  as  was  stipulated.  This 
alarmed  Congress.  The  whole  world  knew  that  the  British 
Government — and  most  of  the  British  people — did  not  regard  this 
as  an  ordinary  war.  It  was  a  rebellion,  and  the  enemy  was  a 
belligerent  only  by  courtesy.  Tens  of  thousands  of  Englishmen, 
who  would  have  been  horrified  at  a  breach  of  faith  with  Frenchmen 
or  Spaniards,  would  have  had  very  little  to  say  about  the  evasion 
of  a  compact  made  with  rebels.  It  was  certain  there  had  already 
been  evasion — arms  had  been  made  away  with,  and  it  was  more 
than  suspected  that  colours  had  been  withheld.  And  now 
Burgoyne's  indiscreet  expression  seemed  almost  intended  to  pave 
the  way  for  an  evasion  of  the  vital  point. 

The  complaint  about  quarters  in  Boston  was  unreasonable — 
to  accommodate  an  army  at  a  few  days'  notice  is  no  easy  task, 
especially  as  it  was  stipulated  that  officers  should  not  be  parted 
from  their  men,  and — as  the  Committee  appointed  by  Congress 
observed — the  British  had  destroyed  so  many  houses  during  their 
occupation,  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  find  sufficient  quarters. 
The  exaggerated  terms  of  the  complaint  sounded  insincere, 
especially  as  the  Article  of  the  Convention  ran,  "  Agreed  to, 
as  far  as  circumstances  will  admit."1 

It  is  now  beyond  dispute  that  the  colours  were  withheld. 
How  the  German  colours  were  smuggled  into  her  baggage, 
and  finally  sewn  up  in  a  mattress  and  carried  to  Halifax,  is 
narrated  by  Baroness  von  Riedesel  in  her  Memoirs — she  herself 
superintended  the  whole  business.  When,  on  November  19,  1777, 
enquiry  was  made  by  Congress  as  to  what  had  become  of  the 
standards  belonging  to  the  different  regiments  in  General 
Burgoyne's  army,  Gates  replied  (letter  of  December  3),  "  Respect- 
ing the  standards,  General  Burgoyne  declared  upon  his  honor, 
that  the  colours  of  the  regiments  were  left  in  Canada."  But 
on  page  xvi.  of  the  Appendix  to  his  "State  of  the  Expedition," 
Burgoyne  says,   speaking   of  the  retreat   of  the   Americans   from 

1  Lieutenant  Anburey  particularly  laments  the  absence  of  taverns,  "  at  present  " 
— only  two,  and  those  the  worst  imaginable,  except  that  they  provide  good 
dinners ;  "  the  rest  of  the  accommodations  would  disgrace  the  meanest  public 
house  in  London." 


THE  ARMY  OF  THE  CONVENTION        619 

Ticonderoga,  on  the  5th  of  July,  1777:  "This  movement  was 
very  discernible,  as  were  the  British  colours,  which  the  Brigadier 
[Fraser]  had  fixed  upon  the  fort  of  Ticonderoga."  The  colours, 
therefore,  were  not  left  behind. 

But  there  is  still  more  conclusive  evidence  that  the  colours 
were  still  with  the  army.  The  Historical  Record  of  the  Ninth, 
or  East -Norfolk  Regiment  of  Foot,  compiled  by  "Richard 
Canon,  Esq.,  Adjutant-General's  Office,  Horse-Guards,  London, 
1848,"  and  published  by  "Orders  from  Head-quarters,"  and  "by 
command  of  his  late  Majesty,  William  the  ivth,"  has  this 
reference  to  the  affair:  "Lieutenant-Colonel  Hill  of  the  Ninth, 
being  anxious  to  preserve  the  colours  of  the  regiment,  took  them 
off  the  staves,  and  concealed  them  in  his  baggage,  which  he  was 
permitted  to  retain.  The  American  Government  violated  the 
conditions  of  the  convention,  and  detained  the  troops  until  1781, 
when  the  Ninth  proceeded  to  England,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hill  producing  the  colours  presented  them  to  King  George  111, 
who  rewarded  his  faithful  services  with  the  appointment  of  aide- 
de-camp  to  his  Majesty,  and  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  army." 

The  passionate  desire  to  save  the  colours  will  be  comprehensible 
to  the  least  sentimental.  It  is  also  true  that  the  terms  of  the 
Convention  do  not  contain  the  word  "colours."  But  the 
colours  would  not  have  been  stripped  from  the  poles  (which 
were  burned),  and  smuggled  away  in  a  mattress,  if  it  had  been 
supposed  they  were  exempted  from  the  Convention.  Madame 
von  Riedesel  says  that  she  "  made  the  Americans  at  Saratoga 
believe  the  German  colours  were  burnt,"  and  that  they  at  first 
took  this  ill.  And  Burgoyne's  assurance,  "  upon  his  honour,"  that 
the  colours  had  been  left  behind  in  Canada,  is  not  the  reply 
he  would  have  made  if  he  had  considered  that  Congress  had 
no  right  to  enquire  for  them. 

In  these  circumstances,  it  was  the  height  of  unwisdom  to 
give  the  Americans  the  smallest  excuse  for  detaining  the  army; 
but  we  seemed  determined  to  go  on  behaving  exactly  as  a  people 
would  behave  when  preparing  to  violate  an  engagement.  An 
attempt  was  made  to  change  the  place  of  embarkation  from 
Boston  to  Rhode  Island,  or  the  Sound — close  to  New  York — and 
twenty-six  transports  were  sent.  This  put  the  finishing  touch  to 
the  suspicions  of  Congress.  Twenty-six  transports  were  inadequate 
to  carry  5642  men  and  the  necessary  provisions  on  a  winter 
voyage  to  Europe.  It  was  suspected  that  the  troops,  once 
permitted  to  embark,  would  never  get  any  nearer  England  than 
New  York.     And  now  came  our  greatest  piece  of  folly — if  indeed 


620  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

it  was  nothing  worse.  Congress,  alleging  that  there  had  been 
"so  many  instances  of  former  fraud  in  the  conduct  of  our 
enemies,"  resolved  to  suspend  the  embarkation  till  the  Convention 
was  ratified  by  the  King.  Now,  too  late,  the  British  officers  all 
signed  their  paroles.  But,  alas  !  several  British  officers,  taken 
at  New  York  in  1776,  had  broken  their  paroles;  and  although 
Howe  had  written  to  Washington  that  he  disapproved  of  this, 
he  did  not  imitate  the  old  Roman  honour,  and  send  them  back. 
Had  they  broken  their  paroles  to  a  French  General,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  done  so.  But  this  was  not  a 
real  war — only  a  rebellion. 

On  the  same  grounds  the  British  Government  refused  to 
ratify  the  Convention,  the  reason  given  being  that  to  do  so  would 
be  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  "the  illegal  Congress." 

It  is  strange  to  find  English  writers  charging  Congress  and 
Washington  with  bad  faith,  and  stranger  still  to  find  Mr.  Moncure 
Conway  agreeing  with  them.  Mr.  Conway  seems  to  think  the  best 
that  can  be  said  for  Washington  is,  that  he  stuck  at  nothing  which 
could  serve  the  interests  of  his  country.  In  other  cases  Washing- 
ton showed  the  most  rigid  sense  of  fairness — when,  for  instance, 
Congress  ordered  Lieutenant-Colonel  Campbell  to  be  thrown  into 
Concord  Gaol,  because  General  Charles  Lee  was  not  being  treated 
as  a  prisoner  of  war.  Campbell  appealed  to  Washington,  and 
Washington  wrote  to  the  Council  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  that, 
as  "exactly  the  same  treatment  that  General  Howe  shows  to 
General  Lee"  was  ordered  by  Congress  to  be  shown  to  Colonel 
Campbell  and  the  Hessian  officers ;  and  as  Lee  "  is  only  confined 
in  a  commodious  house,  with  genteel  accommodations,  we  have 
no  right  or  reason  to  be  more  severe  upon  Colonel  Campbell." 
He  wrote  in  a  still  stronger  strain  to  Congress,  and  got  Campbell 
enlarged. 

But  the  case  now  was  entirely  different.  Several  suspicious 
circumstances  had  occurred  to  throw  doubt  on  British  good 
faith,  and  when  the  British  Government  was  asked  to  dispel 
them  by  ratifying  the  Convention,  it  refused,  and  the  reason 
alleged  for  refusal  inevitably  suggested  that  the  Americans 
would  not  be  treated  as  were  other  Powers  at  war  with  Great 
Britain.  The  fact  that  the  British  Government  did  not  take 
so  simple  a  means  of  putting  Congress  in  the  wrong  before  the 
world,  and  chose  rather  to  lose  the  services  of  its  best  army  for 
years,  is  in  itself  suspicious.  No  ratification  of  any  kind  was 
ever  offered,  and  this  seems  explicable  only  on  the  supposition 
that  our  Government  hoped  to  be  able  to  recapture  the  Convention 


THE  ARMY  OF  THE  CONVENTION        621 

army  by  some  coup-de-main,  and  preferred  not  to  hamper  themselves 
by  an  official  acknowledgment  that  we  were  bound  not  to  use 
it  against  America.  They  were,  in  fact,  playing  for  what  is 
called  "the  off-chance,"  and  if  our  own  intention  had  been 
single,  we  should  have  made  a  very  great  deal  more  of  the  affair. 
It  was,  indeed,  difficult  to  do  so,  when  there  was  the  obvious 
retort,  "  Why  do  you  refuse  to  ratify  the  Convention  ? "  It  was 
fully  believed  in  America  that  Sir  William  Howe  was  preparing 
an  attack  on  Boston  to  release  the  Army  of  the  Convention.  The 
precedent  of  Klosterseven  was  there  to  show  that  a  convention 
might  be  set  aside.  In  refusing  to  ratify,  because  there  was  no 
legal  authority  to  whom  to  pledge  our  faith,  we  reduced  the 
Convention  to  a  private  compact.  What  security  had  Congress 
that  we  might  not  one  day  decline  to  be  bound  by  it  ?  Congress 
had  solid  reasons  for  fearing  this.  With  incredible  indiscretion, 
Burgoyne  had  called  the  escapes  of  prisoners  of  war  "  honourable 
desertions,"  implying  that  the  men  were  only  trying  to  join  Clinton 
or  Howe.  True,  Burgoyne  had  explained  that  he  did  not  mean 
Clinton  or  Howe  would  connive  at  this — he  "believed"  they 
would  return  such  men,  and  "  not  be  behind  the  old  Roman 
examples  of  keeping  faith  with  an  enemy."  But  there  is  no 
instance  of  such  return ;  and  Howe  had  not  returned  even  those 
officers  who  broke  their  paroles  in  1776.  Burgoyne  talked  of 
keeping  faith  "with  an  enemy" — but  that  was  the  very  point. 
We  did  not  acknowledge  the  right  of  rebels  to  be  considered 
"  enemies." 

It  was  asserted  by  some  that  Lafayette  was  at  the  bottom  of 
the  detention — it  was  said  that,  foreseeing  war  with  England, 
he  wished  to  prevent  the  best  regiments  in  the  British  Army 
being  employed  against  France.  There  is  not  the  smallest  proof 
of  this,  nor  is  it  necessary  to  suppose  that  Congress  required  any 
prompting.  The  question  has  always  remained  unanswered, 
Why  did  we  not  put  Congress  in  the  wrong  by  ratifying  in  some 
form  or  other  ?  Why  did  we  so  carefully  and  consistently  abstain 
from  doing  so?  In  the  middle  of  1778  we  actually  gave  our 
Commissioners  authority  to  treat  with  Congress  on  the  question 
of  submission,  as  though  it  were  a  legal  body.  Why  did  we  not 
extend  the  temporary  legal  fiction  to  the  question  of  the 
Convention?  Why,  but  because  we  hoped  that  the  chapter 
of  accidents  might  give  us  back  our  captives  under  an  unratified 
compact  ?  The  Army  of  the  Convention  did  contain  the  flower 
of  the  British  regiments.  The  obvious  policy  was  to  instruct 
the   Commissioners  to  begin  by  ratifying  the  Convention,  under 


622  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

their  power  to  treat  with  Congress  "as  if  it  were  a  legal  body." 
We  could  then  have  got  our  troops  back,  for  use  anywhere  but 
in  America.  The  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  we  preferred  to 
keep  them  in  America,  and  take  our  chance  of  the  Fortune  of  War 
enabling  us  to  recover  them  for  further  service  there. 


CHAPTER   LXXII 
THE  CONWAY  CABAL 

"The  intelligence  from  Mr.  Thornton  of  the  discontents  among  the  leaders 
in  America,  if  authentick,  will  not  only  greatly  facilitate  the  bringing  that 
deluded  country  to  some  reasonable  ideas,  but  will  make  France  reconsider 
whether  she  ought  to  enter  into  a  war  when  America  may  leave  her  in  the 
lurch." — The  King  to  Lord  North,  St  James',  March  6,  1778,  53  min. 
pt.  m. 

After  Germantown,  Washington  encamped  at  first  in  the  woods 
of  Whitemarsh,  fourteen  miles  from  Philadelphia,  hoping  to  be 
able  to  defend  the  forts  on  the  Delaware.  But  Gates  was  so  long 
in  sending  back  the  men  lent  him,  that  nothing  could  be  done, 
and  the  British  obtained  command  of  the  river.  Washington 
bitterly  contrasted  the  little  support  he  received  with  the  way 
in  which  the  New  England  Militia  had  turned  out  against 
Burgoyne.  He  wrote  to  Patrick  Henry,  "I  was  left  to  fight  two 
battles,  to  save  Philadelphia,  with  less  numbers  than  composed 
the  army  of  my  antagonist,  whilst  the  world  has  given  us  at 
least  double."  And  he  was  obliged  to  encourage  this  mortifying 
impression,  "because,  next  to  being  strong,  it  is  best  to  be 
thought  so  by  the  enemy."  He  added,  "  If  the  cause  is 
advanced,  indifferent  is  it  to  me  where  or  in  what  quarter  it 
happens." 

When  at  last  Gates  sent  4000  men,  they  were  in  rags,  and  part 
of  Morgan's  company  could  not  take  the  field  for  want  of  shoes. 
Among  its  other  military  exploits,  Congress  had  upset  the 
Commissariat,  with  the  result  that  "hogsheads  of  shoes, 
stockings  and  clothing  were  lying  at  different  places  on  the 
roads  and  in  the  woods,  perishing  for  want  of  teams,  or 
money  to  pay  the  teamsters."  At  the  same  time  Congress 
and  the  Press  were  demanding  a  "stroke."  Several  opportunities 
for  "strokes"  had  been  lost  by  Gates  detaining  the  troops,  but 
in  November  Cornwallis  was  detached  to  Jersey,  and  Stirling 
thought  an  attack  might  now  be  made  on  Philadelphia.  But  by 
eleven  to  four  the  Council  of  War  decided  that  it  must  involve 

623 


624  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

a  fearful  expenditure  of  life,  and  might  fail.1  Washington  well 
knew  how  much  he  personally  had  to  gain  by  rashness,  but 
he  would  not  sacrifice  his  men  to  his  military  reputation.  But 
if  Congress  had  done  its  duty  by  the  army,  Washington  could 
have  rendered  Howe's  position  untenable — and  perhaps  have 
made  his  retreat  impossible.  As  it  was,  he  could  do  no  more 
than  send  Greene  to  harass  Cornwallis.  There  were  skirmishes 
between  the  outposts.  Lafayette,  not  yet  quite  recovered  from 
his  wound,  distinguished  himself  in  a  little  affair  with  pickets,  and 
to  Washington's  great  pleasure  Congress  gave  him  the  command 
of  Stephen's  division. 

The  Old  Congress  accomplished  a  wonderful  work  in  setting 
going  the  civil  government  of  a  continent,  amidst  the  throes 
of  revolution  and  war.2  Even  though  it  had  in  every  province 
the  traditions  and  forms  of  generations  of  self-government  to 
help  it,  this  was  a  mighty  task.  But  there  is  another  side  to 
the  picture — of  the  Old  Congress  allowing  Washington's  army 
to  want  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  then  reproaching  him  for  not 
keeping  the  field  in  winter;  neglecting  his  entreaties  for  regular 
levies,  and  then  complaining  that  he  did  not  fight  battles; 
appointing  Boards  of  War,  ostensibly  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
army, — which  they  scandalously  neglected  to  do, — but  in  reality 
to  watch  and  hamper  its  Generals — a  business  in  which  they  were 
zealous.  Worst  of  all,  caballing  against  Washington,  and  waiting 
for  the  moment  when  it  could  supersede  him  by  the  impostor 
Lee  (those  less  deep  in  the  secret  thought  it  was  to  be  Gates). 
All  this  is  a  spectacle  only  to  be  paralleled  for  baseness  and  folly 
by  the  way  in  which  the  Carthaginian  Senate  abandoned  Hannibal. 
But  Hannibal  was  carrying  on  a  war  of  aggression  on  foreign 
soil  —  Washington  was  defending  his  own  country  from  an 
invader.  The  full  tale  of  baseness  will  never  be  known — Governor 
Jay  saved  the  Old  Congress  from  the  execration  of  posterity 
by  putting  into  the  fire  the  records  of  its  treatment  of  Washington 
— he  thought  it  the  greatest  kindness  he  could  do  it. 

John  Adams  had  been  appointed  Commissioner  to  Paris, 
in  the  room  of  Deane,  and  Gates  was  President  of  the  Board 
of  War.     The   cabal   were   overjoyed — they   thought   they   would 

1  A  letter  from  Reed  of  this  time  says,  "There  has  been  so  great  a  majority 
of  his  officers  opposed  to  every  enterprising  plan,  as  fully  justifies  his  conduct." 
Reed  himself  was  opposed  to  the  attack  on  the  city. 

2  Civil  government  was  maintained  during  the  Revolution  with  hardly  an 
interruption  anywhere. — Sabine. 


THE  CONWAY  CABAL  625 

soon  get  rid  of  Washington,  and  they  sneered  at  "the  American 
Fabius  "  more  openly  than  ever. 

Winter  had  now  set  in.  Washington's  men  were  worn  with 
long  and  hard  service,  badly  clothed,  and  without  blankets. 
Winter  quarters  of  some  sort  were  absolutely  necessary. 
Washington  could  have  retired  to  the  towns  —  Lancaster, 
York,  and  Carlisle;  but  if  he  did  so,  he  would  leave  a  large 
and  fertile  district  to  be  foraged  by  the  enemy,  and  its 
inhabitants  without  protection.  He  resolved  to  encamp  as 
near  Philadelphia  as  possible.  He  selected  Valley  Forge, 
in  Chester  County,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  It  was  a  desolate  spot 
among  the  hills.  As  the  half  -  barefoot  army  went,  the 
footsteps  of  some  were  traced  in  blood.  In  despair  of 
getting  shoes  for  them,  Washington  offered  10  dollars  for  the 
best  model  of  a  substitute,  to  be  made  of  raw  hide.  His 
troops  had  to  cut  down  trees  to  build  huts — the  huts  to  be 
14  feet  by  16,  with  log  walls  filled  in  with  clay — twelve  non- 
commissioned officers  and  soldiers  to  each  hut.  A  General 
officer  was  allowed  a  hut  to  himself.  The  soldiers'  huts 
fronted  a  street — as  in  a  Roman  encampment;  the  officers' 
formed  a  line  in  the  rear;  the  whole  looked  like  a  rude 
village.     The  sick  found  refuge  with  neighbouring  farmers. 

They  had  hardly  been  here  two  days,  when  before  day- 
break of  December  22  word  was  brought  that  Howe  had 
made  a  sortie  towards  Chester  —  apparently  on  a  foraging 
expedition.  When  Washington  ordered  two  of  his  Generals 
to  be  ready,  one  replied,  "Fighting  will  be  far  preferable  to 
starving";  the  other  said  his  men  would  be  very  glad  to  march 
— they  had  been  without  bread  for  three  days  together,  and 
without  meat  for  two.  In  fact,  the  night  before  a  dangerous 
mutiny  had  broken  out.  Washington  wrote  instantly  to 
Congress,  that  unless  the  Commissariat  was  managed  more 
vigorously  and  regularly  "the  army  must  dissolve."  He 
had  done  all  in  his  power  by  remonstrating,  but  without 
effect.  The  march  of  the  army  had  been  delayed  in  consequence, 
"on  more  than  one  interesting  occasion,"  and  if  a  body  of 
the  enemy  had  crossed  the  Schuylkill  that  morning,  the  divisions 
could  not  have  moved.  It  was  now  that  he  heard  the  Legislature 
of  Pennsylvania  had  complained  to  Congress  of  his  not  keep- 
ing the  field.  It  was  too  much  to  receive  such  news, 
"shivering  in  the  midst  of  December's  snow."  He  wrote 
to  the  President  of  Congress  (December  23)  that,  though  he 
vol.  1. — 40 


626  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

had  been  tender  of  complaining  about  the  change  in  the 
Commissariat,  it  was  contrary  to  his  judgment,  and  the  con- 
sequences were  predicted.  But  now  that  the  inactivity  of 
the  army  was  charged  to  his  account,  "not  only  by  the 
common  vulgar,  but  by  those  in  power,  it  is  time  to  speak 
plain  in  exculpation  of  myself.  With  truth,  then,  I  can  declare, 
that  no  man,  in  my  opinion,  ever  had  his  measures  more 
impeded  than  I  have  in  every  department  of  the  army." 
Since  last  July,  he  had  had  no  assistance  from  the  Quartermaster- 
General  ;  and  the  Commissary  -  General  charged  his  own 
deficiency  greatly  to  this.  By  a  field-return  that  day,  he 
had  2898  men  unfit  for  duty,  "because  they  are  barefoot 
and  otherwise  naked."  His  whole  strength  in  camp  was 
no  more  than  8200  fit  for  duty ;  and  since  the  4th  instant 
these  numbers  have  decreased  near  2000  men,  from  the 
hardships  and  exposures  they  have  undergone,  particularly 
the  want  of  blankets — numbers  being  obliged  to  sit  up  all 
night  by  fires,  "instead  of  taking  comfortable  rest  in  a  natural 
and  common  way."  Gentlemen  reprobate  his  going  into 
winter-quarters,  "as  if  they  thought  the  soldiers  made  of 
stocks  or  stones,  and  equally  insensible  of  frost  and  snow"; 
and  as  if  they  supposed  an  inferior  army  under  our  disadvantages 
could  confine  a  superior  one,  "well  appointed  and  provided," 
in  Philadelphia.  "Yet  these  very  gentlemen,  who  saw  the 
nakedness  of  the  troops  for  themselves,  and  thought  their  own 
soldiers  worse  clad  than  others,  and  advised  me  near  a  month 
ago  to  postpone  a  plan  I  was  about  to  adopt — under  promise 
of  an  ample  supply  (not  one  article  of  which  I  have  received) — 
think  a  winter  campaign  so  easy.  I  can  assure  those  gentlemen, 
that  it  is  a  much  easier  and  less  distressing  thing,  to  draw 
remonstrances  in  a  comfortable  room  by  a  good  fireside, 
than  to  occupy  a  cold,  bleak  hill,  and  sleep  under  frost  and 
snow,  without  clothes  or  blankets."  And  he  is  obliged  to 
conceal  the  true  state  of  the  army,  and  expose  himself  to 
"  detraction  and  calumny." x 

Congress  had  long  suggested  that  he  should  supply  himself 
as  the  British  did,  by  seizing  supplies  wherever  he  could 
find    them,    paying    with    certificates    redeemable    by    Congress. 

1  "To  keep  the  field  entirely  is  impracticable,  and  so  you  would  think  if  you 
saw  the  plight  we  were  in.  .  .  .  If  it  is  not  doing  what  we  would,  it  is  doing  what 
we  can  ;  and  I  must  say  the  general  has  shown  a  truly  feeling  and  patriotic 
respect  for  us  on  this  occasion,  in  which  you  would  agree  with  me,  if  you  knew 
all  the  circumstances." — Reed  to  the  President  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislatwe. 


THE  CONWAY  CABAL  62; 

But  the  man  to  whom  they  were  so  chary  of  entrusting 
power  detested  the  exercise  of  military  authority  over  civilians, 
and  was,  moreover,  afraid  of  teaching  his  soldiers  to  plunder. 
Such  methods,  he  wrote  to  Congress,  "never  fail,  even  in 
the  most  veteran  troops,  to  raise  a  disposition  to  licentiousness, 
to  plunder  and  robbery,  difficult  to  suppress  afterwards." 

Only  the  history  of  the  Conway  Cabal  can  explain  the  treat- 
ment which  Washington  received  at  this  time. 

Among  the  officers  who  came  out  with  Lafayette  was  the  Baron 
de  Kalb,  a  German  by  birth,  but  long  in  the  French  service.  He 
was  now  a  hale  and  hearty  veteran  of  sixty,  whose  vigour  was 
ascribed  to  the  fact  that  he  drank  nothing  but  water.  In  September, 
1777,  Congress  gave  him  the  commission  of  a  Major-General — to 
date  with  Lafayette's.  This  greatly  incensed  Brigadier-General 
Conway,  who  had  had  de  Kalb  under  his  command  in  France. 
He  demanded  the  same  rank,  and  was  supported  by  many  in  and 
out  of  Congress — especially  by  Mifflin,  the  Quartermaster-General, 
once  a  great  friend  of  Washington,  but  long  engaged  in  intrigues 
against  him.  His  scandalous  neglect  of  Washington's  army 
seems  something  worse  than  neglect,  when  his  part  in  the 
cabal  is  considered.  The  workings  of  the  cabal  were  known  to 
some  extent  in  England,  where  they  were  represented  as  "dis- 
sentions  among  the  American  generals,"  and  helped  to  en- 
courage the  refusal  to  acknowledge  Independence.  Ostensibly 
the  cabal  aimed  at  substituting  Gates  for  Washington — Gates 
was  represented  as  the  sole  author  of  Burgoyne's  defeat. 
Washington,  who  had  made  it  possible  by  crippling  his  own 
army,  and  Arnold,  who  had  led  the  victorious  charge,  were 
entirely  ignored. 

It  was  Washington's  nature  to  go  on  doing  his  utmost  for  his 
country,  and  leave  his  reputation  to  take  care  for  itself.  But  there 
came  a  moment  when  he  could  no  longer  ignore  what  was  going 
on;  and  one  day  early  in  November  Conway  had  received  this 
note  from  the  Commander-in-Chief — 

"Sir, — A  letter  which  I  received  last  night  contained  the 
following  paragraph — ■  in  a  letter  from  General  Conway  to  General 
Gates,  he  says  "  Heaven  has  determined  to  save  your  country ',  or  a  weak 
general  and  bad  counsellors  would  have  ruined  it?" — I  am,  Sir,  your 
humble  servant,  George  Washington." 

This  letter  greatly  alarmed  Conway.  He  showed  it  to  his 
friends  of  the  cabal,  who  were  equally  alarmed.  He  wrote  to 
Washington,   trying    to    palliate   the   words — it   was   the   careless 


628  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

freedom    of  language    allowed  in    familiar   letter-writing.     Appar- 
ently Washington   received  this   explanation   coldly,  for   Conway 
resigned,  alleging  as  his  reason   that  some  members  of  Congress 
had  spoken  of  him  disparagingly.     Washington  kept  his  secret,  and 
Congress  persuaded  Conway  to  retract  his  resignation.     Meanwhile 
Mifflin  had  informed  Gates  that  an  extract   from  Conway's  letter 
had   been   procured  and   sent   to    Headquarters — the  extract  was 
"  a  collection  of  just  sentiments,  but  not  such  as  you  should  have 
entrusted  to  any  of  your  family.     General  Washington  enclosed  it 
to  Conway  without  remarks."     This  threw  Gates  into   consterna- 
tion.    What  was  the  extract?     How  had  it  been  obtained?     He 
wrote   piteously,    "  There   is   scarcely  a   man   living  who   takes  a 
greater  care  of  his  letters  than  I  do.     I  never  fail  to  lock  them  up, 
and  keep  the  key  in  my  pocket.  .  .  .  No  punishment  is  too  severe 
for  the  wretch  who  betrayed  me."     He  questioned  the  gentlemen 
of  his   staff — no   one   knew  anything.     Next,  it   occurred  to  him 
that   Alexander   Hamilton   had   had   free   access   to  his   quarters, 
during  a  late   mission   from  the  Commander-in  Chief.     He  wrote 
an  abject  letter  to  Washington,  beseeching  him  to  help  him  find 
out  who  had  "  stealingly  copied  "  his  letters.    It  would  do  the  United 
States   a  very  important  service  if  your   Excellency  would  detect 
the  wretch — as   he   has   betrayed   me,  he  might  "capitally  injure 
your  operations."     He  added  that  he  was  sending  a  copy  of  his 
letter  to  Congress,  that  Congress  might  "  concert "  with  Washing- 
ton how  to  discover  the  traitor.     Washington  replied  that  he  was 
much  surprised  to  learn  that  Congress  had  had  a  copy  of  Gates' 
letter — this  laid  him  under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  showing 
them   his  answer.     He  then  informed   Gates  that  Wilkinson  had 
disclosed  the  secret.     Last  October,  Wilkinson,  then  on  his  way 
to  Congress,  fell  in  with  Lord  Stirling  at  Reading,  and,  "not  in 
confidence,"  told  Major  McWilliams,  Stirling's  aide-de-camp,  that 
Conway   had   written    the   words    in   question,    and   Stirling   had 
informed  Washington,  with  this  comment,  "  Such  wicked  duplicity 
of  conduct  I  shall  always  think  it  my  duty  to  detect."     Washington 
had  mentioned  the  incident  to  no  one  except  Lafayette,  to  whom 
Conway  had  spoken  on  the  subject — "so  desirous  was  I  of  con- 
cealing  every   matter  that   could,  in   its   consequences,   give   the 
smallest  interruption  to  the  tranquillity  of  this  army,  or  afford  a 
gleam  of  hope  to  the  enemy  by  dissentions  therein."     Till  Stirling's 
letter   came   Washington   did  not   even   know  that   Conway  and 
Gates  corresponded — he  supposed  them  strangers  to  each  other. 
Far  from  thinking  the  safety  of  the  States   affected  by  this  dis- 
covery, he  had  supposed  the  information  came  from  Gates  himself, 


THE  CONWAY  CABAL  629 

and  was  intended  "  to  forewarn,  and  consequently  to  forearm  me, 
against  a  secret  enemy." 

Gates  now  wished  he  had  not  written  as  he  did  to  Washington. 
If  this  was  all  Washington  knew,  the  letter  could  be  denied. 
Gates  did  deny  it — he  wrote  that  the  paragraph  his  Excellency 
had  condescended  to  transcribe  was  spurious — fabricated  to  answer 
the  most  selfish  and  wicked  purposes.  Conway's  letter  was 
perfectly  harmless — it  made  no  mention  of  weak  generals  or  bad 
counsellors — "  particular  actions  rather  than  persons  were  blamed." 
"  I  declare  that  the  paragraph  submitted  to  your  Excellency  was, 
in  words  as  well  as  in  substance,  a  wicked  forgery."  All  he  wanted 
was  to  know  who  had  stolen  a  copy  of  a  letter — and  might  there- 
fore betray  secrets  to  the  enemy.  Brigadier-General  Wilkinson 
had  endeavoured  to  fix  his  suspicions  on  Lieut.-Colonel  Troup, 
who  "might  have  incautiously  conversed  on  the  subject  of 
General  Conway's  letter  with  Colonel  Hamilton,  whom  you  had  sent 
not  long  before  to  Albany." 

Conway  wrote  to  Washington  that  Gates  had  returned  his 
letter,  and  he  found  with  great  satisfaction  that  "the  paragraph 
so  much  spoken  of  did  not  exist  in  the  said  letter,  nor  anything 
like  it."  He  had  meant  to  show  the  letter,  but  President  Laurens 
had  dissuaded  him,  lest  it  should  inform  the  enemy  of  a  misunder- 
standing among  the  American  Generals,  so  he  depended  on  the 
justice,  candour,  and  generosity  of  General  Washington  to  stop 
"  the  forgery." 

On  February  9  Washington  wrote  Gates  a  long  letter,  in  reply 
to  three  of  his,  pointing  out  how  they  contradicted  each  other — 
and  sometimes  the  same  letter  contradicted  itself!  The  first 
letter  by  implication  allowed  the  reality  of  the  extract;  in  the 
second,  it  was  "  a  wicked  forgery."  If  there  were  nothing  in 
Conway's  letter  "  too  nearly  related  "  to  the  extract,  why  not  have 
produced  it?  "Concealment  in  an  affair  which  has  made  so 
much  noise,  though  not  by  my  means,  will  naturally  lead  men  to 
conjecture  the  worst." 

It  was  now  Wilkinson's  turn.  He  denied  he  ever  uttered  the 
words  attributed  to  him.  Stirling  thereupon  wrote,  reminding 
him  of  the  conversation,  and  asking  whether  Conway  had 
questioned  him.  Wilkinson  wrote  back  that  he  remembered 
perfectly  spending  "a  social  day"  with  his  lordship  at  Reading, 
but  really  did  not  remember  the  conversation — with  a  hint  at- 
unguarded  moments,  and  a  plainer  intimation  that  in  asking  him 
to  divulge  a  private  letter  Stirling  had  proposed  he  should  do 
something    dishonourable.     Wilkinson   then    learned    that   Gates 


630  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

had  denounced  him  as  the  betrayer,  and  had  spoken  of  him  in 
gross  language.1  "I  was  shocked,"  writes  Wilkinson  on  this.  "I 
had  sacrificed  my  lineal  rank  at  General  Gates'  request,  I  had 
served  him  with  zeal  and  fidelity,"  and  he  condemned  me  for  an 
act  of  which  I  was  innocent,  and  against  which  "  my  soul  revolted 
with  horror."  He  demanded  satisfaction,  and  a  meeting  with 
Gates  was  arranged.  But  a  few  minutes  before  the  hour  fixed,  as 
Wilkinson  was  leaving  the  house  with  his  second,  Gates  sent  to 
speak  with  him.  They  met  in  a  back  street  of  Yorktown — Gates 
was  unarmed  and  alone.  According  to  Wilkinson's  account, 
Gates  burst  into  tears,  and  asked  Wilkinson  how  he  could  think 
he  meant  to  injure  him?  What  is  certain  is  that  there  was  no 
duel ;  that  Wilkinson  was  shortly  made  Secretary  to  the  Board  of 
War,  and  that  he  found  Gates  barely  civil.  He  next  thought  of 
challenging  Lord  Stirling,  but  on  reflection  only  asked  for  a 
written  acknowledgment  that  the  conversation  published  passed 
in  a  private  company  during  a  convivial  hour.  Stirling  obliged 
him,  but  added  that  there  was  no  injunction  of  secrecy. 

These  miserable  intrigues  had  a  purpose — they  represent  an 
organised  plot  to  procure  Washington's  dismissal.  The  secret  of 
them  leaked  out,  and  encouraged  George  the  Third  not  a  little. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  if  the  plot  had  succeeded  military 
resistance  in  America  would  have  collapsed  in  six  months.  The 
anarchy  always  predicted  by  ministerialists  must  have  followed — or 
if  not  anarchy,  such  disunion,  that  the  revolution  itself  must  have 
collapsed  for  the  time  being.  All  that  stood  between  America 
and  such  a  catastrophe  was  the  patriotism  and  the  patience  of 
Washington. 

The  value  of  his  character  to  the  cause  was  well  understood. 
Some  letters  were  published  this  winter — first  in  London,  after- 
wards in  New  York — with  the  object  of  showing  that  he  was 
secretly  opposed  to  Independence.  A  loyalist  of  De  Lancey's  corps 
was  the  alleged  source  of  these  letters — he  professed  to  have 
found  them  in  the  possession  of  Washington's  mulatto  servant 
Billy,  left  behind  sick  at  Fort  Washington.  They  purported  to  be 
from  various  members  of  Washington's  family,  and  there  were 
rough  drafts  of  his  answers.  It  was  never  known  who  forged 
these  letters — it  was  someone  who  knew  something  of  Washington's 
family  and  circumstances,  but  there  were  several  entire  mistakes. 
The  letters  cheered  ministerialists,  but  they  deceived  no  one   in 

1  In  the  first  rough  draft  of  this  letter,  Gates  had  suggested  that  Wilkinson 
invented  the  whole  story.  By  some  means  Wilkinson  got  hold  of  this  draft, 
and  published  it  in  his  Memoirs. 


THE  CONWAY  CABAL  631 

America.  Billy  was  never  taken  by  the  British,  nor  did  any  of 
Washington's  or  of  his  attendants'  baggage  ever  fall  into  their 
hands. 

Meanwhile  Washington's  old  friend,  Dr.  Craik  of  Maryland, 
was  writing  to  warn  him  that  a  strong  faction  in  Congress  and  on 
the  Board  of  War  was  crying  up  Gates,  and  making  people  believe 
that  ^Washington  had  three  or  four  times  as  many  troops  as  those 
of  the  enemy,  yet  had  done  nothing,  and  had  given  up  Philadelphia, 
and  lost  many  opportunities  of  defeating  the  enemy.  They  had 
their  own  scheme — a  winter  expedition  to  Canada — to  go  from 
Albany,  cross  Champlain  on  the  ice,  burn  the  British  shipping  at 
St.  John's,  and  push  on  for  Montreal.  Washington  was  not 
consulted.  With  the  hope  of  bringing  Lafayette  over  to  the  cabal, 
the  command  was  offered  him,  with  Conway  as  his  second. 
Lafayette  would  have  declined,  but  was  persuaded  by  Washington 
to  accept,  and  went  to  Yorktown,  where  he  found  Gates  "very 
convivial "  after  dinner.  But  when  Lafayette  gave  "the  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  the  American  armies,"  the  toast  was  drunk  without 
cheering. 

The  Canadian  expedition  never  came  off.  When  Lafayette 
arrived  at  Albany,  Conway  met  him  with  the  news  that  it  was 
impossible  —  Generals  Schuyler,  Arnold,  and  Lincoln  had  all 
written  to  say  so.  Instead  of  the  2500  men  promised  Lafayette, 
there  were  not  1200  fit  for  duty,  and  they  were  "naked  even  for 
a  summer's  campaign,"  and  it  was  already  late  in  the  season. 
Congress  had  the  good  sense  to  forbid  the  attempt. 

Wilkinson  was,  however,  so  uncomfortable  at  the  War  Office, 
that  he  resigned  and  went  to  Washington  at  Valley  Forge,  where 
the  whole  correspondence  was  shown  him.  And  now  this  un- 
scrupulous and  intriguing  young  man  turned  on  the  weak  and 
unstable  General  in  whose  hands  he  would  have  placed  the 
destinies  of  America.  He  wrote  to  Congress  about  "  the  acts  of 
treachery  and  falsehood  in  which  he  had  detected  Major-General 
Gates,"  and  declined  to  serve  with  him. 


CHAPTER   LXXIII 
THE  EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA 

"July  2.  Sir  William  Howe  arrived.  .  .  .  He  brought  an  account  of  the  army 
under  Clinton  having  abandoned  Philadelphia  for  want  of  provisions,  and  being 
suffered  to  march  to  New  York  through  the  Jerseys  without  molestation,  on 
a  compromise  of  his  not  destroying  Philadelphia." — H.  Walpole,  Last  Jotimals, 
ii.  282. 

"  The  many  marks  I  have  given  you  of  my  friendship  must  convince  you  that 
when  I  decline  conferring  the  Cinque  Ports  on  you  but  during  pleasure  that 
I  will  never  give  this  office  but  in  that  mode." — The  King  to  Lord  Norths  May 
19,  1778. 

"Lord  North, — You  cannot  be  surprised  that  the  degree  to  which  you 
have  pressed  to  resign  during  the  space  of  the  last  three  months  has  given  me 
much  uneasiness." — The  King  to  Lord  North,  May  26,  1778. 

"The  King  bribed  him  to  stay  for  two  reasons:  the  first,  because  he  sub- 
mitted to  be  only  a  cypher,  and  would  carry  through  any  measures  the  King  or 
Junto  required  ;  the  second,  because  the  King  had  nobody  to  put  in  his  place." — 
H.  Walpole,  Last  Journals,  ii.  305. 

Washington  was  remodelling  his  army  with  the  help  of  a  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangement,  which  he  had  persuaded  Congress  to 
appoint.  The  army  still  often  wanted  for  food — there  was  some- 
times "  little  less  than  a  famine  " — he  himself  was  astonished  that 
his  men  did  not  desert  him.  But  they  knew  that  he  was  labouring 
for  them  night  and  day,  and  at  last  things  grew  better.  The 
Commissariat  was  reformed,  supplies  intended  for  the  British  were 
intercepted ;  best  of  all,  Greene  was  made  Quartermaster-General. 

By  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  Washington  not  only 
overcame  the  malice  of  his  enemies — there  came  a  day  when  they 
vied  with  each  other  in  eagerly  denying  they  had  ever  thought 
him  less  than  the  greatest  and  best  of  men.  Towards  the  end  of 
January  a  Committee  came  to  the  camp  from  Congress,  and  John 
Harvey,  one  of  them,  said  to  Washington,  "  If  you  had  but  explained 
yourself,  these  reports  would  have  ceased  long  "ago."  "  How  could 
I  have  thrown  off  the  blame,"  he  replied,  "without  doing  injury 
to  the  common  cause  ?  " 

At  the  end  of  February  a  great  piece  of  good  fortune  befell  the 

632 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA     633 

American  cause,  by  the  arrival  of  Baron  von  Steuben,  an  old 
soldier  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  aide-de-camp  to  Frederick,  and 
covered  with  honours.  The  American  army  sorely  needed  some- 
one to  drill  it,  and  Steuben  was  persuaded  by  the  French  Minister 
of  War  to  undertake  the  task.  No  promises  were  made  him, 
but  Beaumarchais  found  him  in  funds,  and  he  brought  letters 
from  Franklin  and  Deane.  Washington  was  overjoyed.  But  the 
difficulties  were  great — the  troops  were  very  raw,  the  Baron  knew 
no  English,  and  it  was  of  no  use  to  swear  at  them  in  French  or 
German.  Captain  Walker,  of  a  New  York  regiment,  came  to  his 
aid — he  spoke  French.  The  Baron  said  he  could  not  have  been 
more  rejoiced  "had  he  seen  an  angel  from  heaven."  Like  a 
patient,  conscientious  German,  von  Steuben  toiled  at  the  militia, 
cursing  them  freely  in  all  the  languages  he  knew,  and,  assisted  by 
Walker's  French,  got  them  into  such  shape  as  they  had  never  been 
in  yet.  He  would  be  up  at  daybreak,  and  in  the  saddle  by  sunrise 
— off  to  the  parade  alone  if  his  suite  was  not  ready.  And  men 
and  officers  repaid  him  by  their  zeal  and  obedience.  A  little  more 
of  the  Baron's  instructions  and  they  would  not  fear  the  British 
regulars.1 

In  the  spring  of  1778,  West  Point  on  the  Hudson  was  chosen 
by  the  New  York  State  Legislature  for  fortification.  Kosciusko 
helped  to  plan  the  works.  Washington  now  suggested  a  daring 
enterprise  to  the  officers  there — no  less  than  the  capture  of  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  as  Prescot  had  been  captured.  Clinton's  quarters 
were  near  the  Battery — near  the  Hudson.  A  retired  way  led  from 
them  through  a  backyard  to  the  river-bank.  Washington  thought 
that  a  party  might  embark  in  eight  or  ten  whale-boats  at  King's 
Ferry,  just  below  the  Highlands,  on  the  first  of  the  ebb,  early  in 
the  morning.  The  boats  could  row  with  muffled  oars,  under  the 
shadow  of  the  western  shore,  and  in  six  or  eight  hours  could  be 
close  to  New  York.  The  men  were  to  be  dressed  in  red,  much 
in  the  style  of  British  soldiers.  There  were  no  ships  of  war  on  that 
side.  It  js  said  that  Alexander  Hamilton  persuaded  Washington 
to  give  up  this  idea,  on  the  singular  ground  that  it  was  a  pity  to 
remove  Sir  Henry  Clinton  from  the  command — they  now  perfectly 
understood  his  character,  and  knew  what  he  would  do ;  by  captur- 

1  In  the  spring  of  1778  the  American  army  was  still  very  ill  clad.  Captain 
Graydon,  who  had  been  taken  at  Long  Island,  but  was  liberated  on  parole,  paid 
a  visit  to  the  camp  at  Morristown.  Accustomed  to  see  the  trim  British  soldiers, 
he  was  scandalised  at  the  rags  which  did  duty  for  uniforms.  Even  General 
Wayne  had  fallen  off,  and  now  "  looked  dressed  in  character  for  Macheath,  in 
a  dingey  red  coat,  with  a  black  rusty  cravat  and  tarnished  hat." 


634  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

ing  him  they  would  make  way  for  another,  whose  character  they 
would  have  to  learn,  and  who  might  be  abler. 

On  March  20  Washington  consulted  all  his  General  officers 
in  camp  as  to  whether  to  attempt  the  recovery  of  Philadelphia  or 
New  York  ?  or  to  wait  for  the  British  to  move  first  ?  Just  as  he 
did  this,  he  learned  that  the  cabal  was  at  an  end.  Conway  had 
shown  great  insubordination  after  the  Canadian  expedition  was 
given  up,  and  had  again  resigned.  This  time  Congress  at  once 
accepted.  Conway  tried  to  retract — he  had  been  misunderstood, 
through  some  "  orthographical  or  grammatical "  mistake — he  was  an 
Irishman  and  had  learned  his  English  in  France.  But  Congress 
would  not  keep  him  now  on  any  terms.  By  this  time  it  was  ashamed 
of  the  way  it  had  treated  Washington.  Conway  went  about  abusing 
the  Commander-in-Chief,  till  he  was  called  to  account  by  General 
Cadwallader,  and  was  severely  wounded  in  the  duel  which  followed. 
Believing  that  his  end  was  near,  he  wrote  to  Washington  to  express 
his  "sincere  grief  for  having  done,  written,  or  said  anything  dis- 
agreeable to  your  Excellency.  .  .  .  You  are  in  my  eyes  the  great  and 
good  man."  He  did  not  die,  but  his  position  had  become  very 
disagreeable,  as  everybody  had  turned  against  him,  and  he  soon 
went  back  to  France. 

One  dangerous  man  was  thus  removed  from  American  counsels, 
but  another  far  more  dangerous  was  about  to  return.  General 
Lee  had  been  liberated  last  Christmas  Day  (by  the  King's  express 
order),  on  parole  not  to  leave  New  York.  Clinton  and  Robertson 
had  been  lending  him  horses,  and  had  been  extremely  friendly. 
Late  in  March  he  was  taken  to  Philadelphia,  with  an  understanding 
that  he  would  soon  be  exchanged.  On  the  5th  of  April  he  was 
allowed  to  visit  the  camp  at  Valley  Forge,  and  on  the  9th  he 
went  to  Congress  at  Yorktown.  He  was  here  when  his  exchange 
for  General  Prescot  was  finally  arranged,  and  he  rejoined  the  army 
at  Valley  Forge  on  the  20th  of  May.1  It  was  afterwards  said  that 
he  owed  his  release  to  a  letter  which  Sir  Joseph  Yorke — our 
Ambassador  at  the  Hague — wrote  to  Eden — that  from  what  he 
had  seen  and  known  of  Lee,  he  was  convinced  he  was  the  worst 
present  that  could  be  made  to  any  army.  "It  is  impossible  but 
Lee  must  puzzle  everything  he  meddles  in." 

Gates  was  to  be  sent  north,  but  to  do  nothing  against  New 
York  without  consulting  the  Commander-in-Chief! 

The  rough  drafts  of  the  Conciliatory  Bills  reached  Tryon 
in  New  York   about   the   middle   of  April.     FitzPatrick  did   not 

1  Ethan  Allen  was  exchanged  at  the  same  time.  He  shortly  after  went 
home  to  Vermont,  and  took  no  further  part  in  the  war. 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA     635 

exaggerate  the  indignation  of  the  army.  It  had  been  led  to  expect 
20,000  men  at  least.  Instead  of  this  there  was  to  be  a  general 
pardon,  and  everything  conceded !  And  a  French  fleet  setting 
out  from  Toulon ! 

The  army  in  Philadelphia  was  not  less  angry,  especially  when 
it  was  known  that  Sir  William  Howe  was  going  home.  Howe 
had  long  wished  to  resign.  He  had  been  deeply  offended  by  the 
cold,  dry  tone  of  Germaine's  letters  after  his  successes  in  the 
autumn,  and  after  Donop's  disaster  he  had  asked  leave  to  resign. 
He  now  found  that  he  was  to  be  made  a  scapegoat  for  Burgoyne's 
misfortunes,  and  he  insisted  on  being  allowed  to  come  home  and 
defend  himself. 

The  winter  in  Philadelphia  had  been  gay.  The  officers 
subscribed  for  a  house  where  they  could  play  faro  and  give 
weekly  balls.  There  were  private  theatricals,  and  Captain  Andre, 
an  accomplished  young  gentleman,  Swiss  by  birth,  painted  a 
curtain  for  the  stage.  Sometimes  the  limit  of  decorum  was  over- 
passed— as  when  an  English  girl,  a  colonel's  mistress,  drove 
down  the  line  at  a  review  dressed  in  the  colours  of  her  protector's 
regiment.  Howe  had  regained  all  his  old  popularity — his  kindness 
of  heart  and  personal  bravery  more  than  atoned  for  his  self- 
indulgence  and  want  of  dignity.  When  the  army  learned  that  he 
had  solicited  and  obtained  his  recall,  they  resolved  to  give  him  a 
magnificent  farewell.  The  Tories  of  Philadelphia  vied  with  the  British 
officers  in  making  it  the  most  splendid  entertainment  ever  given 
by  an  army  to  its  General.  It  was  called  the  Meschianza,  because 
it  was  a  little  of  everything — a  regatta  on  the  Delaware,  a  proces- 
sion beneath  triumphal  arches,  a  tournament,  a  display  of  fireworks, 
and  a  ball.  The  tournament  was,  as  far  as  Captain  Andre  could 
make  it,  a  faithful  copy  of  a  mediaeval  joust — except  that  the 
selection  of  a  Queen  of  Beauty  was  prudently  omitted.  But  the 
rest  was  in  order  —  the  White  Knights  of  the  Blended  Rose 
challenged  all  and  sundry  to  show  that  their  ladies  were  not  the 
fairest  and  wittiest  in  the  whole  world,  and  the  Black  Knights  of 
the  Burning  Mountain  took  up  the  challenge  on  behalf  of  their 
own  ladies — Captain  Andr£  appearing  in  honour  of  Miss  Peggy 
Chew.  They  tilted,  then  fought  with  swords ;  but  before  any 
harm  was  done,  the  Marshal  of  the  Field  stopped  them  in  the 
Ladies'  name,  and  told  them  they  had  done  enough  for  glory. 
Then  all  the  knights  rode  under  the  triumphal  arches — one 
erected  to  the  General,  one  to  the  Admiral.  The  ball  followed, 
and  in  the  middle  of  the  ball  the  fireworks,  with  twenty  "great 
set-pieces,"    the    last    of    which     represented     military    trophies, 


636  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Chinese  fountains,  and  on  the  top  the  figure  of  Fame  blowing 
Sir  William  Howe's  great  deeds  about  the  world.  After  this 
they  all  went  to  supper  in  a  magnificent  saloon  hung  with  "56 
large  pier-glasses,  ornamented  with  green  silk  artificial  flowers  and 
ribands,"  with  innumerable  lights,  and  twenty-four  black  slaves  bend- 
ing to  the  ground  as  the  General  and  Admiral  approached.  The 
supper  consisted  of  1200  dishes,  the  King's  health  was  drunk  to 
a  flourish  of  trumpets,  and  the  ball  was  kept  up  till  four  next 
morning.  It  was  the  grandest  spectacle  ever  seen  in  Philadelphia, 
and  was  given  in  honour  of  a  General  who  was,  for  the  second 
time,  about  to  evacuate  a  chief  town  of  the  enemy.1 

A  fortnight  before  there  had  been  a  "  military  fete  "  at  Valley 
Forge,  to  celebrate  the  ratification  of  the  French  Treaty.  There 
was  a  solemn  Thanksgiving  by  the  chaplains  at  the  head  of  each 
brigade ;  a  parade  and  a  feu  de  joie,  with  shouts  for  the  King  of 
France.  Washington  dined  in  public  with  all  his  officers.  When 
he  retired  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  he  received  an  ovation  which 
lasted  while  he  rode  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

The  Meschianza  was  on  May  18;  on  the  24th  Howe  bade 
his  army  a  sorrowful  farewell  —  Knyphausen  was  so  affected 
that  he  could  not  finish  his  speech.  Howe  went  down  the 
Delaware  in  the  Admiral's  barge,  and  left  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to 
carry  out  the  evacuation  which  had  been  finally  arranged  that  very 
day  by  a  Council  of  War. 

The  Commissioners  were  drawing  near  to  the  shores  of 
America,    after    a    somewhat    anxious    voyage.2     They    compared 

1  "  I  fear  it  was  a  very  foolish  business,  though  I  believe  it  owed  its  birth  to  our 
relation  Sir  John  Wrotsley.  ...  I  only  know  there  were  triumphal  arches,  and 
that  General  Washinton  was  within  twenty-four  miles  of  them,  and  that  Lord 
Howe  saluted  Sir  W.  Howe,  and  Sir  W.  Howe  saluted  Lord  Howe,  and  that 
it  cost  above  four  thousands,  and  everybody  paid,  whether  they  could  afford  it 
or  not." — Carlisle  to  Lady  Carlisle,  Philadelphia,  June  27,  1778.  {Historical 
MSS.  Comm.  Report  XV,  Appendix,  Pt.  vi.  p.  341.  MSS.  of  the  Earl  of 
Carlisle. ) 

Judge  Jones  says  of  the  Meschianza:  "  A  triumphal  raree  show  laughed  at 
by  one-half  of  the  army,  ridiculed  by  the  inhabitants,  damned  by  the  loyalists, 
and  made  a  mockery  of  by  the  rebels." 

2  On  the  voyage  it  was  discovered  one  morning  that  an  attempt  had  been 
made  to  cut  "two  of  the  most  material  ropes  in  the  ship.  If  it  had  not  been 
found  out  till  the  wind  began  to  blow,  the  consequences  would  have  been 
that  the  mainmast  would  have  come  down,  and  when  covered  with  men." 
;£ioo  was  offered  in  vain  for  discovery  of  the  offender ;  "only  the  villain  must 
have  been  an  experienced  sailor.  ...  So  we  had  the  comfort  of  sailing  with 
perhaps  another  John  the  Painter  on  board."  Carlisle  thought,  however,  that 
the  object  was  probably  merely  to  delay  their  arrival.  "  He  could  not  endanger 
us  without  sharing  the  danger,  which  always  inclined  me  to  think  that  he  did 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA     637 

very  unfavourably  with  Lord  Howe.  The  Earl  of  Carlisle  was 
an  unthrifty1  young  man  of  fashion,  who  had  written  a  book 
of  polite  verses,  and  moved  the  Address  to  the  King  denounc- 
ing the  Americans  as  rebels  and  traitors.  Eden,  Under  Secretary 
of  State  to  Suffolk,  had  said  a  few  weeks  before  in  the  House 
of  Commons  that  he  would  not  deign  to  enquire  where  a  vagrant 
Congress  was  to  be  found.  Johnstone,  ex-Governor  of  Florida, 
was  a  Captain  in  the  Navy,  once  a  violent  opponent  of  North's 
India  Bills,  but  lately  a  strong  opponent  of  independence,  and 
accused  of  playing  for  the  ;£ioo  per  diem  which  the  Commis- 
sioners were  to  receive. 

The  Trident,  with  the  Commissioners  on  board,  arrived  in 
the  Delaware  on  the  4th  of  June,  and  found  the  army  already 
packing  up  to  be  gone.2  Three  thousand  Tories  were  embarked 
on  the  ships — fleeing  from  the  vengeance  of  their  countrymen; 
everything  was  in  confusion,  and  the  city  in  consternation.  The 
Tories  were  urging  Clinton  to  go  out  and  fight  Washington — 
10,000  would  arm  in  this  province,  and  10,000  in  the  lower 
counties,  the  moment  the  British  took  the  field.  Johnstone's 
anger  became  furious  when  he  found  that  Eden  had  brought 
out  peremptory  orders  for  Philadelphia  to  be  evacuated  five 
days  after  the  Trident  should  arrive,  and  his  anger  rose  higher 
still  when  he  discovered  that  this  order  had  been  signed  three 
weeks  before  the  Trident  sailed  !  He  accused  Eden  of  duplicity. 
Eden  protested  he  did  not  know  the  contents  of  the  packet 
he  carried.      Johnstone  all  but  refused  to  believe  that  an  Under 

not  mean  so  ill  as  some  were  of  opinion  he  did." — Lord  Carlisle  to  Lady  Carlisle. 
On  board  the  Trident,  June  4,  1778.  {Hist.  MSS.  Comtn.  MSS.  of  the  Earl 
of  Carlisle,  p.  336. ) 

1  Carlisle's  embarrassments,  however,  were  not  all  his  own  fault.  He  was 
a  collateral  security  for  Charles  Fox  when  his  father  paid  his  debts,  and  had 
signed  "joint-bonds,"  to  his  own  great  inconvenience.  His  private  letters 
give  a  far  more  favourable  view  of  him  than  his  public  utterances.  He  was 
an  intimate  friend  of  George  Selwyn,  who  tried  in  vain  to  make  Fox  pay. 

2  They  seem  to  have  packed  up  a  good  deal  more  than  they  brought  with 
them.  Dr.  Franklin's  library  had  been  left  in  the  city.  Du  Simitiere,  who 
was  intimate  with  Andre,  hoped  to  get  him  to  protect  the  library  and  other 
public  institutions.  He  found  Andre  in  the  doctor's  library  packing  up  books 
— in  particular  a  splendid  work  which  had  been  left  in  the  Doctor's  keeping — 
The  Notitia  of  the  Chinese,  in  24  vols. ,  edited  by  the  Jesuits  in  China,  and 
superbly  bound.  It  was  a  present  from  Louis  xvi  to  the  Philosophical  Society 
of  Philadelphia.  Du  Simitiere  said  he  was  confounded  at  seeing  this,  and  tried 
to  rouse  Andre  to  a  sense  of  the  turpitude  of  his  action,  by  telling  him  of  the 
honourable  conduct  of  Gen.  Knyphausen,  who  had  occupied  Gen.  Cadwallader's 
house,  and  had  caused  an  inventory  to  be  taken,  and  was  now  examining  it. 
But  he  spoke  in  vain — the  books  were  removed. — Recollections  of  Deborah  Logan. 


638  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Secretary  of  State,  "a  confidential  man,  too,"  had  received 
no  inkling  of  such  an  intention  during  three  whole  weeks.1  He 
insisted  on  Eden's  signing  a  declaration  of  his  ignorance.  It 
was  no  wonder  Johnstone  was  angry — 19,000  men  were  reduced 
to  such  inactivity  by  less  than  9000  Americans  at  Valley  Forge, 
that  the  British  Government  thought  the  best  thing  they  could  do 
was  to  return  to  New  York  ! 

Carlisle  was  no  less  astounded.  He  wrote  to  his  wife :  "  We 
begin  to  look  upon  our  business  as  desperate."  Even  when  he 
learned  that  the  evacuation  was  part  of  a  new  plan — for  a 
Southern  Expedition — he  was  but  little  reassured.  "We  all 
look  very  grave,"  he  wrote,  u  and  perhaps  we  think  we  look  very 
wise.  I  fear  nobody  will  think  so  when  we  return."2  He  must 
have  been  somewhat  conciliatory  in  his  manners,  for  he  expresses 
his  "distress"  at  coming  into  the  house  where  he  had  his 
quarters  without  asking  the  owner's  leave.  But  it  was  an 
ill-starred  Commission,  and  any  chance  it  ever  had  was  presently 
to  be  destroyed  by  Johnstone.  Meanwhile  the  preparations  for 
departure  were  being  pushed  on — the  first  thing  the  Commission 
had  to  do  was  to  run  away. 

It  was  not  till  three  in  the  morning  of  the  18th  that  the 
army  marched  over  the  Commons,  and  crossed  the  Delaware 
at  Gloucester  Point,  Admiral  Howe  protecting  their  passage. 
Clinton  had  not  many  more  than  10,000  men  with  him — 5000 
had  been  sent  to  the  West  Indies  to  take  part  in  a  sudden 
descent  on  the  French  islands;  3000  had  gone  to  Florida,  and 
the  cavalry  and  heavy  baggage  had  been  shipped  with  the 
provision  train  to  New  York.  But  he  was  still  encumbered  by  an 
enormous  quantity  of  officers'  baggage,  and,  warned  by  Burgoyne's 
fate,  he  took  with  him  an  immense  supply  of  provisions,  and  as 
there  was  only  one  road  for  wheels,  the  line  of  his  waggons 
extended  nearly  twelve  miles.  He  found  all  the  bridges  broken 
down,  "in  a  country  much  intersected  with  marshy  rivulets"; 
and  the  excessive  heat  made  repairing  them  very  laborious. 

1  See  Lord  Carlisle's  letter,  and  Johnstone's  speeches  in  Parliament  on  his 
return. 

2  Letter  to  Lady  Carlisle,  of  June  14.  He  also  wrote  to  Gower :  "When 
we  found  that  the  abandoning  this  part  of  the  country,  and  leaving  Gen. 
Washinton  {sic)  without  endeavouring  to  bring  him  to  action,  and  the 
retiring  before  him  through  the  Jerseys  to  N[ew]  Y[ork],  was  only  to  expedite 
a  plan  I  dare  not  hint  at  from  motives  of  prudence,  we  were  not  only 
astounded  but  extremely  alarmed  for  the  fate  of  our  Commission." — Carlisle 
to  Lord  Gower,  Philadelphia,  June  1778.  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  MSS.  of  the 
Earl  of  Carlisle.) 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA     639 

Washington  was  perfectly  aware  that  the  British  were  pre- 
paring to  evacuate.  He  believed  that  Clinton  would  take  the 
route  through  Jersey.  Lee  tried  to  persuade  him  the  enemy 
had  quite  another  plan — perhaps  to  go  into  the  interior  of 
Pennsylvania,  or  the  lower  Susquehanna,  so  as  to  be  able  "to 
feed  the  Indian  war"  now  broken  out  on  the  western  frontier. 
He  did  not  believe  they  would  shut  themselves  up  in  towns  any 
more — he  had  particular  reasons  for  thinking  they  might  cast 
their  eyes  on  the  lower  counties  of  Delaware  and  Maryland. 
This  time,  however,  Washington  did  not  encourage  him  to  air 
his  opinions — mischievous  consequences  might  result  from  officers 
reprobating  measures  which  might  be  found  unavoidable.  He 
called  a  Council  of  War.  Lee  was  very  strong  against  any 
attack  — "  He  would  make  a  bridge  of  gold  for  the  enemy." 
They  were  nearly  equal  in  numbers,  and  far  better  disciplined 
— an  attack  would  endanger  the  cause;  we  must  not  run  the 
risk  of  a  defeat  at  the  moment  of  making  a  foreign  alliance. 
He  was  for  following  and  watching  the  enemy,  to  prevent  their 
committing  any  excesses.  In  fact,  he  talked  precisely  as 
Washington  had  talked  when  his  force  did  not  warrant  his 
fighting.  But  in  those  days  Lee  had  strongly  reprobated  such 
prudence  as  the  mark  of  a  vacillating  mind — almost  more 
dangerous  than  cowardice  itself.  Now  the  roles  were  changed 
— Washington  was  for  fighting,  Lee  for  playing  Fabius.  It  is, 
however,  fair  to  say  that  most  of  the  American  and  foreign 
officers  agreed  with  Lee.  Washington  asked  for  their  opinions 
in  writing.  Before  he  could  receive  them  he  heard  that 
Philadelphia  was  evacuated,  and  instantly  sent  Arnold — who 
was  still  unfit  for  more  active  service — to  take  command  of  the 
city.  Maxwell's  brigade  was  ordered  to  harass  Clinton's  march. 
And  on  the  24th  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware  with  his  main 
army. 

Clinton  was  advancing  very  slowly.  His  object  was  to  keep 
Washington  as  long  as  possible  in  doubt  as  to  his  route — 
whether  he  was  going  to  the  left,  through  Brunswick,  to  Staten 
Island,  or  to  the  right,  by  Freehold  and  Monmouth,  to  Sandy 
Hook.  Washington  followed  him  up,  and  sent  Morgan  with 
600  men  to  reinforce  Maxwell.  The  weather  was  intensely  hot, 
with  heavy  rains. 

About  five  miles  from  Princeton,  while  the  troops  rested, 
Washington  called  another  Council.  Lee  was  still  against  a 
general  action — he  was  not  even  for  sending  forward  so  large 
a  force  to  harass  the  enemy.     Greene,  Lafayette,  and  Wayne  now 


640  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

gave  their  opinion  in  writing  for  a  strong  attack  on  Clinton's 
rear,  while  the  main  army  held  itself  in  readiness  for  a  general 
engagement  if  that  should  seem  advisable.  As  this  was  Washing- 
ton's own  wish,  he  acted  upon  it,  and  sent  1500  chosen  troops, 
under  Scott,  to  reinforce  the  others. 

Clinton  reached  Allen's  Town  on  the  25th.  He  knew  that 
Washington  had  crossed  the  Delaware,  and  had  heard  that  Gates 
was  advancing  to  join  him  at  the  Raritan.  He  thought  it  likely 
that  Washington  would  attack  his  vulnerable  part — his  baggage, 
if  he  attempted  to  pass  the  Raritan.  He  therefore  turned  sud- 
denly to  the  right,  into  the  Freehold  road. 

As  soon  as  Washington  knew  this,  he  sent  another  thousand 
men  under  Wayne  towards  Monmouth  Court  House.  Lee  was 
to  have  led  the  advance,  but  he  was  so  strongly  opposed  to  an 
attack  that  Lafayette  entreated  to  have  the  command.  Washing- 
ton consented — provided  Lee  was  satisfied.  Lee  professed  to 
be  glad  to  be  freed  from  all  responsibility  for  a  movement  which 
he  was  sure  would  fail,  and  Lafayette  set  out  the  same  day  to 
join  the  force  already  sent  forward  under  Scott.  That  evening 
Washington  marched  from  Kingston  (where  he  left  his  baggage), 
and  reached  Cranberry  early  next  morning.  The  intense  heat 
and  a  great  storm  prevented  their  going  farther  that  day,  but  the 
advanced  corps  took  post  that  evening  on  the  Monmouth  road, 
about  five  miles  from  the  British  rear. 

Lafayette  was  hardly  gone  when  Lee  wrote  to  Washington, 
asking  for  the  command  back  again — he  had  agreed  to  the  change 
because  he  did  not  know  the  detachment  was  to  be  so  strong — he 
thought  it  was  fitter  for  "a  young  volunteering  general "  than  for  a 
veteran.  But  he  now  found  it  would  be  6000  men  at  least — a 
command  next  to  that  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  himself.  So,  if 
the  detachment  marched,  he  begged  to  command  it — adding  that 
he  did  not  think  it  ought  to  march;  with  much  more  unasked 
advice  to  his  superior  officer.  Washington  was  in  a  dilemma — the 
command  was  Lee's  by  right,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  wound  La- 
fayette. Clinton,  however,  now  changed  the  order  of  his  march,  and 
sent  on  his  waggons  under  Knyphausen,  putting  his  best  troops  in 
the  rear  with  Cornwallis.1  Clinton  had  sat  that  day  on  a  stone  for 
an  hour,  watching  his  baggage  as  it  passed,  and  debating  with  him- 
self whether  he  had  not  better  destroy  it,  so  likely  did  he  think  it 
that  the  Americans  would  capture  it.2     This  change  in  Clinton's 

1  Cornwallis  had  now  returned. 

2  Anburey  says  that  Clinton  told  Commissary  Clark  of  Boston  this — and 
desired  him  to  tell  Phillips  that  he  fought  at  Monmouth  "upon  velvet— he  will 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA     641 

dispositions  obliged  Washington  to  strengthen  his  own  advance,  by 
despatching  Lee  with  two  brigades  to  support  Lafayette.  This 
gave  the  command  of  the  whole  advance  (about  5000  men)  to  Lee, 
as  senior  Major-General.  Washington  wrote  to  Lafayette  to  explain 
the  matter,  and  Lee  took  over  the  command  on  the  27th.  That 
evening  Clinton  encamped  on  high  ground  near  Monmouth  Court 
House,  with  Lee  about  five  miles  off. 

Towards  sunset  Washington  reconnoitred  his  position.1  It 
was  strong — protected  by  woods  and  morasses;  but  Washington 
suspected  Clinton's  design  was  to  decoy  him  into  the  lower  country, 
and  then  by  a  rapid  movement  gain  the  American  right,  and  take 
the  strong  ground  above.  It  was  better  to  attack  him  here — if  he 
once  reached  Middletown,  ten  or  twelve  miles  farther  on,  there  would 
be  no  hope  of  success.  He  resolved  to  attack  the  rear  early  in  the 
morning — the  moment  the  British  front  should  begin  to  move.  He 
ordered  Lee,  in  the  presence  of  his  officers,  to  make  the  proper 
dispositions,  and  keep  his  men  lying  on  their  arms  all  night.  Before 
midnight,  fearing  Clinton  might  move  away  before  morning,  he  sent 
orders  to  Lee  to  detach  six  or  seven  hundred  men  to  watch  the 
British  rear,  and  hold  them  in  check  if  they  moved. 

About  five  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  Washington  learned  that 
the  British  had  begun  to  march.  He  instantly  put  his  army  in 
motion,  and  sent  orders  to  Lee  to  attack — "  unless  there  should  be 
very  powerful  reasons  to  the  contrary."  He  let  Lee  know  that  the 
whole  army  was  coming  to  support  him — marching  without  "  packs 
and  blankets,"  for  greater  speed. 

After  marching  about  five  miles,  and  hearing  a  little  firing, 
Washington  reached  Freehold  Meeting  House,  —  here  the  road 
forked,  and  Washington  ordered  Greene  to  the  right,  to  flank  the 
British  behind  Monmouth  Court  House.  He  himself  advanced  by 
the  left.  The  sound  of  cannon  could  now  be  heard.  While  he  was 
giving  Greene  his  orders,  a  countryman  rode  up  and  said  the 
Continental  troops  were  retreating.  Washington  was  provoked, 
but  did  not  believe  it.  Then  a  fifer  came  up  breathless  with  the 
same  tale.  Washington  had  him  put  under  arrest,  to  prevent  his 
spreading  an  alarm,  and  pushed  on.  Presently  he  met  other 
fugitives,  and  a  message  from  Lafayette  made  him  understand 
something  was  wrong  with  Lee.    And  now  he  met  regiment  after 

fully  understand  me."  See  also  a  curious  story  of  an  American  officer,  who,  as 
Sir  Henry  erroneously  believed,  attempted  to  speak  with  him  on  the  field.  The 
story  shows  that  Clinton  was  in  imminent  danger  of  capture. — Anburey,  ii.  341. 
1  "In  the  parting  of  the  roads  leading  to  Shrewsbury  and  Middletown." — 
Washington's  Despatch. 
VOL.  I. — 41 


642  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

regiment  of  Lee's  division,  some  in  disorder,  most  of  the  officers 
bewildered  and  angry — they  had  been  ordered  to  retreat,  they  did 
not  know  why — there  had  been  no  fighting,  only  a  slight  skirmish 
with  the  enemy's  cavalry,  which  had  been  repulsed.  A  Colonel 
came  up  at  the  head  of  his  regiment.  Washington  asked  him 
what  it  meant.  The  Colonel  smiled  significantly,  and  said  he 
retreated  by  order.  It  flashed  across  Washington's  mind  that  Lee 
meant  the  battle  to  be  lost.  He  galloped  forward  to  stop  the 
retreat,  meeting  more  regiments  and  more  angry  officers.  One  said 
with  an  oath  that  they  were  fleeing  from  a  shadow.  Washington 
galloped  on  to  stop  the  retreat.  At  a  rising  ground,  he  met  Lee 
himself,  with  the  rest  of  his  force,  in  full  retreat.  "  What  is  the 
meaning  of  this,  sir  ?  "  he  said  so  sternly  that  Lee  quailed  and  did 
not  answer.  Lafayette  said  that  Washington's  aspect  was  terrible. 
Washington  repeated  his  question.  Then  Lee  said  angrily  that  he 
was  not  disposed  to  beard  the  whole  British  army.  There  was  a 
short,  sharp  altercation,  and  then  Washington  ordered  Lee — if  he 
meant  to  retain  the  command — to  take  proper  measures  to  check 
the  enemy,  while  he  himself  re-formed  the  main  body  on  the  next 
height.  Lee  obeyed,  and  now  held  the  position  with  spirit. 
Washington  formed  with  the  British  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of 
him ;  Stirling  brought  up  cannon,  a  stand  was  made,  and  gave  time 
for  the  left  wing  to  form  a  second  line.  Greene  had  now  taken  a 
very  advantageous  position  on  the  right.  The  British  now  tried  to 
turn  the  American  left,  but  were  repulsed  by  detached  parties  of 
infantry.  They  then  tried  to  turn  the  left,  without  success,  as 
Greene  had  advanced  a  body  of  troops  "  to  a  commanding  piece  of 
ground."  Then  Wayne  advanced,  and  kept  up  so  well-directed  a 
fire  that  the  British  retired  behind  the  defile  where  the  first  stand 
had  been  made.  The  British  now  had  both  flanks  secured  by 
"thick  woods  and  morasses,"  and  their  front  could  only  be 
approached  through  a  narrow  defile.  But  Washington  resolved  to 
attack,  and  sent  Poore  to  move  round  the  British  right,  and  Wood- 
ford round  their  left;  but  it  was  dark  before  they  could  get 
round. 

This  is  Washington's  account,  given  in  his  letter  to  Congress. 
Sir  Henry  Clinton's  may  be  compared  with  it.  He  says  that  as  his 
rear-guard  descended  from  the  heights  above  Freehold  to  the  long 
narrow  plain,1  several  columns  of  the  enemy  descended  also,  and 
began  to  cannonade  his  rear.  At  the  same  moment  he  learned  the 
enemy  had  been  discovered  marching  in  force  on  both  his  flanks — 

1  "Near  three  miles  in  length,  and  about  one  mile  in  breadth."     Clinton 
says  Washington's  army  was  "estimated  "  at  about  20,000. 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA     643 

there  were  two  defiles  between.  Lafayette's  cavalry  "  fell  back  in 
confusion  on  their  own  infantry,  when  the  Queen's  Light  Dragoons 
charged."  Thinking  a  general  action  might  ensue,  Clinton  sent  to 
Knyphausen  for  a  brigade  of  British  and  the  1 7  th  Light  Dragoons,  and 
posted  them  to  cover  his  right  flank,  but  "  before  I  could  advance, 
the  enemy  fell  back,  and  took  a  strong  position  on  the  heights 
above  Freehold  Court  House."  The  heat  was  intense,  and  his  men 
were  already  fatigued,  "  but  our  circumstances  obliged  us  to  make 
a  vigorous  exertion."  The  enemy  gave  way  immediately,  the 
second  line  stood  the  attack  "  with  more  obstinacy,  but  were  like- 
wise completely  routed.  They  then  took  a  third  position,  with  a 
marshy  hollow  in  front,  over  which  it  would  have  been  scarcely 
possible  to  have  attacked  them.  By  this  time  our  men  were  so 
overpowered  with  fatigue,  that  I  could  press  the  affair  no 
farther." 

Both  armies  lay  on  the  field  that  night — both  equally  exhausted 
by  the  extreme  heat,  and  the  marches  through  "a  deep  sandy 
country,"  almost  destitute  of  water.  Washington  intended  to  renew 
the  action  in  the  morning,  but  about  midnight  Clinton  "took 
advantage  of  the  moonlight "  to  rejoin  Knyphausen,  who  had  gone 
on.  He  withdrew  so  quietly  that  Poore,  lying  extremely  near,  did 
not  perceive  it.  In  his  despatch  Clinton  says  much  of  the  fatigue 
of  his  troops,  and  claims  .as  "  sufficient  honour  "  for  them  that  they 
"forced  a  corps  of  near  12,000  men  from  two  strong  positions, 
under  such  disadvantages  of  heat  and  fatigue,  that  a  great  part  of 
those  we  lost  fell  dead  as  they  advanced,  without  a  wound." 1 

Before  he  reached  New  York,  on  July  3,  he  had  lost  2000  men 
in  all — killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  but  most  of  all  desertions  of 
the  Hessians. 

Lafayette  says  of  this  affair,  "  Washington  seemed  in  a  moment 
to  stay  the  fortune  of  the  day — he  was  never  greater  than  in  this 
action." 

1  Clinton  puts  his  loss  in  action  at  4  officers,  4  sergeants,  60  rank  and  file 
killed ;  3  sergeants,  40  rank  and  file  died  of  fatigue  ;  1 5  officers,  7  sergeants, 
137  rank  and  file  wounded ;  3  sergeants,  61  rank  and  file  missing.  One 
German  was  killed,  and  1 1  rank  and  file  died  of  fatigue ;  1 1  were  wounded. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Monckton  fell  as  he  led  the  Grenadiers  against  Wayne. 
Washington  says  his  men  found  4  officers  and  about  40  privates  too  badly 
wounded  to  be  carried  off  the  field ;  and  buried  4  officers— of  whom  Colonel 
Monckton  was  one — and  245  privates.  Washington  had  7  officers,  I  sergeant, 
52  rank  and  file  killed  ;  and  23  officers,  2  sergeants,  I  drummer,  and  126  rank 
and  file  wounded;  with  more  than  126  missing — many  of  the  missing  had 
"  dropped  through  fatigue,  and  have  since  come  in."  Besides  this,  the  artillery 
lost  2  officers  killed,  and  several  men  killed  or  wounded. 


644  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

Lee  tried  to  take  a  high  tone.  In  a  letter  written  on  June  29, 
but  misdated  July  1,  he  said  he  had  been  cruelly  wronged — the 
expressions  Washington  had  used  to  him  implied  he  had  been 
guilty  of  disobedience  to  orders,  want  of  conduct,  or  want  of 
courage.  Which  was  it  ?  Unless  he  could  obtain  some  reparation 
he  must  retire  from  the  service  at  the  head  of  which  was  a  man 
capable  of  offering  such  injuries.  But  he  did  not  think  Washington 
would  have  acted  thus,  if  he  were  not  instigated  by  "  dirty  earwigs." 
Washington  sternly  replied  that  Lee  should  have  an  opportunity  of 
justifying  himself  to  Congress,  to  America,  and  the  world  in  general 
— or  of  convincing  them  that  he  had  disobeyed  orders,  and  made 
an  unnecessary,  disorderly,  and  shameful  retreat,  on  the  28th. 
Lee  wrote  a  second  and  insolent  rejoinder,  intimating  he  would 
retire.  A  day  or  two  after  he  demanded  a  court-martial.  The 
court-martial  sat  many  times,  and  examined  many  witnesses,  and 
the  case  appeared  a  little  less  black,  inasmuch  as  the  British  rear 
had  been  largely  reinforced  by  troops  from  Knyphausen.  But  the 
Court  found  that  he  had  "  disobeyed  orders,  and  made  an  unneces- 
sary and  in  some  instances  a  disorderly  retreat " — the  word  "  shame- 
ful "  was  omitted.  Also  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  disrespect  to 
the  Commander-in-Chief  in  two  letters.1  He  was  sentenced  to  be 
suspended  from  all  command  for  two  years. 

Thus  ended  the  enigmatical  career  of  an  enigmatical  character. 
Apart  from  the  document  found  among  the  Howe  Papers,  there  is 
no  absolute  proof  that  he  was  a  traitor  ;  but  what  honest  man  ever 
had  the  misfortune  to  seem  one  so  often  as  Lee  ?  It  is  certain  that 
his  neglect  to  obey  Washington's  orders  in  November,  1776,  was 
wilful;  but  it  probably  proceeded  from  no  deeper  treachery  than 
the  hope  of  supplanting  Washington  in  the  supreme  command — 
his  letters  leave  no  doubt  of  that  intention,  and  very  little  of  the 
lengths  to  which  he  was  prepared  to  go  to  compass  his  end.  At 
first  sight  his  capture  looks  like  a  planned  thing.  It  is,  however, 
certain  that  he  was  in  a  state  of  abject  terror  at  the  moment  of 
capture — had  he  retained  his  presence  of  mind  he  might  possibly 
have  escaped.  It  is  also  certain  that  he  was  for  some  time  in 
imminent  danger  of  being  hanged  as  a  deserter  from  the  British 
Army.  George  in  was  vindictive  where  the  royal  prerogative  was 
concerned,  and  until  the  surprise  of  Trenton  placed  so  many 
German  officers  in  Washington's  power  Lee  cannot  have  felt  safe. 
But  Washington's  stern  threat  of  reprisals  made  even  the  King 

1  Lee  misdated  both  these  letters — the  first,  written  on  June  29,  was  dated 
July  1  ;  the  second,  written  in  answer  to  Washington's  reply,  was  dated 
June  28 ! 


THE  EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA     645 

pause.1  And  when  German  officers  were  endangered,  the  case 
was  worse.  If  a  Hessian  Colonel  had  been  hanged  because  King 
George  would  not  forego  vengeance  on  Lee,  not  only  would  there 
have  been  an  instant  end  to  German  levies,  but  the  King  would 
have  had  to  reckon  with  Frederick. 

It  is  difficult  to  measure  the  loss  to  America  caused  by  Lee's 
disobedience  in  1776.  If,  under  such  enormous  disadvantages, 
Washington  was  able  to  accomplish  the  Surprise  of  Trenton,  what 
might  he  not  have  done  if  he  could  have  made  the  stand  he 
intended  at  Brunswick  ?  And  if  the  Battle  of  Freehold  was  drawn 
in  spite  of  Lee's  failure  to  carry  out  Washington's  orders,  it  would 
almost  certainly  have  been  a  victory  if  Lee  had  done  his  part. 
His  sudden  caution  is  in  itself  suspicious — he  was  always  merciless 
to  Washington's  enforced  caution,  and  if  he  had  intended  to  lose 
the  battle  he  could  have  done  no  other  than  he  did — sending  La- 
fayette to  cross  the  plain  under  fire — then  ordering  him  to  retire, 
then  retiring  himself  and  letting  Cornwallis  attack  him.  The  most 
curious  thing  about  Lee  is  the  contrast  between  his  words  and  his 
deeds.  He  talked  like  a  fire-eater,  but  as  often  as  it  came  to 
action  his  nerve  invariably  failed  him.  It  was  fortunate  for 
America  that  it  was  so,  whether  we  regard  him  as  a  deliberate 
traitor,  or  only  as  a  man  reckless  in  planning  what  he  wanted 
resolution  to  carry  out. 

His  temper  was  so  bad  that  it  was  described  by  those  who 
knew  him  as  "insane";  and  we  might  have  concluded — as  most 
Americans  did  conclude  at  the  time — that  he  was  an  eccentric, 
disappointed  man,  so  impatient  and  quarrelsome  as  to  be  im- 
possible as  a  leader.  But  the  discovery  among  the  Howe  Papers 
sheds  another  light  on  him — although  here,  too,  we  find  the  same 
curious  failure  when  it  comes  to  action.  He  never  carried  out  any 
of  his  schemes. 

We  can  better  judge  of  the  extreme  suspiciousness  of  Lee's 
whole  conduct  if  we  compare  it  with  that  of  Gates.  Gates'  career 
is  far  from  satisfactory — his  intrigues  against  Washington  were  to 
the  last  degree  discreditable.  He  so  entirely  forgot  self-respect  in 
addressing  Congress,  that  Congress  voted  he  should  not  be 
permitted  to  address  it  in  person  a  second  time.  On  the  19th  of 
September,  by  refusing  to  order  an  attack  earlier  in  the  day,  he 
prevented  that  action  from  being  even  more  decisive  than  that  of 
the  7th  of  October.  It  was  Arnold,  not  Gates,  who  won  the  battle 
of  the  7th.     Unlike  Washington,  who  was  always  himself  on  the 

1  North  frankly  admitted  in  the  House  that  nothing  but  this  consideration 
saved  the  life  of  Ethan  Allen. 


646  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

field,  Gates  was  the  whole  day  at  his  headquarters.  But  who  ever 
suspected  Gates  of  not  wishing  to  defeat  Burgoyne?  Who  ever 
dreamed  that  his  underhand  intrigues  to  supplant  Washington 
covered  any  deeper  design  ?  What  parallel  is  there  in  Gates'  many 
indiscretions  to  Lee's  constant  correspondences  with  British  Generals  ? 
Gates  was  a  vain  and  ambitious  man ;  Lee  was  a  double-dealer, 
wavering  and  unstable  even  in  his  double-dealing;  and  if  the 
incriminating  document  is  genuine,  a  traitor  who,  if  his  nerve  had 
not  always  failed  him  at  the  critical  moment,  would  have  come 
down  to  posterity  as  another  and  more  successful  Arnold. 


CHAPTER   LXXIV 
THE  COMMISSIONERS :  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 

"  I  have  lately  been  told,  that  one  of  the  governors  in  America  made  objection 
to  the  Congress  because  some  of  them  sat  in  council  with  woollen  caps  on. 
How  inadequate,  then,  must  this  embassy  be,  where  a  noble  Lord,  bred  up  in 
all  the  softness  that  European  manners  make  fashionable  to  rank — I  say,  how 
inadequate  must  such  an  embassy  be  to  men  in  woollen  nightcaps  ! " —  The  Duke 
of  Richmond  on  Lord  Carlisle^  March  9,  1778. 

On  the  9th  of  June  Clinton  had  written  to  General  Washington, 
informing  him  of  the  arrival  of  the  Commissioners,  and  requesting 
a  passport  for  Dr.  Ferguson,  their  Secretary,  who  had  a  letter  for 
Congress.  Washington  replied  that  he  could  not  grant  a  passport 
until  the  pleasure  of  Congress  was  known.  Congress  was  debating 
on  this  when,  on  the  18th,  an  express  from  Washington  brought 
the  Letter  of  the  Commissioners. 

The  letter  was  read.  It  was  accompanied  by  the  late  Acts — 
"which,  as  they  passed  with  singular  unanimity,  will  sufficiently 
evince  the  disposition  of  Great  Britain."  It  was  addressed  to 
"His  Excellency  Henry  Laurens,  the  President,  and  other  the 
Members  of  Congress  " — in  itself  a  mighty  concession.  The  terms 
offered  were — 

A  cessation  of  hostilities  by  land  and  sea. 

The  restoration  of  free  intercourse  and  mutual  affection,  and  the 
renewal  of  the  common  benefits  of  naturalisation  throughout  the 
empire. 

The  extension  of  every  freedom  to  trade  that  our  respective 
interests  can  require. 

No  military  force  to  be  kept  up  in  America  without  the  consent 
of  the  general  Congress,  or  of  particular  Assemblies. 

Measures  to  be  taken  to  discharge  the  debts  of  America,  and  to 
raise  the  credit  of  the  paper  circulation. 

" Our  Union "  to  be  perpetuated  by  "a  reciprocal  deputation" 
of  Agents  from  the  several  States,  and  from  Great  Britain ;  such 
Agents  to  have  a  voice  and  a  seat  in  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain,  and  in  the  different  Assemblies,  respectively. 

647 


648  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

The  States  were  further  promised  "  every  privilege  that  is  short 
of  a  total  separation  of  interest." 

Then  came  a  paragraph  about  France.  ..."  We  cannot  help 
taking  notice  of  the  insidious  interposition  of  a  power,  which  has, 
from  the  first  settlement  of  these  Colonies,  been  actuated  with 
enmity  to  us  both " 

With  a  hint  that  "notwithstanding  the  pretended  date,  the  ' 
French  Treaty  was  made  in  consequence  of  the  plans  of  accommo- 
dation previously  concerted  in  Great  Britain,  and  with  a  view  to 
prevent  our  reconciliation ;  and  the  hope  that  the  inhabitants  of 
North  America  will  prefer  "a  firm,  free,  and  perpetual  coalition 
with  the  parent  state,  to  an  insincere  and  unnatural  foreign 
alliance." 

At  the  first  words  about  the  "  insidious  interposition  of  a  power," 
etc.,  Congress  refused  to  hear  more,  "because  of  the  offensive 
language  against  his  Most  Christian  Majesty."  It  was  not  till  the 
1 6th  that  it  made  up  its  mind  to  suffer  the  rest  to  be  read.  It 
merely  concerned  the  place  of  meeting  —  to  be  at  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Yorktown,  or  such  other  place  as  Congress  might 
propose  —  only  premising  that  his  Majesty's  instructions  to  the 
Commissioners  to  remove  from  the  immediate  seat  of  war  "may 
induce  us  speedily  to  remove  to  New  York."  The  last  paragraph 
ran :  "  If,  after  the  time  that  may  be  necessary  to  consider  of  the 
communication,  and  transmit  your  answer,  the  horrors  and  de- 
vastations of  war  should  continue,  we  call  God  and  the  world  to 
witness,  that  the  evils  which  must  follow  are  not  to  be  imputed  to 
Great  Britain." 

Next  day,  the  17th,  Congress  replied  that  nothing  but  its  desire 
to  prevent  the  further  effusion  of  blood  induced  it  to  read  a  paper 
containing  expressions  so  disrespectful  to  his  Most  Christian 
Majesty,  "  the  great  and  good  ally  of  these  States,"  or  to  consider 
propositions  so  derogatory  to  the  honour  of  an  independent  nation. 
The  Acts  of  Parliament,1  the  Commission  itself,  and  the  Letter,  all 
supposed  the  people  of  these  States  to  be  subjects  of  the  Crown  of 
Great  Britain.  Congress,  however,  informed  their  Excellencies 
that  it  was  "  inclined  to  peace,  notwithstanding  the  unjust  claims 
in  which  this  war  originated,  and  the  savage  manner  in  which  it 
hath  been  conducted."  It  was  willing  to  enter  upon  a  treaty  of 
peace  and  commerce,  "not  inconsistent  with  treaties  already 
subsisting,"  as  soon  as  the  King  of  Great  Britain  manifested  a 
sincere  desire  for  that  purpose — the  only  solid  proof  of  such  desire 

1  The  Acts  transmitted  were  the  Act  for  the  Repeal  of  the  Massachusetts 
Government  Act,  and  the  two  Conciliatory  Bills. 


THE  COMMISSIONERS  649 

being  the  acknowledgment  of  the   independence  of  these  States, 
and  the  withdrawing  his  fleet  and  army. 

On  that  very  same  17th  of  June  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette 
printed  letters  which  showed  that  Johnstone  had  tried  to 
open  a  private  correspondence  with  Laurens.  In  consequence 
of  this,  Congress,  on  the  9th  of  July,  ordered  all  Members  of 
Congress,  or  their  agents,  to  produce  all  letters  of  a  public 
nature  received  from  any  subject  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain. 
This  order  produced  a  number  of  letters  from  Johnstone  to 
Francis  Dana,  General  Reed,  Robert  Morris,  and  two  to  Laurens. 
These  letters  were  to  persuade  them  to  throw  over  the  French 
Treaty,  and  accept  the  terms  offered  by  the  Commissioners. 
Johnstone  suited  his  arguments  to  his  man — Dana  was  assured 
that  Dr.  Franklin  had  approved  the  present  articles,  that  France 
had  not  been  honest  with  them,  that  Spain  had  formally  dis- 
approved the  conduct  of  France,  and  that  "the  pamphlet  wrote 
by  Mr.  Pulteney"  (Johnstone's  brother)  had  opened  the  minds 
of  the  people  of  England  to  the  real  state  of  the  question. 
To  Reed  he  hinted  that  the  man  who  could  bring  about  a 
reconciliation  would  deserve  more  from  the  King  and  people 
"than  was  ever  yet  bestowed  on  human  kind."  To  Morris, 
he  said  that  Washington  and  the  President  had  a  right  to  every 
favour  that  a  grateful  nation  can  bestow  if  they  can  once  more 
"unite  our  interests."  Reed,  in  his  place  in  Congress,  said  that 
a  few  days  after  the  evacuation,  a  married  lady  of  character, 
having  connections  with  the  British  army,  sent  him  a  message 
to  come  to  her  on  business  that  could  not  be  committed  in 
writing;  that  he  went  to  her,  and  that  she  told  him  Johnstone 
had  expressed  the  most  favourable  sentiments  of  himself,  and 
particularly  wished  to  engage  him  to  promote  the  object  of 
the  Commission — viz.,  a  reunion.  That  he  might  have  ;£  10,000 
sterling,  and  any  office  in  the  Colonies.  To  which  Reed  said 
he  had  answered  that  he  "  was  not  worth  purchasing,  but,  such 
as  he  was,  the  King  of  Great  Britain  was  not  rich  enough 
to  do  it." 

The  Commissioners  made  a  fiasco  as  complete  as  Burgoyne's. 
It  was  said  of  them  at  their  coming  that  three  less  acceptable 
persons  could  not  have  been  selected,  except  the  King,  Germaine, 
and  North.  Johnstone's  letters  were  fatal.  Congress  resolved 
that  it  was  incompatible  with  its  honour  to  hold  any  manner 
of  correspondence  with  George  Johnstone,  Esq. ;  especially  to 
negotiate  with  him  State  affairs,  in  which  the  cause  of  liberty 
and   virtue    is    interested.      Johnstone    had    the    humiliation    of 


6$o  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

begging  Congress  to  negotiate  with  the  others,  if  it  would  not 
with  him.  Carlisle,  Eden,  and  Clinton  published  a  declaration 
to  the  effect  that  they  never  saw  the  letters,  nor  had  any 
knowledge  direct  or  indirect  of  them,  nor  of  the  conversation 
with  Reed,  till  they  learned  the  facts  in  the  newspapers.  Yet 
those  letters  had  been  laid  before  Clinton,  and  were  sent  by  his  and 
Galloway's  assistance.1 

The  Commissioners  went  on — as  Drayton  said — assailing 
Congress  with  words;  trying  to  persuade  the  Americans  that 
it  was  better  to  be  a  province  of  the  British  Empire  than  to 
be  a  nation.  In  one  foolish  Proclamation  after  another  they 
tried  to  convince  them  that  they  did  not,  could  not  want 
independence — all  they  could  possibly  want  was  offered  by 
Great  Britain.  They  went  into  minute  details  of  the  history 
of  the  French  Treaty,  and  its  "pretended  date," — as  though 
the  Americans  did  not  know  more  about  the  treaty  than 
they  did;  and  not  perceiving  that  these  frantic  efforts  to  detach 
America  from  France — even  now,  at  the  price  of  her  good  faith 
— showed  that  they  did  not  think  the  friendship  of  France  as 
worthless  as  they  said  it  was.  This  was  mere  blundering  folly — 
the  futile  argument  of  those  whose  case  is  incapable  of  valid 
defence.  They  made  a  greater  blunder  still,  when  Congress 
refused  to  hear  of  any  terms  which  did  not  begin  with 
Independence,  for  then  they  denied  the  authority  of  Congress 
to  decide  on  such  a  point,  and  demanded  that  the  Provincial 
Assemblies  should  be  consulted.  They  seemed  determined 
to  show  the  Americans  what  was  before  them  if  they  re- 
turned to  the  fold  of  George  m  and  Lord  North.  Congress 
replied  to  their  Appeal  to  the  People  by  an  Address,  which 
was  ordered  to  be  read  in  the  churches  of  all  denominations, 
immediately  after  divine  service.  It  briefly  recapitulated  the 
years  during  which  redress  was  refused,  and  the  defenceless 
condition  of  the  Colonies  at  the  beginning  of  the  war — "  without 

1  Galloway  was  very  indignant  at  Clinton's  retreat.  A  letter  from  him  to 
Ambrose  Serle,  July  13,  1778,  says,  "  not  less  than  a  thousand  men  were  lost  in  the 
battle  [Monmouth]."  Washington's  camp  at  Valley  Forge  "might  have  been 
stormed  and  taken  with  much  less  loss.  .  .  .  That  single  stroke  would  have 
ended  the  rebellion."— Hist.  MSS.  Comtn.  Report  XI.  (MSS.  of  the  Earl  of 
Dartmouth.) 

The  same  letter  contains  a  squib.  f '  To  be  sold,  the  British  Rights  in  America, 
consisting,  among  other  articles,  of  The  Thirteen  Provinces  in  Rebellion  ...  a 
respectable  body  of  troops,  a  considerable  part  of  the  Royal  Navy,  and  all  the 
Loyal  Subjects  in  America.  The  British  West  Indies  will  be  included  if  agree- 
able."— Ibid.  p.  419. 


THE  COMMISSIONERS  651 

arms,  without  ammunition,  without  clothing,  without  ships,  without 
money,  without  officers  skilled  in  war" — nothing  but  the  bravery 
of  our  people  and  the  justice  of  our  cause;  we  were  not  even 
entirely  united.  Then  the  cruelty  with  which  the  war  had 
been  carried  on — the  rapine  and  devastation,  the  barbarous 
treatment  of  prisoners  to  force  them  to  fight  against  their 
country.  A  General,  "who  calls  himself  a  Christian,"  let  loose 
Indians  upon  us.  Yet  how  wonderfully  have  we  been  delivered. 
And  now  God,  in  whom  was  our  trust,  has  brought  us  to 
the  threshold  of  security — it  is  now  morally  certain  that  if  we 
have  courage  to  persevere  we  shall  gain  our  independence. 
Is  there  a  man  who  would  wish  to  continue  dependent  on 
those  who  have  deluged  our  country  in  our  blood?  "From 
the  nature  of  the  thing  it  is  evident,  that  the  only  security 
you  could  obtain  would  be  the  justice  and  moderation  of  a 
Parliament  who  have  sold  the  rights  of  their  own  constituents," 
and  think  they  are  not  bound  to  keep  faith  with  rebels.  They 
say  we  can  never  pay  our  debts — but  what  country  has  such 
resources  as  America?  If  your  money  is  depreciated,  it  is 
because  no  taxes  have  been  imposed  to  carry  on  the  war; 
because  the  enemy's  fleets  have  interrupted  your  commerce, 
and  their  armies  have  desolated  part  of  your  country.  "Because 
their  agents  have  villainously  counterfeited  your  bills,"  and 
extortioners  among  you  have  run  up  prices.  Put  your  money 
in  the  Public  Funds;  let  there  be  but  one  kind  of  bills — then 
we  shall  have  fewer  counterfeits.  For  a  little  while,  buy  only 
absolute  necessaries.  Above  all,  "bring  forward  your  armies  to 
the  field."  With  a  noble  peroration  on  the  future  greatness  and 
happiness  of  the  United  States,  which  no  man  to-day  will  dare  to 
say  has  not  been  fulfilled. 

Then  came  the  dreadful  affair  of  Wyoming,  a  settlement 
on  the  Susquehanna.  A  large  body  of  Tory  refugees,  burning 
for  revenge  on  their  neighbours,  concocted  a  scheme  with  the 
Indians  who,  after  the  relief  of  Fort  Stanwix,  retired  to  Niagara. 
Their  leader  was  Colonel  John  Butler,  a  former  follower  of 
the  Johnsons.  A  few  of  the  worst  horrors  were  perhaps  the 
exaggerations  which  usually  accompany  such  tragedies ;  and 
Brant  was  not  present.  Having  said  this,  Butler  remains  what 
Sabine  calls  him  and  his  son — the  most  entirely  infamous  men  of 
the  Revolution.  "  He  commanded  the  1600  incarnate  fiends  who 
desolated  Wyoming." 

There  were  eight  townships  in  this  beautiful  valley — the 
six   lower   being   pretty   full   of  inhabitants.     It   was   exceedingly 


652  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

fertile;  it  had  lately  supplied  the  Continental  army  with  3000 
bushels  of  grain,  and  the  ground  was  loaded  with  crops.  There 
were  a  thousand  families,  "which  had  furnished  our  army  with 
a  thousand  soldiers,"  besides  garrisoning  four  forts.  There  were 
about  400  men  in  one  of  these  forts,  under  Colonels  Dennison 
and  Zebulon  Butler — not  related  to  the  other.  About  the  time 
of  Herkimer's  battle,  last  year,  the  inhabitants  found  that  the 
Tories  had  stirred  up  the  Indians;  twenty-seven  were  arrested, 
eighteen  were  sent  to  Connecticut,  and  the  rest  set  at  liberty 
for  want  of  sufficient  evidence.  The  inhabitants  had  long 
suspected  that  the  Indians  meditated  something ;  there  had  been 
a  few  outrages,  and  in  June  the  wife  of  a  Tory  and  her  five 
children  were  murdered  by  a  party  of  Tories  and  Indians.  The 
husband  of  the  woman  was  one  of  the  twenty-seven.  Zebulon  Butler 
had  sent  several  letters  to  Congress  and  to  Washington,  stating 
the  danger,  and  asking  for  help,  but  received  for  answer  that 
they  had  no  cause  to  fear — the  Indians  were  all  for  peace} 
Quite  lately  he  had  learned  that  his  letters  had  been  intercepted, 
and  that  the  message  was  bogus. 

On  the  1  st  of  July  the  whole  body  of  the  enemy  came  down 
near  the  upper  Fort — 1600  men,  about  300  Indians  under 
their  own  Chiefs,  the  rest  Tories  "painted  like  them,"  except 
their  officers,  who  were  dressed  like  regulars.  These  were  Butler's 
Rangers  and  Johnson's  Royal  Greens.  During  the  next  two  days 
they  took  two  forts  and  "killed  'Squire  Jenkins  and  his  family, 
with  several  others,  in  a  barbarous  manner,  and  made  prisoners  of 
most  of  the  women  and  children."  On  the  3rd,  Zebulon  Butler 
left  his  Fort  (Wilkesborough),  and  marched  to  Kingston  Fort,  where 
there  was  a  garrison.  Here  the  enemy  soon  summoned  him  to 
surrender.  He  refused.  They  sent  a  second  flag,  threatening  to 
massacre  the  garrison  if  they  stormed.  Colonel  Zebulon  pro- 
posed a  parley,  and  went  to  the  appointed  place  with  his  400  men. 
By  a  trick  he  was  induced  to  advance  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
where  he  was  suddenly  surrounded  and  set  upon  by  the  enemy. 
Though  he  was  outnumbered  four  to  one,  he  fought  for  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  and  the  Tories  were  beginning  to  give  way 
under  his  fire,  when  one  of  his  own  men — by  accident  or  design 
— called  out  that  the  Colonel  ordered  a  retreat.  This  threw  his 
little  force  into  confusion,  and  a  total  rout  ensued.  The  greater 
part  fled  to  the  river,  about  seventy  escaped  to  Wilkesborough  Fort, 
the  rest  were  lost  or  killed  in  the  river — the  enemy  pursuing 
"  with  the  fury  of  devils." 

1  See  an  American  account  in  Almon. 


THE  COMMISSIONERS  653 

Next  day  the  Tories  sent  196  scalps  into  Fort  Kingston,  and 
kept  up  a  continual  fire  upon  it.  In  the  evening  Zebulon  Butler, 
with  his  family,  got  out  and  escaped  down  the  river,  and  Dennison, 
with  a  flag,  went  to  Exeter  Fort  (one  of  the  two  first  taken)  to  ask 
John  Butler  what  terms  of  surrender  he  would  grant.  Butler 
replied,  "  The  hatchet."  Dennison  returned,  and  defended  his  Fort 
till  the  next  morning  (Sunday,  July  5) ;  when  nearly  all  his  men 
being  killed  or  wounded  he  was  obliged  to  surrender  at  discretion. 
The  American  account  says  that  some  of  the  prisoners  were  shut 
up  in  the  houses  and  burned  alive — that  women  and  children 
were  burned,  and  that  a  son — whose  name  is  given — murdered  his 
father  and  bathed  his  hands  in  his  blood.  Whether  these  things 
happened  or  not,  Butler,  with  an  overwhelming  force,  fell  on  this 
valley,  while  the  men  were  away  fighting  for  their  country, 
devastated  the  whole  valley,  fired  the  crops,  burnt  the  houses,  and 
drove  out  5000  helpless  people,  who  fled  in  terror  to  the  woods.1 
The  memory  of  it  was  burnt  into  the  nation's  heart,  until  a  Tory 
was  looked  on  with  more  abhorrence  than  a  "  Britisher."  He  copied 
the  ways  of  the  savages,  fought  side  by  side  with  them,  and  added 
treachery  to  ferocity.  And  this  destruction  of  a  peaceful  valley 
was  mentioned  with  approval  in  letters  from  New  York,  which 
were  published  in  English  newspapers  to  make  the  public  believe 
we  should  conquer  America  yet. 

On  the  nth  of  July,  1778,  "His  Excellency  Mons.  Gerard, 
Ambassador  from  his  Most  Christian  Majesty  to  the  United  States," 
arrived  at  Philadelphia.  A  Committee  of  Congress  accompanied 
him  to  "an  elegant  apartment"  in  Market  Street,  and  a  salute  was 

1  "  Upwards  of  5000  persons  fled  in  the  utmost  distress  and  consternation.  .  .  . 
These  proceedings  greatly  alarm  the  leaders  of  rebellion  in  New  York." — 
Letter  in  the  Gentleman 's  Magazine,  1778,  p.  545. 

"I  know  of  no  men  of  the  Revolution  so  entirely  infamous  as  the  Butlers, 
father  and  son.  But  though  Butler  did  not  permit  or  directly  authorise  women  to 
be  driven  into  the  forest  where  they  became  mothers,  and  their  infants  were 
eaten  by  wild  beasts,  and  though  captive  officers  may  not  have  been  held  upon 
fires  with  pitchforks,  till  they  were  burned  to  death,  sufficient  remains, 
undoubtedly,  to  stamp  his  conduct  with  the  deepest,  darkest,  most  damning 
guilt.  The  human  mind  can  hardly  frame  an  argument,  which  shall  clear  the 
fame  of  Butler.  ...  To  admit  even  as  a  solved  question,  that  the  Loyalists 
were  in  the  right  .  .  .  will  do  Butler  no  good  ...  he  was  still  bound  to 
observe  the  laws  of  civilised  warfare.  ...  He  and  he  alone  will  be  regarded 
by  posterity  as  the  real  and  responsible  actor  in  the  business  and  slaughter 
at  Wyoming — the  better  information  of  later  years  transfers  the  guilt  from  the 
savage  to  the  man  of  Saxon  blood.  There  was  nothing  for  which  the  Mohawk's 
family  labored  more  earnestly  than  to  show  that  their  renowned  head  (Brant) 
was  not  implicated  in  this  bloody  tragedy." — Sabine,  American  Loyalists, 


654  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

fired.  He  had  come  in  a  frigate — one  of  the  twelve  ships  of  the  line 
which  sailed  from  Toulon,  under  the  Count  d'Estaing,  on  the  13th 
of  April.  Silas  Deane  came  with  him.  He  brought  a  message  from 
d'Estaing  to  Congress  that  the  French  fleet  would  do  its  utmost 
to  assist  all  American  armaments  to  make  prizes  of  the  common 
enemy — such  prizes  to  belong  entirely  to  the  Americans. 

On  the  2 1  st  of  August  the  Sieur  Gerard,  Minister  Pleni- 
potentiary from  the  King  of  France,  was  received  by  Congress  in 
audience.  Richard  Henry  Lee  and  Samuel  Adams,  representing 
Virginia  and  Massachusetts,  had  waited  on  him  in  a  coach  and 
six,  provided  by  Congress.  Lee  sat  on  Gerard's  left,  Adams  on  the 
front  seat,  and  so,  with  much  observance,  he  arrived  at  the  State 
House.  The  members  of  Congress  sat  in  their  chairs  in  a  semi- 
circle, on  each  side  of  their  President,  upon  a  platform  raised  two 
steps.  The  Minister  of  France  was  seated  opposite — as  is  carefully 
noted — "on  the  same  level."  Then  the  door  of  the  Congress 
Chamber  was  thrown  open,  below  the  bar,  and  about  200  gentlemen 
were  admitted  to  the  audience — among  them  the  Vice-President 
of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Supreme 
Executive  Council  itself,  the  Speaker  and  members  of  the  House 
of  Assembly,  several  foreigners  of  distinction,  and  some  officers  of 
the  army.  The  American  account  asks  who  could  have  imagined 
such  an  event  four  years  ago?  After  this  Congress  and  the 
Minister  dined  together,  "  with  a  decorum  suited  to  the  occasion." 

This,  however,  was  not  Gerard's  first  appearance  in  that 
Chamber.  On  the  6th  of  August  he  had  been  introduced  by  two 
members,  and  "being  seated  in  his  chair,"  his  secretary  had 
delivered  to  the  President  a  letter  from  his  Most  Christian  Majesty 
which  began — 

"Very  dear  great  Friends  and  Allies" — 

And  entreated  Congress  to  give  full  credit  to  all  that  the  Sieur 
Gerard  should  say  to  them — more  especially  when  he  should  assure 
them  of  "  our  affection  and  constant  friendship."     It  was  signed — 

"  Your  good  Friend  and  Ally,  Louis." 

and  countersigned,  "  Gravier  de  Vergennes." 

Well  might  the  Americans  say,  Who  could  have  imagined  it 
four  years  ago  ? 

The  Toulon  fleet  had  been  eighty-eight  days  at  sea  before 
it  sighted  the  New  World,  and  by  this  delay  it  lost  its  grand 
opportunity.1     Had  it  arrived  a  few  days   earlier,  it  would   have 

" 1  The  arrival  of  this  Fleet  makes  every  hope  of  success  in  our  business 
ridiculous." — Lord  Carlisle  to  Lady  Carlisle,  New  York,  July  21.  (MSS.  of  the 
Earl  of  Carlisle.) 


THE  COMMISSIONERS  655 

intercepted    Lord    Howe's    inferior  force,   with   the   Philadelphia 
refugees  on  board, — it   might  even   have  taken   New  York,   and 
ended  the  war.     As  it  was,  by  the  time  it  appeared  off  Sandy  Hook 
(July  11)  Lord  Howe  was  safe  inside  the  bar,  waiting  for  Byron's 
squadron.     An  attack  was  planned,  but  the  great  80  and  90-gun 
ships   could   not  pass   the  bar.     The   next  plan  was  for  driving 
General  Pigot  from  Rhode  Island.     This   must  have  succeeded 
if  time  had  not  been  lost  waiting  for  the  New  England  Militia  to 
reinforce  Sullivan's  army.     The  day  after  they  arrived  Lord  Howe 
came  too  (August  9),  his  fleet  strengthened   by  four   of  Byron's 
squadron.     That    squadron — badly   equipped  to   start   with — had 
been  almost  disabled  in  a  great  storm;   but  here  again  Fortune 
distributed  her  favours,  for  if  Byron's  ships  had  come  straggling 
in  one  by  one,  while  d'Estaing  was  at  the  Hook,  he  would  have 
snapped  them  up.     But  they  began  to  arrive  a  few  hours  after  he 
had  set  sail  for  Newport.     Pigot  burned  or  scuttled  his  own  ships, 
and  drew  his  men  into  the  lines  at  Newport.     Sullivan  instantly 
occupied  the  abandoned  posts — when,  at  two  in  the  afternoon,  a 
great  fleet  was  seen  coming  towards  Point  Judith.     And  now,  if 
Howe  had  come  up  channel  at  once  he  would  have  taken  the 
French  between  his   own   fire  and  Pigot's.     But  both  Admirals 
wanted  "sea-room"  to  fight.     Howe  anchored;    and   that   night 
the  wind  veered  to  north-east,  and  d'Estaing  stood  out  of  harbour  at 
eight  in  the  morning,  and  bore  down  on  Howe.     The  English  ships 
slipped  their  cables,  and  formed  in  line  of  battle.     Howe,  still 
inferior  in  numbers  and  rating,  would  not  fight  till  he  could  get 
the   weather-gauge — so    for    two    days    they   manoeuvred,    always 
standing  to  southwards,  till  they  disappeared  from  the  eyes  of  the 
anxious  watchers  on  Rhode  Island.     Sullivan  was  on  the  point  of 
attacking  Pigot  without  waiting  for  d'Estaing's  return,  when  one  of 
the  most  frightful  storms  of  that  stormy  coast  came  on,  and  raged 
for  two  nights  and  days.    As  ever,  the  American  troops,  being  most 
exposed,  suffered  most,  and  great  part  of  their  ammunition  was 
spoiled.     And  now,  again,  had  Pigot  sallied  out  the  day  after  the 
storm  he  would  have  had  an  easy  victory.     But  he  did  not ;  and 
with  that  day  of  rest  the  Americans  were  themselves  again.     So 
for  eleven  days  they  watched  each  other,  till  on  the  evening  of 
the  19th  of  August  they  saw  the  French   returning.     Both  fleets 
had  been  caught  in  the  storm,  both  were  shattered,  disabled,  and 
scattered.     Howe  was  gone  to  New  York  to  refit,  and  d'Estaing 
pleaded  his  own  orders  to  go  to  Boston  in  case  of  misfortune.    Sullivan 
said  they  could  carry  the  place  if  the  French  would  stay  but  two 
days — it  would  be  a  disgrace  if  they  gave  up.     D'Estaing  would 


656  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

have  yielded  but  for  his  officers.  He  was  a  land-officer,  and  the 
real  sea-dogs  were  very  angry  that  he  had  been  put  over  their 
heads.  They  were  glad  to  humiliate  him,  and  they  insisted  on 
his  obeying  his  instructions  literally.  So  he  went  to  Boston  to 
refit ;  and  Sullivan,  indignant,  hinted  in  General  Orders  that 
America  had  better  trust  to  herself,  and  not  to  her  allies.  La- 
fayette persuaded  him  to  tone  this  down  in  his  next  Order;  but 
there  was  a  very  sore  feeling,  and  the  New  Englanders  went  off, 
till  Sullivan's  numbers  were  no  larger  than  Pigot's — between  two 
and  three  thousand  left  him  in  the  next  twenty-four  hours.  He 
fought  an  indecisive  engagement,  and  then  hearing  that  Howe  was 
coming  back,  thought  it  wise  to  secure  his  retreat  (August  30). 
He  was  only  just  in  time — the  day  after  he  had  drawn  off  his 
troops  with  much  skill,  Clinton,  with  a  squadron  and  4000  men, 
arrived  at  Newport,  and  thus  ended  an  episode  in  which  everybody 
was  a  day  too  late.1 

But  if  the  Americans  were  disappointed,  the  British  were 
hardly  less  so.  If  d'Estaing  had  been  prevented  from  doing 
anything,  so  had  Lord  Howe.  Thoroughly  disgusted  with  a. 
Ministry  which  left  its  commanders  without  adequate  support, 
he  handed  over  the  command  to  Admiral  Gambier,  and  returned 
to  England.  The  British  military  operations  of  the  last  half 
of  1778  may  be  very  briefly  told.  The  most  important  was 
the  expedition  of  "No-flint"  Grey2  to  destroy  the  privateers  in 
several  small  harbours  of  Plymouth  Colony.  In  about  eighteen 
hours  he  destroyed  seventy  sail,  burned  the  magazines,  stores, 
and  rope-walks  at  Bedford  and  Fair-Haven,  and  carried  off 
10,000  sheep  and  300  oxen  from  the  small  island  called 
Martha's  Vineyard.  On  the  Newfoundland  Station,  Admiral 
Montague  took  the  little  islands  of  St.  Pierre  and  Miquelon, 
allotted  to  France  in  1763  as  harbours  of  refuge,  and  places 
for    drying    fish.        Clinton     sent     Cornwallis    and     Knyphausen 

1  The  affray  at  Boston  between  the  Americans  and  French  happened  on 
the  night  of  September  23.  Several  of  the  French  were  wounded,  among 
them  an  officer  of  distinction.  Both  sides  kept  the  matter  as  quiet  as  pos- 
sible. The  Council  offered  300  dollars  for  the  discovery  of  any  parties  engaged 
in  the  riot,  and  it  was  asserted  that  it  was  caused  by  captured  British 
seamen,  and  deserters  from  Burgoyne's  army,  who  had  enlisted  in  American 
privateers,  and  demanded  bread  of  the  French  bakers.  D'Estaing  "  had 
the  address  to  give  in  to  this  idea,"  and  to  appear  satisfied.  No  one  was  dis- 
covered. 

2  This  sobriquet  alluded  to  Grey's  orders  to  his  men  not  to  take  their  flints 
with  them,  but  to  trust  entirely  to  the  bayonet,  as  more  silent.  By  this  means 
he  succeeded  in  several  surprises. 


THE  COMMISSIONERS  657 

into  Jersey,  to  act  on  both  sides  of  the  North  River;  and  as, 
since  Clinton's  expedition  of  the  year  before,  the  British 
commanded  all  the  water-way  as  far  as  the  Highlands» 
Washington — now  encamped  once  more  at  White  Plains,  watching 
New  York — dared  not  quit  his  strong  position  to  meet  an 
enemy  who  could  unite  his  whole  force  on  one  side  of  the  river 
to-day,  and  on  the  other  to-morrow — while  he  could  not  con- 
centrate his  own  force  under  ten  days.  Grey  surprised  and 
cut  to  pieces  Baylor's  Light  Horse,  who  lay  at  Tappan,  and, 
thinking  themselves  secure,  kept  little  or  no  watch.  Ferguson 
— soon  to  make  himself  so  famous  in  the  South — surprised 
Pulaski's  Legion  at  Little  Egg  Harbour  on  October  14.  Here, 
too,  there  was  the  utmost  carelessness,  and  a  French  Captain 
who  had  deserted  Pulaski  betrayed  the  fact  to  Ferguson.  On 
a  false  report  that  Pulaski  had  ordered  no  quarter  to  be  given, 
none  was  given  by  Ferguson.  As  a  set  -  off  to  this,  "  Light 
Horse  Harry  "  surprised  the  Hessian  jagers  at  Dobbs'  Ferry. 

The  Army  of  the  Convention  was  still  at  Boston.  Boston 
had  been  selected  while  it  was  believed  that  the  troops  would 
almost  immediately  embark  for  England.  It  was  the  worst 
place  that  could  have  been  chosen  for  their  prolonged  stay. 
The  town  had  been  exasperated  by  the  ten  years  of  civil  dis- 
sensions which  preceded  the  outbreak  of  hostilities;  and  during 
the  siege  it  had  suffered  much  insult  and  injury.  Troops  had 
been  quartered  in  its  churches,  the  library  of  at  least  one  of  its 
ministers  had  been  used  to  light  fires;  the  Old  North  had  been 
dismantled,  and  the  fittings  taken  for  firewood.  We  may  safely 
accept  Baroness  Riedesel's  complaints  of  the  unfriendliness  of 
the  people — it  was  not  much  to  be  wondered  at  if  both  sides  were 
very  sore ;  and  when  this  is  the  case,  something  is  sure  to 
happen  sooner  or  later. 

Before  Burgoyne  went  to  England,  one  Colonel  Henley, 
who  was  in  command  under  General  Heath,  offered  bad  language 
and  personal  violence  to  several  privates  and  non-commissioned 
officers,  and  wounded  one  rather  seriously  with  a  bayonet.  It 
is  plain  that  Henley  was  a  coarse  and  violent  man,  who  ought 
never  to  have  been  entrusted  with  so  difficult  a  position.  It 
is  also  plain,  from  the  depositions  of  the  British  themselves, 
that  they  were  often  insolent  and  provoking.  The  wounded 
man  boasted  of  having  told  Henley  he  hoped  soon  to  be  fighting 
for  his  King.  The  story  is  not  creditable  to  either  side;  but 
those  who  have  read  the  accounts  of  how  the  British  used 
their  American  prisoners,  both  in  America  and  England,  must 
vol.  1. — 42 


658  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

feel  that,  bad  as  Henley  was,  the  case  of  the  British  prisoners  in 
Boston  cannot  be  compared  with  that  of  the  Americans  in  New 
York.  There  was  no  great  sickness,  much  less  any  great 
mortality,  among  the  troops  of  the  Convention,  from  beginning 
to  end  of  their  detention. 

Burgoyne  made  a  vigorous  representation;  a  court-martial 
was  held  on  Henley,  and  Burgoyne  was  allowed  to  be  pro- 
secutor. He  made  an  eloquent,  very  long,  and  very  injudicious 
speech.  Henley  was  acquitted,  and  reinstated — but  only  for 
one  day.  He  was  then  replaced  by  Colonel  Lee,  who  had 
had  the  command  at  first.  Anburey  says,  "Affairs  are  much 
better  regulated;  everything  is  now  in  perfect  tranquillity,  and 
a  good  understanding  has  taken  place  between  our  troops  and 
the  Americans."  But  Burgoyne,  who  was  a  genial  man,  went 
home  on  parole  to  defend  his  character,  and  left  the  command 
of  the  Convention  Troops  to  Phillips,  who  was  excessively 
irascible,  and  was  said  to  be  the  haughtiest  man  in  the  British 
Army.  The  forced  inactivity  began  to  be  intolerably  irksome; 
cock-fighting,  to  which  some  of  the  officers  resorted,  could 
not  satisfy  the  craving  for  excitement.  Very  great  numbers 
of  privates  deserted — some  to  the  American  service.  The 
whole  band  of  the  62  nd  deserted  in  a  body  in  May  —  and 
played  in  an  American  regiment  in  Boston.  A  private  of 
the  47th,  who  had  deserted  at  Lexington,  now  turned  up  as 
a  Major  in  the  American  service,  but  was  observed  to  look 
uncomfortable  when  he  met  his  old  officers. 

The  most  tragic  event  which  marked  the  detention  of  the 
army  was  the  death  of  Lieutenant  Brown,  who  was  shot  by  a 
sentinel  on  the  17th  of  June,  1778.  Orders  had  been  issued 
that  no  "ladies"  were  to  pass  the  lines.  Brown,  who  was 
driving  in  a  chaise  with  two  women,  was  repeatedly  ordered 
by  the  sentinel  to  stop.  He  drove  on,  and  unfortunately  for 
himself  put  his  head  out  to  tell  the  sentinel  he  could  not  stop 
the  horses.  At  that  moment  the  sentinel  (described  as  "a  boy, 
scarce  fourteen")  fired,  and  wounded  Brown  mortally.  None 
knew  better  than  Phillips,  a  distinguished  officer  of  long 
experience  in  great  wars,  that  by  military  rules  poor  Brown 
had  brought  his  fate  on  himself  by  violating  the  order.  But 
he  now  completely  lost  both  temper  and  prudence,  and  wrote 
to  General  Heath,  "Murder  and  death  at  length  have  taken 
place."  Heath  confined  him  to  his  quarters;  and  Phillips 
wrote  to  ask  if  poor  Brown  was  to  be  allowed  Christian  burial. 
Heath   replied   in    a  conciliatory   tone — he    not    only   permitted 


THE  COMMISSIONERS  659 

but  requested  General  Phillips  that  every  mark  of  respect  should 
be  shown  to  the  dead ;  he  had  already  ordered  every  assistance 
to  be  given,  and  had  also  ordered  "decency  to  be  exhibited 
by  our  troops  during  the  procession  and  interment."  A  court- 
martial  was  held;  the  sentinel  was  of  course  acquitted — he 
had  only  obeyed  orders.  But  feeling  became  worse  than  ever, 
and  it  was  wisely  determined  to  remove  the  troops  to  Virginia.1 

The  Commissioners  had  been  sent  upon  a  fool's  errand — 
armed  with  powers  just  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  embroil 
the  situation  still  further.  They  now  demanded  that  Congress 
should  fulfil  the  stipulations  of  the  Convention,  and  allow  the 
troops  to  embark,  offering  to  renew  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain 
all  the  stipulations,  and  particularly  that  by  which  these  troops 
were  not  to  serve  against  America  during  the  present  war. 
Congress  replied  that  the  Court  of  Great  Britain  must  ratify 
the  Convention  with  Congress  direct.  Nothing  less  would 
do — no  ratification  "by  construction  and  implication,"  which 
may  be  set  aside  by  the  British  Parliament,  can  be  accepted. 
As  the  powers  of  the  Commissioners  were  expressly  subject 
to  the  approbation  of  Parliament,  the  renewal  of  the  Convention 
would  be  so  too.  Every  proclamation  of  the  Commissioners 
denied  the  authority  of  Congress;  and  if  the  Convention  of 
Klosterseven  could  be  set  aside,  why  not  the  Convention  of 
Saratoga  ? 

As  the  weeks  went  on  the  Commissioners  became  more 
and  more  hopeless  of  success.  Carlisle  had  discovered  long 
since  how  much  reliance  was  to  be  placed  upon  Galloway's 
pictures  of  American  loyalty.  On  July  1st  he  wrote  to  the 
Countess :  "  The  common  people  hate  us  in  their  hearts,  not- 
withstanding all  that  is  said  of  their  secret  attachment  to  the 
mother  country.  I  cannot  give  you  a  better  proof  of  their 
unanimity  against  us,  than  in  our  last  march;  in  the  whole 
country  there  was  not  found  one  single  man  capable  of  bearing 
arms  at  home;  they  left  their  dwellings  unprotected,  and  after 
having  cut  all  the  ropes  of  the  wells,  had  fled  to  Washinton." 
He  also  says  that,  "  when  things  went   better  for  us  "  they  came 

1  On  another  less  serious  occasion,  in  which  an  American  was  certainly  the 
aggressor,  Phillips  allowed  himself  to  write  to  Major  Carter — Schuyler's  son-in- 
law,  who  had  interested  himself  for  the  Convention  troops — refusing  to  address 
Heath,  and  adding  that  the  aggrieved  gentlemen  "ought  to  listen  to  the  abuse 
of  the  Americans  as  to  the  cackling  of  geese."  The  gentlemen  were  confined 
for  three  days  in  the  common  gaol.  Anburey  says  they  observed,  "on  quitting 
their  dumps,  that  they  had  little  more  reason  to  extol  the  humanity  of  their  own 
General  than  they  had  the  justice  of  the  Americans." 


660  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

in  for  pardons ;  "  but  no  sooner  our  situation  was  the  least 
altered  for  the  worse,  but  these  friends  were  the  first  to  fire 
upon  us."  By  September  there  were  grave  doubts  whether 
we  could  hold  New  York  much  longer.1  Carlisle  threw  out 
as  a  suggestion,  "  if  we  are  quite  driven  to  the  wall,"  for  a  truce 
for  six,  eight,  or  ten  years,  each  side  to  keep  what  it  has  got. 
But  though  he  saw  all  this,2  when  he  wrote  to  Congress  on 
August  26,  he  could  not  refrain  from  informing  them  that 
France  was  always  "an  enemy  to  all  civil  and  religious  liberty"3 — 
no  doubt  forgetting  for  the  moment  our  own  Penal  Laws. 

The  last  idea  of  the  Commissioners  was  the  most  unhappy 
of  all.  Provoked  by  the  counter  Proclamation  of  Congress, 
and  encouraged  by  the  disappointment  shown  by  the  Americans 
at  the  little  good  effected  by  the  French  fleet,  they  imagined 
they  could  "  strike  terror  "  by  a  "  Manifesto  "  which  is  a  monument 
of  wickedness  and  folly. 

It  began  with  the  usual  gracious  promises  of  redress  and 
pardon  to  all  who  will  now  submit;  and  went  on  to  threaten  a 
change  "in  the  whole  nature  and  future  conduct  of  this  war, 
especially  when  to  this  position  is  added  the  pretended  alliance 
with  the  Court  of  France."  It  seemed  as  though  the  agents  of 
Great  Britain  could  never  repeat  often  enough  that  they  did  not 
consider  the  laws  of  war  or  of  nations  applied  to  the  present 
contest — they  were  now  denying  the  validity  of  the  French 
Treaty  !  Every  word  of  the  Manifesto  made  this  clearer.  Hither- 
to "the  policy  as  well  as  the  benevolence"  of  Great  Britain  had 
"checked  the  extremes  of  war,  when  they  tended  to  desolate  a 
country  shortly  to  become  again  a  source  of  mutual  advantage " ; 
but  when  that  country  professes  "the  unnatural  design  of 
estranging  herself  from  us,  and  mortgaging  her  resources  to 
our  enemies,"  the  question  is,  how  far  Great  Britain  may,  by 
every  means  in  her  power,  destroy,  or  render  useless,  a  connec- 
tion contrived  for  her  ruin,  and  for  the  aggrandisement  of 
France  ...  if  the  British  Colonies  are  to  become  an  accession 
to  France,  "  self-preservation  will  dictate  "  that  Great  Britain  "  shall 
render  that  accession  of  as  little  value  as  possible  to  her  enemy." 

1  Carlisle  wondered  how  people  could  exist  in  New  York.  "My  weekly 
bills  come  to  as  much  as  the  house-account  at  Castle  Howard,  when  we  have 
the  most  company." — To  Lady  Carlisle,  September  22,  1778.     (Carlisle  MSS.) 

2  When  the  first  reply  of  Congress  came  in  June,  he  had  written,  "Just  such 
a  reply  as  I  imagined  they  would  send.  Refusal  to  treat  unless  we  in  the  most 
specific  terms  acknowledge  their  independency,  or  send  away  our  armies." — To 
Lady  Carlisle,  June  27. 

3  For  this  insult  to  France  the  impetuous  Lafayette  sent  him  a  challenge. 


THE  COMMISSIONERS  661 

This  frightful  document  was  dated  October  3,  1778,  and  the 
offer  was  to  remain  open  for  forty  days. 

On  the  10th  Congress  issued  a  warning  to  all  who  lived  "in 
places  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  the  enemy,"  to  build  huts 
immediately,  at  least  thirty  miles  from  their  present  habitations,  and 
to  take  thither  the  women,  children,  and  all  incapable  of  bearing 
arms;  to  secure  their  valuables,  and  send  off  their  cattle,  for  it 
was  evident  "their  unnatural  enemy,"  finding  it  impossible  to 
make  them  break  the  solemn  treaty  with  France,  intended  to 
burn  every  city  and  town  on  this  continent  they  could  come  at. 
They  also  advised  that  the  moment  the  enemy  began  to  burn 
their  houses,  the  people  should  burn  the  houses  and  destroy  the 
property  of  all  Tories,  and  secure  their  persons — always  taking 
care  not  to  treat  them  with  wanton  cruelty,  "as  we  do  not  wish 
to  copy  our  enemies." 

This  was  followed  in  two  or  three  days  by  a  counter-manifesto, 
denouncing  the  manner  in  which  the  British  had  conducted  the 
war.  "They  have  laid  waste  the  open  country,  burned  the 
defenceless  villages,  and  butchered  the  citizens  of  America. 
Their  prisons  have  been  the  slaughter-houses  of  her  soldiers; 
they  have  tried  to  bribe  our  representatives;  they  have  made  a 
mock  of  humanity,  religion,  and  reason."  This  Manifesto  ended 
with  a  solemn  declaration,  that  if  "our  enemies"  persist  in  their 
present  career  of  barbarity,  we  will  take  such  exemplary  vengeance 
as  shall  deter  others  from  a  like  conduct.  We  appeal  to  God, 
and  declare  in  His  presence  that  we  are  not  actuated  by  light 
and  hasty  suggestions  or  anger  or  revenge,  but  will  adhere  to 
our  determination  through  all  change  of  fortune.1 

This  was  what  the  Commissioners  gained  by  striking  terror. 

Washington  had  never  been  more  anxious.  The  people, 
trusting  to  the  French  Alliance,  relaxed  their  efforts ;  the  French 
were  chiefly  occupied  in  wresting  from  us  the  West  India  Islands. 
Each  separate  State  was  full  of  its  local  concerns.  As  soon  as 
the  most  pressing  emergency  was  over,  feuds  and  jealousies  broke 
out  in  Congress.  Washington  said  that  the  American  political 
system  was  like  a  clock — it  was  useless  to  keep  the  smaller 
wheels  going  if  the  prime  mover  of  all  was  neglected.  The 
French  Alliance,    which   filled   the  unthinking  with   a   dangerous 

1  "  Every  insidious  art  will  predominate  in  the  British  cabinet  against  us. 
Their  threats  of  Russians  and  of  great  reinforcements  are  false  and  impractic- 
able, and  they  know  them  to  be  so ;  but  their  threats  of  doing  mischief  with 
the  forces  they  have  will  be  verified  as  far  as  their  power."— John  Adams  to 
his  IVifs,  Passy,  November  6,  1778. 


662  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

security,  seemed  to  him  rather  a  reason  for  fresh  exertion.  He 
was  against  the  wild  scheme  of  a  French  occupation  of  Canada 
(which  turned  out  to  be  also  entirely  against  the  wishes  of  the 
French  Cabinet).  He  saw  that  it  was  fraught  with  future 
danger.  But  his  deepest  anxieties  came  from  his  own  country- 
men. He  saw  that  "idleness,  dissipation,  and  extravagance" 
had  laid  hold  of  most  men — speculation,  peculation,  and  an 
insatiable  thirst  for  riches  had,  he  said,  got  the  better  of  every 
other  consideration;  party  disputes  were  the  great  business  of 
the  day,  and  the  concerns  of  an  empire  but  secondary.  And 
what  he  saw  in  Philadelphia  gave  him  but  too  much  reason  to 
think  this. 

Philadelphia  was  as  much  given  up  to  revelry  as  when  the 
British  officers  were  scandalising  it  with  their  faro  tables. 
Washington,  coming  in  that  winter  from  his  starving  and  shiver- 
ing soldiers,  was  disgusted  to  find  the  Quaker  city  given  up  to 
dinners,  concerts,  assemblies — any  one  of  which  entertainments 
must  cost  three  or  four  hundred  pounds,  while  the  soldiers'  pay 
was  in  arrears,  officers  were  quitting  the  service  because  they 
could  not  afford  to  remain,  and  "the  virtuous  few"  who  did 
remain  were  beggared.  Every  now  and  then  some  regiment 
would  refuse  to  march — the  men  saying  they  could  not  live  on 
their  pay,  when  they  got  it,  and  their  families  were  starving.1  His 
letter  to  Colonel  Harrison  gives  a  terrible  picture  of  deterioration. 
It  was  written  after  a  visit  to  Philadelphia  had  shown  him  the 
contrast  between  his  starving  soldiers  and  the  junketings  in  the 
capital. 

Arnold  was  still  in  command  in  Philadelphia,  and  many  of 
these  great  entertainments  were  his.  He  had  a  fine  house  and 
a  splendid  establishment.  His  extravagant  and  ostentatious  way 
of  living,  his  carriages  and  horses,  scandalised  the  sober.  Worse 
still,  he  engaged  in  financial  speculations  for  which  his  position 
gave  him  facilities ;  and  his  enemies — of  whom  he  had  but  too 
many — said  he  shut  up  the  shops  in  order  that  everything  might 
be  purchased  through  himself.  Here,  however,  they  were 
unjust  —  Joseph  Reed  had  drafted  the  Proclamation  that 
nothing  should  be  removed  till  the  ownership  was  ascertained. 
As  his  wound  still  incapacitated  him  for  active  service,  he 
thought  of  taking  command  of  a  privateer  and  making  lucrative 
captures  at  sea.  He  was  just  about  to  marry  the  daughter  of  a 
loyalist — or  semi-loyalist — pretty  Peggy  Shippen,  the  fairest  of 
the  Ladies  of  the  Meschianza;  and  at  his  entertainments  there 
1  Washington's  Letter  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates  of  Virginia. 


THE  COMMISSIONERS  663 

appeared  not  only  Tories,  but  proscribed  persons.  He  had 
quarrelled  with  the  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania, — he  had 
a  long-standing  dispute  about  the  waggons  impressed  in  July, 
1778,  to  save  the  property  of  some  persons  obnoxious  because 
they  had  remained  in  the  city  during  the  British  occupation.  All 
these  reasons,  and  especially  the  affair  of  the  waggons,  made 
Arnold  unpopular,  in  spite  of  his  great  services  and  his  still 
unhealed  wound.  Reed,  now  President  of  the  Executive 
Council,  was  hostile  to  him.  The  Council  at  length  drew  up 
a  list  of  eight  charges,  and  sent  it  to  Congress.  Arnold  demanded 
a  court-martial. 

The  Committee  of  Congress  exonerated  him  from  all 
criminality.  He  resigned — expecting  to  be  reinstated.  But 
though  he  had  been  in  a  measure  absolved,  his  enemies  still 
pursued  him.  There  were  discussions  in  Congress,  and  a  court- 
martial  was  resolved  on.  Arnold  was  very  angry,  and  said 
he  was  sacrificed  to  please  Pennsylvania.  It  was  now  that  he 
married  Miss  Shippen.  There  was  great  delay  in  holding  the 
court-martial — Congress  was  waiting  for  the  end  of  the  campaign, 
that  witnesses  might  attend.  The  Court  sat  at  Morristown  in 
December  of  1779.  It  only  noticed  four  of  the  eight  charges.1 
On  two  he  was  acquitted;  on  the  other  two,  the  Court  found 
that  his  conduct  had  been  irregular  and  imprudent,  and  sentenced 
him  to  be  reprimanded  by  the  Commander-in-Chief.  Never, 
perhaps,  was  a  reprimand  so  delicately  given.2 

Washington's  camp  was  now  at  Middlebrook.  His  men  still 
wanted  food,  but,  thanks  to  the  French,  they  were  better  clad.  But 
they  were  impatient  at  not  receiving  their  pay.  Spain,  dragged  in 
unwillingly  to  help  America,  did  so  surreptitiously,  and  would  not 
acknowledge  the  States.  She  foresaw  the  loss  of  Florida,  and 
wanted  to  confine  the   Americans  within  the   Alleghanies,  so   to 

1  One  charge  was  his  giving  a  permit,  without  Washington's  knowledge, 
for  a  vessel  belonging  to  disaffected  persons ;  the  other,  that  he  had  appro- 
priated the  waggons  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  transport  of  private 
property  belonging  to  disaffected  persons. 

2  Washington  said :  "  Our  profession  is  the  chastest  of  all ;  even  the 
shadow  of  a  fault  tarnishes  the  lustre  of  our  finest  achievements.  The  least 
inadvertence  may  rob  us  of  the  public  favour,  so  hard  to  be  acquired.  I 
reprimand  you  for  having  forgotten,  that  in  proportion  as  you  had  rendered 
yourself  formidable  to  our  enemies,  you  should  have  been  guarded  and 
temperate  in  your  deportment  to  your  fellow-citizens.  Exhibit  anew  those 
noble  qualities  which  have  placed  you  on  the  list  of  our  most  valued 
commanders.  I  will  myself  furnish  you,  as  far  as  it  may  be  in  my  power, 
with  opportunities  of  regaining  the  esteem  of  your  country." 


664  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 

preserve  her  own  vast  possessions  beyond  the  Mississippi.  The 
little  expedition  of  Colonel  Clarke  of  Virginia,  to  reduce  the  French 
Canadian  towns  and  settlements  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,1  may 
have  helped  to  suggest  these  fears.  Clarke's  expedition  almost 
recalls  Arnold's  march.  With  about  300  men  he  traversed 
1200  miles  of  uninhabited  waste,  where  everything  had  to  be 
carried.  Fortunately  the  chief  part  of  the  way  was  by  water. 
Clarke  surprised  the  town  of  Kashaskias  at  midnight,  after  marching 
two  days  without  food,  and  made  the  fort  his  headquarters.  He 
then  took  three  other  towns,  from  fifteen  to  seventy  miles  higher  up 
the  Mississippi.  The  Indians  found  that  Clarke  was  a  better 
Indian  than  themselves,  and  grew  cautious  and  timid;  and  the 
scattered  Americans  in  those  back  settlements  gladly  rallied  to  a 
man  who  delivered  them  from  their  fear  of  the  savages. 

From  the  beginning  of  December,  1778,  Washington's  canton- 
ments stretched  from  Long  Island  Sound  to  the  Delaware.  He 
had  a  system  of  signals.  Sentinels  kept ?  watch  on  Bottle  Hill 
night  and  day ;  and  on  any  appearance  of  the  British,  an 
18-pounder,  called  the  Old  Sow,  was  fired  off  every  half-hour, 
warning  the  country  round.  On  clear  nights  a  beacon  was  lighted 
— answering  fires  sprang  up  from  hill  to  hill,  and  the  militia 
hastened  to  the  posts  assigned  them. 

Clinton  could  do  little.  Too  many  troops  had  been  detached  from 
his  army.  Instead  of  crushing  Washington,  he  had  been  obliged  to 
send  General  Grant  and  Admiral  Hotham  to  attack  Sta.  Lucia. 
And  at  the  end  of  November  the  war  entered  on  a  new  phase — 
destined  to  be  its  last.  Sir  Hyde  Parker  and  Colonel  Campbell, 
with  3000  more  of  Clinton's  troops,  sailed  for  Savannah,  to 
reduce  Georgia.  Clinton  was  very  sore  at  thus  being  left  to 
maintain  "a  starved  defensive."  But  he  soon  had  good  news 
from  the  South.  The  attempt  of  d'Estaing  and  Lincoln  to  take 
Savannah  by  assault  on  December  29  was  repulsed  with  very 
heavy  loss,  and  by  the  middle  of  January,  1779,  all  Georgia  seemed 
subdued. 

1  Then  called  the  "  Illinois  Country." 

OF  THE         r  \- 
«     UNiVr 


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OF   VOL.. 


Printed  by  Morrison  &  Gibb  Limited,  Edinburgh 


RETORNTOD^^sBORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

_^T!l^^ubiect  ,o  immediate 


HfiV_JJi 


M>  21A-50m-3  '62 
(O7097sl0)476B 


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Berkeley 


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